Three Weeks, Four In-plant Events
I just returned from three action-packed weeks of travel to in-plant events all over the country, giving me a chance to hang out with dozens of in-plant managers, many of whom I’d never met before. I also got to see many long-time in-plant and vendor friends, some of whom attended several events with me.
Judges look over some of the 360 entries in In-Print 2026.
It began with my trip to Kearney, Missouri, to facilitate the In-Print contest judging. Despite a resurgence of winter that gave us snow and 10-degree weather, our judges spent a full day pouring over 360 or so entries and selecting 80 winners. It was an exhausting but educational day that showed us some amazing and innovative print work, particularly in the wide-format realm.
I had barely touched down in Philadelphia, when I was off again on an Amtrak train to Washington, D.C., to attend the first In-plant Printing and Mailing Association Road Show of the year, at the U.S. Government Publishing Office. First, I detoured to the World Bank to tour its wide-format printing operation, featuring an EFI Pro 16h hybrid UV LED flatbed printer and Colex SharpCut flatbed cutter. Wes Troup led a group of visiting in-plant managers and I around the building to see numerous wall graphics his team had printed.
Dozens of in-plants travelled to Washington, DC, for the first IPMA Road Show of 2026 inside the Government Publishing Office.
The Road Show was one of the best yet, bringing together nearly 30 in-plant managers from as far away as Texas. GPO Director Hugh Halpern welcomed the group, relating some of GPO’s history and telling us about recent modernization efforts. Other speakers provided some very useful information on everything from software to substrates. (Full story here.) Then we toured GPO’s busy production facility, filing past its offset and inkjet presses, its automated bindery systems, and its ever-fascinating book-edge marbling demonstration.
Visiting in-plant managers on the GPO tour.
Off to the West Coast
After just a few days at home, I was back in the air again, flying to San Diego for EDU Business Solutions’ 13th annual Print Shop Pro User Group Meeting. With more than 60 in-plants in attendance, this event has turned into a solid in-plant conference over the years. I got to meet dozens of West Coast in-plant managers whom I had never run into before and learned about their shops.
Bob Neubauer gives the opening presentation at the Print Shop Pro user conference.
I gave the opening presentation and shared new IPI research on the state of the in-plant industry, revealing which services have grown the most over the past two years and relating how in-plants are using artificial intelligence. I also led a panel discussion in which five managers shared how they are making their in-plants indispensable by adding services, working with purchasing to bring outsourced work back in-house, selling promo items, and obtaining collegiate licensing so they can sell more branded apparel items. We talked about non-print services like scanning, shredding, and graphics installation, and managers shared the pros and cons they have faced since implementing them. (Full story here.)
In-plant managers at the Print Shop Pro user group conference in San Diego.
The group toured Cajon Valley Union School District’s in-plant, where Supervisor Ruben Peña proudly showed off vehicle and wall graphics his shop has printed on its Mimaki UV-cured flatbed inkjet printer. Then I visited the San Diego County Office of Education’s in-plant with Manager Candida Bothel-Hammond to see its Ricoh digital presses, Mimaki wide-format printers, Colex cutter, and other equipment. Curriculum printing is increasing at county schools, she said, as teachers recognize the inferiority of digital screens as learning tools.
In-plant managers tour Cajon Valley United School District's wide-format printing operation.
In the ACUP vendor area, Tina Wolfgam (University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire) talks with Dana Anastasia of Continental Data Labels, one of 38 vendors at the conference.
I enjoyed my time in sunny California, then spent a few days resting back home before braving the TSA lines once again to fly to Dallas for the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+) conference. I spent four days there mingling with about 75 higher-ed and K-12 in-plant managers.
It was a great event, with tons of networking, a 38-vendor exhibition area, numerous educational sessions, and a field trip to Richardson Independent School District’s in-plant, where Manager Laura Lucas showed us around. We got to watch her shop’s Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX flatbed printer print plexiglass name tags for each of us.
I gave a presentation on in-plant trends using data from a new IPI report soon to be published. I also was part of a panel discussing how in-plants can avoid being outsourced by gathering data, reporting frequently to management, promoting their successes, and supporting their organizations' goals.
About 75 in-plant managers attended ACUP+ 2026 in Dallas.
From conversations with managers at all these events I learned about numerous equipment upgrades, new services, and other advancements at in-plants around the country, giving me plenty of fuel for articles and videos in the months ahead. And now, finally, I get some time to rest at home … for three weeks, anyway. Then I’m off again, this time to the Inkjet Summit in San Antonio, Texas.
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- In-plant Events
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 200 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.
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