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School district in-plants print everything from tests to textbooks. Our exclusive survey and detailed in-plant profiles will teach you all you want to know.

Our survey of school district in-plants pulled in an impressive 208 responses. The majority of these in-plants are small, single-person operations. Many of them combine graphic arts instruction and printing, sometimes using students to produce the schools' materials.

We received 45 responses from in-plants that exist primarily as classrooms—21.6 percent of the total—but we opted not to include their data in our results so that we could focus on in-plants whose primary purpose is to print the materials that their schools need. Likewise, we didn't include departments of education in our data so we could focus on schools and school districts. Our data, therefore, was drawn from 163 responses.

Moderate expansion has strengthened more than half (56 percent) of the in-plants surveyed, with close to 7 percent reporting major growth.

More than 50 percent say the addition of digital printing has increased their work volumes, and 67 percent say they provide more color printing today than they did two years ago. On average, almost one-fifth of respondents' work has some color in it. (For additional survey data, see our Web site.)

As part of our look at the top school district in-plants, we have also profiled a number of diverse shops from across the country. Read on to learn how they handle their districts' printing.

Houston Independent School District

Houston, Texas

Students: 220,000

Manager, Admin. Services: Stephen Blakely

Employees: 41 full-, nine part-time

Budget: $3 million

Main Equipment: Two-color Komori Sprint, four A.B.Dick perfectors, two Xerox 6180s, Kodak 110 and 120, Xerox DocuColor 40 with Splash server, Horizon collator, MBO folder.

As the seventh largest school district in the U.S., Houston Independent draws a lot of attention—and rightfully so. The district has become known for developing its own unique instructional materials, which are used in all classes within a grade level.

The task of producing these materials is a monumental one, which is why the district maintains a rather extensive in-plant. In fact, according to the data IPG collected for our recent Top 50 listing, the district operates the largest school district in-plant in the country. It ranks 56th among all in-plants.

The district designs its course materials, which comprise text, illustrations and charts, then sends them to the in-plant, where they are printed on 81⁄2x11˝ sheets, three-hole punched and inserted into three-ring binders.

Manager Stephen Blakely says the in-plant is fortunate to have a district superintendent who values communication with parents. The in-plant prints a heavy load of newsletters and back-to-school brochures to keep parents informed. Another huge job is the 64-page code of student conduct, of which 250,000 are printed.

The in-plant's digital equipment is always busy, as well. The Xerox 6180 outputs the direct deposit statements for the district's 30,000 employees using its variable data capabilities. The DocuColor 40 prints a steady stream of color brochures and annual reports. Blakely reports a "significant increase in color" in recent years. Currently 35 percent of the in-plant's work has some color in it.

To help it handle its heavy volumes, the in-plant has agreements with the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center in-plant and the Harris County Department of Education in-plant. They each serve as satellite overflow print centers for one another.

Overall, insourcing work from outside sources added $40,000 to the shop's coffers last year, and Blakely hopes to increase that amount in the years ahead. He feels the district can add revenue by making its course materials available to other districts.

The in-plant—which recently went to a true chargeback system or "internal service fund"—is split into an offset facility and a copy center. In the future Blakely hopes to add a collator and a two-color press, and he wants to train customer to transmit more jobs to the shop over the network.

"That will make the school district more efficient," he notes.

State College Area School District

State College, Pa.

Students: 7,400

Printing Manager: Gary Burris

Employees: Five full-, two part-time

Budget: $469,756

Main Equipment: A.B.Dick 9975 perfector, A.B.Dick 9910 CDX with T-head, three Canon 6085 copiers, Baum folder, three CP Bourg collators, Challenge cutter.

Gary Burris has seen a lot of changes since he started his job in 1973, but one of the biggest came two years ago when the district made his in-plant fiscally responsible for its expenses. There had been talk of outsourcing printing, so Burris attended a Unisource in-plant workshop. There he learned to gather cost information and compare it with outside printing costs.

Armed with this data, Burris did a presentation for district officials that left no doubt in their minds that they were getting a good deal. Despite having secured the shop's future, though, Burris was nervous at first about being responsible for expenses. In the end, though it has proven to be a great asset to his operation, enabling him to generate a surplus of funds, which he has used to upgrade equipment. The chief reason behind this surplus has been a major boom in business, he says.

"We are increasing at the rate of about 1 million copies per year," he boasts, a trend that has continued for five years now. By concentrating on quick turnaround and good quality, Burris says the in-plant is getting teachers to use their school copiers less and send more work to him. The shop got 15,526 print requests last year. Often, he says, customers wait for their jobs in his shop—and he has no problem handling their rush requests.

"I am very adaptable to someone's needs," he says.

Because his charges include paper and labor, Burris says it is much cheaper for customers to bring their work to him. Plus, he adds, he stocks a variety of papers in different colors and weights. And despite operating in the shadow of Penn State, with all its requisite quick copy shops, he reports no serious competition.

The in-plant does not function as a graphic arts classroom and employs no students—for one simple reason:

"We print their tests," Burris notes.

All jobs are currently submitted on paper, which the in-plant either puts on its copiers or shoots and makes electrostatic plates for use on a press. Burris hopes to eventually start accepting jobs over the network.

Waterloo Community School District

Waterloo, Iowa

Students: 11,000

Print Services Coordinator: Carson Bartels

Employees: Four

Budget: $300,000

Main Equipment: Multigraphics System 11 (two 3875 press units, 2500 platemaker), A.B.Dick 9865 with Multigraphics 2600 platemaker, A.B.Dick 360CD, Risograph 1510 digital duplicator, Xerox 5892, Xerox 265DC, two Multigraphics CC16 collator/stitchers, 36˝ Polar-Mohr cutter, Multigraphics bookletmaker, Multigraphics folder, Interlake stitcher.

Central Print Services is rarely at a loss for work. Not only does it print for its 11,000-student district, but it takes in work from city, county and state offices, as well. Six years ago, says Carson Bartels, the city print shop manager retired and the city asked his shop to take on the work. Bartels hasn't looked back since.

"It's been working out pretty well," he says.

Though he refuses non-government jobs to avoid competing with outside printers, Bartels says this additional work brings in a nice profit. Because of this, he adds, the school board has looked favorably on his requests for equipment upgrades.

"We've been able to stay real current," he says, noting that his shop was the first in northeast Iowa to get a Xerox digital copier. For many jobs, the in-plant uses a direct imaging duplexing press from Multigraphics called the System 11.

In the past, Bartels says, the district had problems with teachers burning out their schools' copiers doing high-volume work, but the principals have since learned their lessons, so to speak, and now encourage teachers to use the in-plant.

Jobs are picked up twice a day from the schools, and the shop usually provides 24-hour turnaround. Most jobs come in on paper, Bartels says, though he accepts some via a high-quality fax machine.

Though some 80 percent of the work is now done on sheetfed offset presses, Bartels feels xerography may play a larger role in the future. He is currently looking to replace a press, and he plans to study the viability of getting a copier to do the same work.

Gladewater High School

Gladewater, Texas

Students: 2,300

Graphic Arts Instructor: Brian Crews

Employees: One

Budget: $22,000

Main Equipment: One 29˝ Harris, two two-color A.B.Dicks, Risograph duplicators, Baum collator/bookletmaker, two Challenge cutters

Brian Crews is a teacher first and a printer second. But that doesn't stop him from printing his school's football programs, newsletters, letterhead, report cards and disciplinary notices right in his classroom.

Unlike at most in-plants, Crews uses the students in his graphic arts classes to help produce these materials. This, he feels, gives them hands-on experience. Though he is the only salaried employee, in the summer he hires three of his best students to work in the shop.

Crews says his in-plant handles 98 percent of the district's printing. About 60 percent of his work is printed in color, with four-color comprising about 5 percent of the total. Short-run copy work is done by teachers in the copy centers located on each campus.

The students use Macs to design school letterhead and other items, which are then submitted to the district for approval. Each year students enter their work in contests, and several students win scholarships.

"I really enjoy the teaching portion of it," enthuses Crews. "It's great to see these kids succeed."

His program, he adds, has had great success placing students in jobs.

"The industry in this area is dying for operators, entry level," Crews says. "I cannot get kids out quick enough. I get three to five calls a week."

Crews currently has 40 students in his graphic arts program. Outside of his job, he continues to promote print education as president of the Texas Printing Instructors Association.

Anaheim School District

Anaheim, Calif.

Students: 23,000+

Supervisor: Lynn Strech

Employees: Four

Main Equipment: Xerox DocuColor 40 with Splash server, Xerox DocuTech, Xerox 5100, Multigraphics press, Challenge paper cutter.

There was a time at the Anaheim School District when four-color printing was routinely sent to outside printers. That all changed two years ago when the graphic design and print shop acquired a Xerox DocuColor 40 with a Splash server. Now the in-plant prints colorful menus, calendars, recruiting brochures and more, sending digital files right to the Splash server. Supervisor Lynn Strech has no complaints about the server's speed.

"It's incredible," he praises. "The Splash is the Cadillac system."

Since getting the DocuColor 40, the in-plant has taken on types of jobs it never did before. Recently the shop produced a yearbook, printed and tape bound on a DocuTech, with a color cover printed on the DocuColor 40. In the future, Strech says, he may tackle other on-demand books using the DocuTech/DocuColor combination. He has already been asked to publish books written by students.

"We could make inexpensive black-and-whites...or we could colorize whatever we want to," he says. "We're just finding all kinds of applications. Color opens up a whole new realm."

The school district, he says, values his color printing capabilities, since color helps increase comprehension and promotes learning.

Currently, most jobs reach the in-plant in paper or disk form. In the future, Strech hopes more work can be sent to the in-plant over the network or via the Internet. The shop already has a Web site. Strech also wants to store forms digitally for easy reprinting.

Northshore School District

Bothell, Wash.

Students: 19,500

Graphic/Mail Center Manager: Paul Katz

Employees: Five full-, one part-time

Budget: $352,000

Main Equipment: Ryobi 3302, A.B.Dick 9870 with T-head, Xerox 5090, Xerox 6100, Duplo collator with bookletmaker, Challenge cutter, Challenge folder, Interlake stitcher.

Not Long ago, the halls of Northshore's 30 schools were packed with students. But an exodus of families from the area has reduced enrollment in recent years. With them has exited some of the money the district relies upon.

Though Paul Katz is concerned, he says business is still strong. His shop cranks out some 20 million impressions a year, printing items like football programs, brochures, calendars and newsletters for teachers, principals, the PTA and even other districts.

Katz works hard to give customers what they want, taking time to explain processes to them and coach them through project design. His job is not without its frustrations, though.

"People have ink-jet printers at home, and they [print] all these graphics in yellow, and they can't understand why I can't reproduce them," he observes, adding that he works with them to give them what they want.

To help customers understand the process better, the in-plant holds open houses. Still, he says, a lot of teachers insist on using convenience copiers to save time. To combat this, the in-plant tries to market its services with brochures, flyers and paper samples.

Katz says four-color printing is a growing area. It makes up 10 percent of the shop's work, with multi-color jobs comprising another 50 percent.

The district is networked, and Katz is introducing digital job submission to a few customers at a time. Already the communications department sends all black-and-white jobs to the Xerox 6100 over the network. In the future, Katz hopes to put digital copiers in each of the three high schools so he can print right to the customers' locations. He also plans to do more variable data printing with the 6100. Already his shop prints standardized test results for the district, and it is branching out to provide this service for other Washington state districts too.

Westside Community Schools, District 66

Omaha, Neb.

Students: 3,325

Printing Manager: Bob Mason

Employees: Four

Budget: $366,961

Main Equipment: Two-color Itek 3985, one-color A.B.Dick 9975, one-color A.B.Dick 9840, Xerox 5385, Minolta color copier, Duplo 4800 collator, Baum folder, Challenge cutter.

Bob Mason has been blessed with an enlightened school district.

"They realize that communication, whether it's verbal or printed, is very important," he notes. Because of this, he says, the district values his in-plant and makes sure that it has the equipment it needs.

"I've been able to keep up, pretty much, with the changes," he says. His most recent acquisitions have been a new collator and a two-color press.

The in-plant prints most of the curriculum work for the district, as well as letterhead, envelopes, administrative reports and community newsletters. Though the shop has done four-color posters, 95 percent of its work is black and white, Mason says.

Enrollment has dropped recently, he adds, and so has his print volume. Still, summer is always a busy time.

"When school is out, you turn in those big jobs that you would like to have to start the school year," he notes. By now, Mason knows which books need to be produced over the summer, and if he doesn't see them, he calls the teachers.

by Bob Neubauer