Big Welcome For Big Ten

More than 90 people converged on Purdue University recently for the 36th annual Big Ten Printing & Copyright Conference.

By Bob Neubauer

For the second year in a row the Big Ten Printing & Copyright Conference took place in Hoosier territory, this time at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind. The first cold snap of the year didn't deter more than 90 in-plant and copyright managers from getting together for the 36th annual event.

The mood was set when Purdue President Dr. Martin Jischke told the assemblage, "Printing and copyright play important rolls in the future of this university." That statement was followed by two days of educational sessions split between the two topics.

Digital Directions

Since many in-plant managers have questions about digital color printing devices and how they compare with offset processes, one of the conference's first sessions brought the key vendors together for a frank discussion.

Jim Bearss, of HP-Indigo, gave an inside look at the new Series 2 digital presses that will debut at Drupa. Each Series 2 engine prints up to seven colors and can image 2,000 four-color pages per hour. He also described HP-Indigo's liquid ElectroInk, which has a small particle size for producing higher resolution, higher gloss, sharp image edges and very thin image layers, similar to offset.

Fred DeBolt, of Xerox, noted that the dry ink toner used with the iGen3 digital color press offers color consistency across a range of substrates and has a wider color gamut than offset. The dry ink wraps around fibers instead of absorbing in. Also, he noted, the dry ink is non-toxic and has a transfer efficiency rate approaching 100 percent, meaning less waste is generated.

Danny Cutshaw, of Heidelberg, showed a printed piece that combined offset printing with NexPress output and invited an in-plant manager to examine it and determine how each page was printed. Though the manager identified most pages correctly, the exercise illustrated how closely digital color resembles offset quality. Cutshaw also showed some NexPress applications, where a university mailed recruitment post cards with different images and text on them depending on the interests of the recipients.

The fourth member of the panel, Ray Chambers, CIO of Juniata College, asked university in-plant managers to consider who they are communicating with. Today's students, he pointed out, are passionate about electronic communications. Print volume is moving from print shops to the desktop. In-plants have to move from the print business to the communications business. The offset vs. digital decision will really come from outside the in-plant, from higher up in the university, and it will depend on what method the school wants to use to recruit.

Making Money

At another session, Purdue's Larry Berger offered some money-making ideas for in-plants. Purdue Printing Services has become a dealer for promotional products and has sold $180,000 worth this year, he said. The in-plant also runs a retail operation in the student union, selling course packs, art supplies, specialty course materials and more, in addition to offering traditional copying and overnight photo developing. It is also the official Microsoft dealer on campus.

"This was an entirely new venture for us," he noted, adding that it has worked out well.

Another profitable area has been construction drawings. The in-plant has billed $400,000 for making copies of plans for contractors bidding on projects.

The in-plant also found profit in delivery services when it added other non-print campus deliveries to its existing delivery service. This netted about $1,500 a month.

Diversity And Survival

Other sessions touched on the difficulties of dealing with a diverse work force, where people of every age bracket work together. Each group has learned different core values; if they are to work well together, they must understand how others are used to approaching different issues.

Paul Doerfler, of Fineline Printing Group, offered his ideas for keeping a shop afloat. Knowing your customers' unfilled needs is crucial, he said. Always address the concerns of unhappy customers immediately, he added, as typical dissatisfied customers tell eight to 12 people about their bad experiences. In general, he added, respond to all customer calls within 15 minutes. If you're slow to respond, they will take their business somewhere else.

The copyright track of the conference was packed with updates on copyright law, the TEACH (Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization) Act, information on how copyright law affects digital technology, and more.

The conference also included a tour of Purdue Printing Services, where the new Agfa Galileo VS platesetter was on display. It produces 44x32.9˝ metal plates with a violet laser. The in-plant handles everything from graphic and Web design, to variable data printing and mail, to four-color offset, using a two-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 74.