Gary Boyd

HAD IT not been for Vietnam, Gary Boyd might never have become a printer. Instead, the manager of Iowa State University Printing & Copy Services would probably be an independent contractor today, managing his own construction company. One of five children born in a small, central California town to parents possessed of a nomadic spirit, Boyd traveled around quite a bit as a child. He attended schools throughout the state, before eventually graduating from high school in the East Bay region of California. “My father and older brothers were all involved in the construction industry,” says Boyd. So from an early age, he was

Here’s how Gary Boyd, manager of Printing & Copy Services at Iowa State University, handled a common in-plant problem: Problem: Keeping all employees informed as to what’s happening within the department and abreast of new issues and developments. Solution: Frequent informal meetings with all employees during which we cover current issues and respond to questions. In addition, we provide a monthly Dashboard report to all employees that includes graphs and charts to show important data on how well the shop is doing. These charts show information like the financial performance, percentage of jobs delivered on or ahead of schedule, the overall customer rating, employee satisfaction rating,

Refurbished equipment enables tight-budgeted in-plants to enhance their services and grow business. By Gretchen A. Peck When North Broward Hospital District's graphic communications department decided to upgrade its press capabilities, Director Dick Raveson didn't focus on the sparkling new presses decorating the manufacturers' showrooms. His eye was drawn to the used equipment market, where he found a pair of MAN Roland presses just right for his Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in-plant. "There's no need for me to go out and spend $2.5 million if I don't need that kind of firepower," Raveson says. "Not that we wouldn't like a new press, but meeting the needs

Employing students part-time has allowed many college and university in-plants to prosper, helping them achieve Top 50 status in the process By Erik Cagle Not all in-plants are created equal. If they were, then we wouldn't have the IPG Top 50. One look at that list, though, reveals that college and university in-plants have a special advantage: their ability to cull a large number of part-time employees from their student populations. Many of them owe their lofty status on the Top 50 to employing students; frankly, some in-plants would not have cracked the list without them. Students are cheap labor; they're intelligent and bring

Top 50 in-plants say one of the keys to their success is modernizing their offset and digital printing capabilities. By Eric Martin You're probably sitting at a desk, not winded or breathing hard—but in all likelihood, at this very moment, you're racing against competitors to get work printed. This competition is even more apparent at the in-plants on the IPG Top 50. They operate in a "get it done yesterday" mind-set, and that goal has pushed these successful operations to update their printing equipment with an eye solely on speed. In 2003, for example, John A. Sarantakos, administrator of University of Oklahoma Printing

Computer management systems offer in-plants a way to track costs, boost customer service and justify themselves. Find out what else they can do for you. Two years ago, Iowa State University Printing Services was paying the administrative data processing department about $8,000 per month for the use of its estimating and inventory tracking system. But that system tracked materials only—there was no way for the in-plant to factor in time and labor costs. "We really didn't know what our true costs were," admits Gary Boyd, manager of printing services. He decided to take action. He researched many different computer management systems for his

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