A Family Tradition

As the fourth generation to work in the graphic arts, Lise Melton has done plenty to make her forefathers proud.

By Bob Neubauer

As a child in Rockford, Ill., Lise Melton may have had an inkling she was destined to work in the printing industry. It was, after all, a family tradition.

"I kind of grew up around printing," she explains. "My great grandfather was a graphic artist who drew on litho stones."

His son, in turn, started a printing company called General Lithographic. Melton's father worked there as an estimator. So when it came time for Melton to attend college, small wonder she majored in graphic design.

That early introduction to the trade helped guide Lise Melton into her current role as public service executive officer for the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, in Des Moines. Her hard work and willingness to handle multiple projects recently earned her the Leader of the Year award for her department, an accolade presented to her by Governor Tom Vilsack himself. On top of all that, Melton is hosting the National State Publishing Association (NSPA) conference this month in Des Moines.

After graduating from Drake University's graphic design program in 1981—and spending college breaks in the prepress area of General Lithographic—Melton tried her hand at interior design and art restoration. She eventually took an order entry job at Plain Talk Printing, in Des Moines, and in her seven years there gradually worked her way up by accepting additional responsibilities.

"I'm one of those people that can't say 'no' to anything," she confesses.

Seven years ago Melton took an executive officer position with the state of Iowa, where she bid on outsourced print jobs and did management planning. The state was in the midst of a year-long activity-based costing (ABC) study, analyzing the cost of each job function. Melton was placed on the ABC team, reviewing all in-plant functions and deciding which to retain. In the end, the state eliminated forms management and microfilm to save money.

Upgrades Increase Color Printing

A year ago, direct supervision of the in-plant was added to Melton's responsibilities. Since then she has made several improvements, like upgrading the department to a Canon 3900 color copier.

"We see that the color business is growing," she observes.

Along the same line, she secured a 36˝ Encad wide-format printer to do banners and posters. In its first week there, it printed 100 posters, she says.

Melton also helped arrange a third-party leasing agreement for equipment maintenance. This, she says, has reduced overhead costs.

Still, challenges lie ahead. On July 1, because of a push by the legislature for government services to be competitive with the private sector, General Services went "non-mandated," giving customers the right to choose an outside printer.

Though Melton admits this change is "fairly scary," she adds that "it could be positive in that...it may prove in the end that we are a qualified business that does give a good product in a good time frame."

But Melton is not letting this change slow her down. She is busy looking into new avenues of business, like CD production and Web design. She is also analyzing whether or not to align with the IT printing department.

"We're not just in the printing business; we're in the information business," she says. "We need to be looking at how we can help people spread information to their customers."

An NSPA member for 7 years, and current president of the group, Melton is proud to be hosting the conference this month.

"It's a tremendous source for what's happening in other in-plants," she lauds.

Last year, Melton suffered a setback when she was diagnosed with cancer. The treatment was successful, though, and her sense of humor helped her through the ordeal.

In her spare time, when Lise Melton and her husband Greg aren't watching their daughter's sports competitions, they spend time at a lakeside house they built mostly themselves, "pretty much doing nothing," Melton laughs.