A Thought Leadership Workshop

LAST MONTH I had the opportunity to join about two dozen in-plant managers in Rochester, N.Y., for a Thought Leadership Workshop, organized by Xerox. As part of its effort to better understand the concerns of in-plants, one of its most important customer groups, Xerox has hosted several of these workshops for in-plants to give them a chance to network with one another, help each other resolve common problems and learn about Xerox technology. I was invited to give the keynote address at the kickoff dinner.

Xerox had assembled a great group of in-plant managers, most of whom I had never met before. They came from Alaska, South Carolina, Missouri, California, Nebraska, Maryland and many other states. In one exercise, managers were split into small groups and asked to list the top issues they face. Among them were setting up chargeback systems, justifying new equipment to upper management, educating customers, dealing with declining print volumes—issues familiar to many of you, I’m sure.

Greg Cooper, print shop manager for the City of Baltimore, made a presentation about how he has moved his in-plant from offset to digital printing and assumed responsibility for IT printing. His in-plant now prints the city’s bills, which has made it somewhat indispensable to the city.

While in Rochester, I took some time to meet with the Xerox in-plant marketing team to learn more about how they view and work with in-house printers. The company has a great handle on the concerns of in-plants—from their need to maintain strategic relevance to the importance of marketing themselves. I learned how Xerox helps in-plants develop business plans and expand their services. Xerox even produces a Profit Accelerator kit for in-plants, full of tips for boosting volume on digital printers, marketing their services, holding open houses and much more.

I also took a close look at the new iGen4 a few weeks before it made its U.S. debut at Graph Expo. I learned about some of the new features on the iGen4, like auto density control, auto carrier dispense and the inline spectrophotometer. Though the digital printer’s speed remains 110 impressions per minute, new features like these reportedly reduce downtime and bring productivity gains of 25-35 percent over the iGen3.

From there I visited the manufacturing facility and got a rare glimpse of iGens being built. It takes about three days to assemble one, and only four are completed each day. (Here’s some trivia you can use at your next cocktail party: an iGen3 has 3.5 miles of wire inside it.) Each machine undergoes extensive testing—about 32 hours worth.

My Rochester visit was very informative, and I enjoyed chatting with the in-plant managers and learning about their operations. Several had recently made, or were about to make, major upgrades to their in-plants. You can be sure you’ll read more about them in the pages of IPG.