Orlando

In an era that admonishes printers to think differently about their product and service offerings, the Graphics of the Americas Conference & Expo (GOA) aims to help printers do exactly that by providing them with a blueprint of the future. The 2012 show—slated for March 1-3, back at the Miami Beach Convention Center after temporarily relocating to Orlando last year—boasts a strong mixture of expo exhibitors and a diverse educational session roster that drew 2,100 people in 2011.

After outsourcing its printing, the University of Central Florida endured a nightmare of inefficiency and expense. Now the in-plant's back and customers are happy again. Back in 1993, the higher-ups at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, looked at the books one day and were shocked to discover their in-plant was running a deficit of more than $100,000. Even though they subsequently learned the print shop manager was pilfering funds—and driving up the negative numbers—upper management decided to bring in outside help. "The print shop's account was so far in the hole that outsourcing was the only way they saw of

Aggressive self-promotion by the Darden Restaurants in-plant earns its supervisor a promotion to Director. When Warren Lombardy learned that Darden Restaurants had promoted him to director of creative group/printing services, he immediately went to work—planning a party for his staff. This is a typical move for Lombardy, 39, an in-plant self-promotion wizard who shuns the spotlight when it falls on himself. "This promotion is a sign of the team," he says. "A good manager is as good as his or her people. I think I've lined myself up with a good team." That team, he says, has done some great work for Orlando-based Darden

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