Ken Johnson

Julie Greenbaum is a contributor to Printing Impressions

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 170 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.

Despite the hit his in-plant took from COVID, Ken Johnson loves the career he started in high school and never tires of looking for new ways to improve his operation.

What was once a fairly low-volume print shop when it opened at Ball State University 30 years ago, has turned into a bustling operation. When Ken Johnson, director of Printing Services at the Muncie, Ind., school, saw that he could barely squeeze any more equipment into his in-plant’s 3,200-square-foot space, he knew it was time for a new facility. 

While I was touring the University of St. Thomas' in-plant in St. Paul, Minn., last month, Director John Barron revealed some wonderful news. In September, the board of trustees at the private, Catholic liberal arts school granted his in-plant the right of first refusal (RoFR) for all university printing—the holy grail for in-plants everywhere.

Thanks to two back-to-back installations, Ball State University Printing Services is producing work faster and at a lower cost. By Bob Neubauer For 10 long years Ken Johnson and his crew at Ball State University Printing Services have been slowly building an equipment reserve fund. Now payoff time has come. Over the past couple of months, the Muncie, Ind., in-plant has used its savings to make two major installations that will completely overhaul the 11-employee operation. First the shop installed a six-page thermal Screen (U.S.A.) PlateRite 4100 platesetter. Then, in April, it added a four-color Heidelberg Printmaster 52 perfector. The new capabilities will

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