A New Source Of Business

Commercial printers seem to tolerate in-plants that go after non-profit and governmental work, managers say, because of the large amount of work that the in-plants still outsource to them. Here's how some university in-plants handle insourcing:

The Muskegon Community College in-plant does not solicit outside work, but through "word of mouth" it gets jobs from local fire companies, the Muskegon Children's Home and the Boy Scouts, among others. Insourced work accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of its annual budget, according to Peter Hoekema, graphics manager. The in-plant's prices are about half of what outside printers charge, so customers are willing to accept flexible turnaround times, since the college's work must always come first.