Bucking Expectations, In-plants Turn Out in Droves for Graph Expo

At IPG's first in-plant breakfast, Steven Schnoll of Schnoll Media Consulting worked the crowd, starting things off with a "long live print" chant. He and Greg Bane of Aleyant (at podium) discussed how in-plants can use Web-to-print to show their value, connect with more departments and improve customer loyalty.

It was standing room only at IPG's in-plant breakfast event on Tuesday. Xerox's Rob Piersielak interviewed a trio of managers to find out what makes them so successful. Offering their responses were Gary Benson of Compassion International; Amy Bellows, of Mutual of Omaha Insurance; and Ralph Graves from Time Customer Service.

Elisha Kasinskas (right) of Rochester Software Associates, moderated a lunch panel discussion featuring Howie Fenton, VP of Consulting Services with Integrated Methods Group; Vince Tutino, senior product manager at Rochester Software Associates; and Bob Neubauer, editor and content director of IPG. The three gave tips to help Web-to-print users in the early stages of the process (installation and rollout), the middle stage (marketing and user adoption) and then with using the system to expand their in-plant's reach.

Despite dire predictions from some industry observers, in-plants did not appear to get the memo telling them to avoid Graph Expo in Orlando. Hundreds of them flooded the show floor this week for the four-day trade show. Though overall attendance was down, in-plant attendance seemed higher than last year, as evidenced by the packed rooms at several in-plant events and seminars.

IPG hosted two breakfast sessions for in-plants and one luncheon, and each of them had a great turnout. At one of them, every seat in the room was taken — more than 100 managers. The luncheon held by the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association also drew an impressive crowd, as did an in-plant panel discussion featuring four managers, which was part of the show’s seminar program.

Managers were spotted all over the show floor, looking at equipment, getting software demos and lingering at the In-plant Place, IPMA’s networking booth.  Some in-plants drove from their Florida and Georgia homes. A handful brought five to 10 staff members, due to the close proximity.

The drive-in crowd was not the majority, though; most in-plants at IPG's events flew to Orlando. The airfare and hotel costs they incurred are a sign that they came to do more than window shop. Granted, some may have been attracted to Orlando by the theme parks, though few readily admitted that.