ACUP Heads East

A beautiful beachside location and the chance to mingle with university printing peers lured more than 80 in-plant managers to ACUP 2003.

By Bob Neubauer

It was hard to avoid catching some of Keith Walker's overflowing enthusiasm at the recent Association of College and University Printers' (ACUP) conference down in Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Walker, assistant director of Printing Services at Wake Forest University's School of Medicine, had spent the better part of two years planning ACUP 2003—and he spent much of the four-day conference making sure everything went right. At times he seemed to be everywhere at once. But despite the stress, his exuberance never faded.

And judging by the reaction of the 84 in-plant managers in attendance, Walker's efforts paid off.

The 39th annual ACUP conference offered something for everyone. There were numerous opportunities for college and university in-plant managers to socialize and exchange ideas. Educational sessions provided a mix of up-to-date technical data and tips on being a better leader. The vendor area boasted equipment and information from the likes of Heidelberg, Xerox, Creo, Presstek, Printable Technologies, T/R Systems and more.

Evening activities didn't disappoint either. A dinner aboard the World War II battleship U.S.S. North Carolina was crowned with a surprise fireworks display over the waters of the Cape Fear River. A dinner cruise along the Intracoastal Waterway offered food, dancing and spectacular (though unplanned) displays of lightning, topped only by a blazing orange sunset.

And though a noisy hotel construction project threatened to dampen spirits, the great food and entrancing beachside location quickly pushed that setback out of mind.

Attendees came from Alaska, Florida and virtually everywhere in between. Louisiana State University, last year's ACUP host, brought five people to the conference. Temple University, next year's host, sent two managers. Two others crossed the ocean to attend. Several attendees valued the conference so much they paid registration fees out of their own pockets. One person wrote a grant proposal to obtain travel funds.

Three Different Focuses

Each day of the conference had a different focus. The first day's sessions concentrated on printing technologies like variable printing and computer to plate. The second day was more of a motivational seminar, while the third day zeroed in on in-plant survival tips.

The first to discuss variable printing was Heidelberg's Richard Sand.

"You're in an industry that is very competitive," he noted. Colleges constantly vie with one another for students. Variable data printing can help universities distinguish themselves while recruiting, he said.

Sand showed samples of a customized brochure and personalized acceptance letter that one university printed. The brochure featured photos of activities that a particular student was interested in, with different photos in another student's brochure.

Though initial costs may seem higher, he said, personalization can actually cost less because you can print and mail fewer pieces, get more responses and generate more profit.

"Your overall cost per sale is significantly lower," he noted.

Agreeing with him was Mickey Call, of Xerox, who said some in-plant managers are not looking into variable printing because they don't think they have access to any variable data files.

"You're missing the boat by not even attempting to do it," Call said. "The information is already in your institutions."

He discussed the different types of databases and file formats for variable data, and explained how "rules" are used to select which text and graphics to use for each piece.

By combining personalization with color, Call said, organizations will see better customer satisfaction and retention, and increased revenue. But you have to educate your customers about this, he stressed.

Discussing computer-to-plate technology was John O'Rourke, of Presstek. He argued that CTP plate cost is lower than that of conventional plates when you factor in the developing chemistry, which typically adds up to 30 percent to the price tag. Process-free, chemistry-free thermal ablation plates, like Presstek's Anthem and Applause plates, he said, eliminate variability due to chemistry or the baking process.

O'Rourke also talked about the benefits of direct imaging (DI) presses. Multiple press setup functions are performed simultaneously, he noted, such as plate loading, blanket cleaning, ink-key setup and roller pre-inking. DI presses require less operator training or intervention and allow more jobs per shift due to faster makereadies.

Nick Patrissi, of Creo Americas, informed the group about the benefits of Staccato FM screening. With FM—or stochastic—screening, dot size remains constant, but the frequency of the random dots changes. Creo's Staccato, he noted, is immune to misregistration, expands the color gamut, improves tonal consistency and dries faster. He said prints done using FM screening are near photo quality.

Substantial Speaker

The second day of the conference was dedicated entirely to "motivational humorist" Al Walker, who also gave the first day's keynote address. (Though no relation to Keith Walker, they joked they were cousins.) Al Walker related some of his experiences with miscommunications as he traveled the country, and poked fun at his prodigious size and humorous attempts to lose weight.

Amongst the levity, though, he revealed a lot of useful information. Walker listed seven things that people who achieve excellence have in common:

• They go through life with an attitude of positive expectancy (which leads to positive action).

• They see themselves as ignorant and always remain curious.

• They have a vision and goals.

• They are persistent.

• They are authentic.

• They show love (for other people, themselves, their jobs).

• They have a sense of humor.

Walker discussed the qualities of good and bad leaders. Many people, he said, let negativity and pessimism infuse their attitudes, and then convince themselves they are only being realistic. But great leaders, he stressed, are very optimistic—and realistic at the same time.

Walker warned that managers too often spend most of their time on problematic employees, neglecting their achievers. While cautioning against this, he offered these tips for coaching those whose performance needs improvement:

1. Get in step. Talk about things you're both interested in.

2. Get agreement on the problem.

3. Get agreement on the behavior that needs to improve.

4. Give them the opportunity to develop a plan (instead of telling them what to do).

5. Adjust the plan as needed.

6. Get a commitment to the plan.

7. Agree on the follow-up.

An obvious fan of the number seven, Walker also gave these seven keys to effective communications:

1. Look into a person's eyes, not through them.

2. Be physically involved.

3. Don't interrupt.

4. Ask questions.

5. Concentrate. Ignore distractions.

6. Clarify for understanding.

7. Avoid your "bigger fish" story.

Above all, he said, people should never neglect their "Seventh Sense"—their sense of humor.

The Perfect In-plant

The final day of ACUP was devoted entirely to the xpedx-sponsored workshops entitled "Building the Perfect In-plant," which have been touring the country. Though the warm sun and nearby beach provided a strong temptation, the managers who stuck it out learned valuable lessons about how to strengthen their in-plants.

Workshop creators Don Kendall and Gary Smith (IPG's 1997 Industry Leaders of the Year) were on hand, as was Consultant Edward Daniel and Jerry Sampson, who works with Smith and Kendall at a commercial printing firm called Prime Digital Printing.

Kendall talked about trends in the commercial printing industry and how they are affecting in-plants. Competition is forcing printers to drop their prices, increasing pressure on in-plants to follow suit. And the consolidation of printers has left fewer competitors—but stronger ones.

He advised managers to convert fixed costs (such as employees) into variable costs to keep prices low. Use student temporary workers instead of replacing retirees, he suggested.

Ed Daniel discussed a study of 340 executives, many of whom felt outsourcing would improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs and enhance productivity.

"Our contention is you don't need to outsource to do that," he said.

An outsourcing firm, however, only has to convince executives "with smoke and mirrors" that they can do this, he said. "You're at a disadvantage because you actually have to do it."

Gary Smith pointed out that, once an in-plant is closed and the printing is outsourced, the people who made that decision rarely go back and measure the cost savings. Usually they have changed positions in the organization by then, he said.

To help managers know what to look for when a facilities management proposal comes in, attendees examined one, analyzing it for weaknesses.

Jerry Sampson offered ideas on how in-plants can improve their growth. He suggested they help customers set up programs to improve the return on the dollars spent delivering their message, reduce waste and obsolescence, eliminate warehousing costs, and reduce time from concept to delivery.

Never short of surprises, Keith Walker delivered one more as attendees returned to their rooms on the final evening of the conference: a tape-bound photo book crammed with pictures taken during ACUP. The color images are sure to provide fond memories until ACUP 2004 comes around.

Speaking of ACUP 2004, it's set to take place in Philadelphia, April 25-29. For more information, visit www.temple.edu/copy/acup2004 or e-mail maurice.kane@temple.edu.