60 Years of ACUP
Six decades after holding its organizational meeting at Harvard University, the Association of College & University Printers (ACUP+) met again in Rochester, New York, in April, bringing together more than 80 higher-ed and K-12 in-plant managers from 52 institutions — including 30 first-time attendees.
Tammy Elliott (The University of the South) and Wes Grigg (Elon University) chat before a session at ACUP 2024.
The conference covered a range of topics pertinent to higher-ed and K-12 in-plants, such as variable data, garment printing, workspace expansion, and sticker production, but it was wide-format printing that really stole the show. Multiple sessions and roundtable discussions explored both entry-level and complex wide-format projects, as well as wide-format substrates and hardware, and event signage printed for athletics. An excellent hands-on demonstration of vehicle wrapping captured everyone’s attention.
Mary Ellen Gauntlett talks with visitors from ACUP at Rochester Institute of Technology’s HUB Print and Postal Services operation
The group also traveled to Rochester Institute of Technology to tour its HUB Print and Postal Services operation, home of one of the only screen printing machines at an in-plant. The 17-employee shop generates between $200,000 and $300,000 per year from garment printing, sometimes printing 1,000 shirts a day. The in-plant also runs a Xerox iGen 5, a Presstek DI press, a Roland flatbed wide-format printer, a Zünd flatbed cutter, and a Kirk-Rudy FireJet 4C.
On the last night of the conference, the ACUP+ Awards dinner honored 36 winners of ACUP+ Production and Impression Awards.
The History of ACUP
Bob Neubauer, editor-in-chief of In-plant Impressions, spoke about both the history of ACUP and trends higher-ed in-plants are seeing based on survey data.
In an opening keynote filled with humor and history, IPI Editor Bob Neubauer took a look back through time, with anecdotes from past ACUPs, video interviews with old timers, and scores of photos from past conferences. He covered the highs and lows, hailing the heroes who kept the group going in hard times, and remembering past members who have passed on.
Neubauer also gave Tuesday morning’s keynote on trends among higher-end in-plants using data from a recent IPI survey.
John Yerger, Deb Johnson, and Laura Locket led a session on workplace expansion and renovations at the ACUP+ 2024 conference.
Many ACUP+ sessions were led by members, such as a session on workplace expansion and renovations given by Laura Lockett (Sacramento State), Deb Johnson (Hillsdale College), and former University of Nebraska Director John Yerger. They related stories of the hoops they had to jump through when renovating their shops, and offered numerous tips.
They cautioned fellow managers to talk with facilities and IT first to make sure their plans comply with university guidelines, that electrical needs will be met, and that building modifications are considered. Share all of this with accounting to prepare an ROI. Also, they said, review the new technology and equipment with your team and begin the process of change management to ensure their support.
ACUP attendees at a session.
“Make sure you’re actually getting the full price from your vendors,” advised Johnson, noting that service contracts, software charges, and electrical upgrades can be unwelcome surprises later.
When her shop planned to add a host of press and bindery equipment, she and her staff had to plan a new shop layout to fit it all. They created a board with cutouts representing equipment, which they took turns moving around. Vendors also helped with this. Johnson noted that when placing equipment, you need to leave space for people to work, and also for equipment to be opened up for service.
Once a bid is awarded, have the physical plant project team meet with the vendor’s installation team to ensure they’re on the same page. To keep costs from mushrooming, they said, you have to stay very involved.
“There are so many moving parts to this,” said Lockett.
A Sticker Goldmine
Attendees of a session on sticker production line up to speak with presenter Michael Varner (left).
A session on sticker production featured speakers from Oregon State University, which has found stickers to be a gold mine, generating between 10% and 15% of the in-plant’s revenue. Students love stickers to decorate their phones, water bottles, laptops and more, said OSU’s Michael Varner (sporting a vest festooned with stickers). About 80% of OSU departments order stickers from the in-plant, he said.
OSU’s Luke Lindquist provided many useful details on the different methods the in-plant uses to print and cut stickers, which include printing on toner or inkjet presses and cutting on a diecutter; printing on a roll-to-roll UV inkjet printer/cutter; and printing onto pre-cut labels with a dedicated label printer. He went into detail on setting up files to include cut lines, and also discussed cut settings and cut pressure.
Oregon State University's Mike Varner sports a vest festooned with stickers during his session.
Garment Printing
A session on garment printing featured three managers from San Jose State University, OSU, and Rochester Institute of Technology sharing the different methods they use to create T-shirts.
Clifton Gold, Dave Weber, and Mary Ellen Gauntlett talk about garment printing.
San Jose State uses heat transfers and a heat press, noted Clifton Gold, who offered tips for getting the best results. Dave Weber, of OSU, talked about the pros and cons of dye-sublimation, which requires the use of polyester garments. Though startup costs are lower, he said, dark shirts don’t yield good results and testing can result in higher-than-expected waste.
RIT’s Mary Ellen Gauntlett discussed her shop’s screen press, which has a steep learning curve but can produce large quantities of shirts, quickly and inexpensively. The in-plant buys shirts wholesale and prints them for more than 300 clubs at the university.
“We’re busy all the time in the screen printing room,” said Gauntlett.
Printing for Athletics
Jennifer Hunt (Oregon State University) and Clifton Gold (San Jose State) led a session on printing for the athletic department.
Most higher-ed in-plants aspire to print for their schools’ athletic departments, which are big users of printed materials. In one session, SJSU’s Gold and OSU’s Jennifer Hunt offered tips for getting some of this business. Look beyond signage and programs, they advised, and listed a host of other materials athletics needs like recruitment and donor materials, fan and community engagement pieces, awards and plaques, bumper stickers, and game day materials. Offer to dress up old facilities, locker rooms, and concession stands with graphics. Wrap equipment and vehicles. Provide uniforms, travel bags, and luggage tags.
They suggested getting in the door by doing small projects or last-minute requests for athletics. Offer to replace old wall graphics so they see your capabilities. Do work for related groups like the marching band, spirit squad, or concessions. Reach out before each team’s season to get them thinking about their needs. Stress that your in-plant is “part of the team” not just a vendor, and focus on keeping the money on campus.
They noted that sometimes smaller teams see what the football team is doing and want something similar, even though they don’t have the budget to afford it. They suggested under-promising and overdelivering at the beginning. Also, they said, turnaround demands from athletics tend to be very tight.
“The timelines are going to be your biggest challenge,” said Gold.
Vehicle Wrapping
On Wednesday morning, Rich Little (University of Alaska, Anchorage) gave a car wrapping demo that captured everyone’s attention.
The last session of the conference was a hands-on demo of vehicle wraps by Richard Little (University of Alaska Anchorage) along with wall and window graphics installation demos by Gary Warren (Fayetteville State University).
Little wowed the crowd as he expertly wrapped a car door and hood with vinyl, demonstrating the memory and stickiness of the substrate, and showing off the tools needed to do such wraps, such as squeegees, heat guns, blades, magnets, and the ever-useful RollePro vinyl applicator.
Little showed how to use a heat gun and squeegee to remove wrinkles, how to match adjacent panels, and how to quickly position vinyl by tearing off part of the backing paper so it sticks in place. He also noted that when you use blades to cut vinyl during installations, you’re going to stick yourself.
“So bring some band-aids,” he advised.
ACUP+ Awards
On the last night of the conference, the winners of the ACUP+ Awards competition were honored in a ceremony. See the winners here.
ACUP+ Hall of Fame members pose after the awards ceremony.
John Yerger, retired director of University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s in-plant, was honored with the ACUP+ Achiever Award for his years of service to the organization. Donna Horbelt, of University of California, Davis, was inducted into the ACUP+ Hall of Fame. This was followed by the surprise induction of a second person into the Hall of Fame: IPI Editor Bob Neubauer, who has attended 26 ACUP conferences, starting in 1995. A special dedication to long-time ACUP attendee Ray Chambers, who passed away last year, was also presented by Neubauer, who reflected on Chambers’ career and dedication to ACUP. His wife Catherine Chambers attended the dinner.
Next year, ACUP+ will move to the West Coast. It will take place March 30-April 3, 2025, in Costa Mesa, California.
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