ACUP Starts Sunday

When the first Association of College & University Printers (ACUP) conference was called to order at the University of Virginia back in 1965, none of those first-timers had any idea what they were starting. After 50 years, the group is still going strong. On Sunday ACUP is meeting once again, this time in Portsmouth, VA, not far from its roots.

With attendees from Canada, Australia and the UK expected to join their colleagues from all corners of the U.S., ACUP has an international flavor to it these days. Overall, there will be just shy of 100 in-plant managers in attendance—including 22 first-time attendees—from 75 institutions. The conference will offer numerous opportunities for managers to meet one another, network and share industry insights. The most interesting of those opportunities will be the Roaring '20s theme dinner at Still on Monday night, for which attendees are encouraged to wear period clothing (you know, from your drawer of 90-year-old dresses and shirts).

The conference will start off with a bang. The opening session will examine the value of in-plants from both an outsider's and an insider's perspective. Then Consultant Ray Chambers will lead a stirring discussion on managed print services and fleet assessment.

Other sessions will cover merging print and mail, 3D printing, garment printing, variable data, workflow solutions, reporting structures, operational challenges and more. (To get a look at all the educational sessions, visit the ACUP site.) On Wednesday evening, the gala awards dinner will honor more than 25 winners of the ACUP Awards, and one manager will be inducted into the ACUP Hall of Fame.

Here are some scenes from last year's ACUP to whet your appetite.