ACUP Comes to Minneapolis

For the first time in its 49-year history, the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) ventured into Minnesota last month, bringing 80 higher-ed in-plant managers together for four days of networking and education.

Cloudy skies and daily showers didn't sour the mood of managers one bit, as they engaged in enthusiastic conversations about their in-plants. With attendees from 59 institutions in 25 states, plus Scotland, England and Australia, a medley of diverse accents filled the air throughout the event, which took place in downtown Minneapolis. From the Sunday night opening reception, to Monday's boat cruise on the Mississippi, to the awards dinner on the last night, managers found ample time to talk and compare notes. In addition, roundtable discussions on topics like Web-to-print, mail and digital bindery solutions gave attendees plenty of time to share their experiences and solve one another's problems.

Appropriately titled "Fishing for a Big Idea," this year's ACUP boasted an impressive 30 first-time attendees, from schools such as Bethel University, California Lutheran University, Franklin University and Macalester College. They joined ACUP "regulars" like Iowa State University, Bucknell University, University of Nebraska, M.I.T. and many others.

Organized by ACUP's planning committee, the conference was co-hosted by Naomi Quiram, director of Print and Mail Services at Gustavus Adolphus College, and long-time ACUP member Doug Fenske, director of Printing & Photocopy Services at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Fenske got to show off his 11-employee operation to attendees on the third day of ACUP. Located 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis, the in-plant features an impressive array of equipment, including a four-color Heidelberg press, a Xerox DocuColor 770, a Canon IPF 8300 wide-format printer, a C.P. Bourg booklet maker with two 10-bin towers, and numerous other pieces of equipment. During the tour, Fenske manned the shop's Heidelberg letterpress as it produced a foil-stamped, die-cut promotional piece.

If Printers Ruled the World

ACUP 2013 got off to a great start when Tom de Ranitz, founder of Forte Consulting, took to the podium with his keynote, provocatively titled "If Printers Ruled the World." His point was that graphic arts professionals plan projects thoroughly, from beginning to end, before jumping into them. Printers are familiar with deadlines, limited resources and changing technologies, and organizational leaders can learn a lot from them. He encouraged attendees to make sure, at the very beginning of a project, that everyone who needs to be in the room is present.

One of his points was that, rather than setting up a deadline for a project, managers should use a timeline, with milestones to accomplish along the way. Deadlines, de Ranitz said, encourage last-minute scrambling, while timelines give you breathing room and let you manage both space and pace, leading to better outcomes.

He also suggested that, instead of saying "no problem" when a customer brings a difficult project with a tight deadline, managers should say, "I want to give you the best result possible, and here's what I would suggest to make that happen."

The keynote speaker on the second day of ACUP was just as inspirational and even more dynamic. Former in-plant manager Ken Macro, soon to take over as head of the Graphic Communication Department at California Polytechnic State University, gave an enthusiastic, fast-paced talk about Cal Poly's graphic communications programs before delving into some exciting future print technologies like printed electronics, smart packaging and 3D printing.

Macro offered details on Cal Poly's student-run in-plant, University Graphic Systems, which employs 14 students and produces, among other items, a four-color daily newspaper, unique for being written, edited, designed and printed entirely by students. It was his discussion of future print opportunities, though, that captured the most attention in the room.

Macro detailed technologies used for security printing and smart packaging, such as thermochromic inks, which change color when optimal (or dangerous) temperatures have been reached; and piezoelectric materials that provide power for lighting and audio features on packaging. He talked about and showed examples of printed electronics (projected to be a $300 billion market over the next decade), printed solar photovoltaics (an array of cells that convert solar radiation into electricity), printed memory, printed electroluminescent signs and even printed food (using a certain editor's face on an M&M as an example).

Macro also explored the possibilities that 3D printing are creating, and discussed the various available technologies (selective deposition printers vs. selective binding printers). Some of the available 3D printing systems, he revealed, are not that expensive (i.e., $1,400 to $4,400).

Macro advised in-plants to learn all they can about these technologies and extend beyond their boundaries of comfort. Seek out synergistic relationships to partner in advancing these technologies, he suggested.

Managing for Survival

One of the highlights of ACUP for many was an in-depth, two-day workshop about strategic print management offered by former in-plant manager Ray Chambers, CEO of the Chambers Management Group, and his wife Cathy Chambers, of Virginia Tech's in-plant. They covered a vast number of important topics, like measuring productivity, learning how to identify warning signs and creating a tool box of solutions to help in-plants convey their value to administration.

Some signs that there might be a "tiger lurking nearby," Ray Chambers noted, are:

• You get a new VP with a history of outsourcing.
• Your boss brings in a consultant.
• People with clipboards and measuring tapes start dropping in.
• Complaints about your service are followed by customers moving to off-campus vendors.
• Long-time customers are leaving.
• You have excess idle time.
• People start ignoring your messages and omitting you from meetings.

Pay attention to signs like these, Chambers warned. If you can, find the master plan for your university and make sure your space isn't earmarked for something other than your in-plant. And above all, if you're running at a loss, fix it, he said, even if no one seems to care.

Ray and Cathy Chambers also talked about the importance of thinking strategically. In higher-ed, make sure your in-plant plays a part in the teaching, research and service goals of the school. To know where you stand, do a SWOT analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, they said.

Copier Fleet Management

A panel discussion on copier fleet management by David Hadenfeldt (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Richard Tussey (Eastern Kentucky University) was very informative. Tussey detailed how Printing Services worked with Financial Affairs and Purchasing to bring a copier program to his Richmond, Ky., school.

Before going through the process, his school had more than 214 copiers of various brands and models, and was spending $373,920 for purchases, leases and maintenance. The goals were to create a program that provided maintenance, service, support and training; have pricing that included all supplies (except paper); to right-size equipment; to leverage the university's purchasing power; and to limit the number of color copiers.

Adding a copier program has enabled centralized billing, saved money and brought new capabilities to the campus, such as scan-to-PDF (a feature that has reduced the use of campus mail). The program was supported by the "have nots" who wanted to level the playing field and get access to better copiers. Tussey advised freezing copier purchases on campus for two years prior to implementing such a program.

Identity and Branding

After the group traveled by bus to Mankato, Minn., on a cool, rainy morning, and toured the Printing & Photocopy Services operation at Minnesota State University, Mankato, attendees met in the school's student union building for a session on institutional identity and branding, given by ACUP host Doug Fenske, and Sara Frederick, with the university's integrated marketing team. They detailed how the school moved from having no branding in 1990, when departments used any colors they wanted, to the current policy of requiring the school logo and PMS 269 purple on every printed piece.

The in-plant knows the university's standards and works closely with the integrated marketing team to ensure all publications follow them. Even jobs submitted online to the copy center get scrutinized to make sure they have a consistent look, with the right tag line, logo and colors.

"Building a brand just strengthens the university," remarked Frederick.

In another session at Minnesota State University, Mankato, U.K. attendee Brian Pickles of Bradford University, in Bradford, England, described how he helped create a shared print services program with nearby Bradford College, for the mutual benefit of both institutions.

By combining the two in-plants, equipment was better utilized, software didn't need to be duplicated, labor, running costs and waste decreased, and the range of relevant services went up. External work was brought in to further utilize capacity. Annual profit is split between the two schools and is redistributed to customers in proportion to how much business they do with the in-plant.

Overall, the enthusiasm was high at ACUP 2013. This was ACUP's third conference as a non-profit organization, and discussions at the business meeting on the second day all centered around how healthy the association is, and its plans for moving forward. An ACUP certification program is being finalized, with details to come. Little was said about the location of next year's ACUP, other than that several options were being weighed. IPG will report the news as soon as a decision is made.