50th CUPMAC Conference Draws In-plants From Across Canada

CUPMAC attendees at the opening session.

Frank Romano gave a presentation on printing's past, present and future.

In-plant managers from McMaster University, Nipissing University and Simon Fraser University chat in between sessions.

IPG Editor Bob Neubauer used IPG research to talk about trends in the in-plant industry.

In 1995, print volume in North America reached its peak. Then along came the Internet.

That was one of the interesting bits of information thrown out by Frank Romano on Monday in his entertaining presentation on printing's past, present and future, which kicked off the College and University Print Management Association of Canada (CUPMAC) conference. The group has been holding its 50th conference this week in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital city of Canada.

More than two dozen in-plant managers from colleges and universities across Canada have gathered for the annual meeting. Romano, professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology, started things off with a nostalgic look at how communications have changed over the decades, with a bit of humor thrown in here and there. For instance, he noted that the first Xerox 914 copier came with a fire extinguisher.

"They said that was a feature," he quipped.

He reminisced about the various sized floppy disks computers once used.

"What can you put on a 3.5˝ floppy?" he asked. His answer: "A cup."

In a slightly less jocular presentation, Pierre Jolicoeur, manager of the in-plant in Canada's House of Commons, talked about striking a balance between what his in-plant can print in-house and what it must outsource. In 2009, 75% of the work was being outsourced, he said, but since then equipment additions have enabled him to bring a lot more work in-house. But some work must always be sent out, he insisted, due to heavy volumes at certain times of year.

IPG Editor Bob Neubauer, at his third CUPMAC conference, gave a presentation using IPG data to show trends in the in-plant industry and which services and applications are growing among in-plants. He also recapped the spring in-plant conferences and the topics that were discussed at each.

Yesterday's sessions began with an interesting talk by Ray Konecsni, of the University of Regina, in which he detailed the print optimization program he coordinated. The university hired a consultant to review all aspects of its printing, including its fleet. There were 1,196 devices being used at the time with a ratio of staff to output device of 1.2 to 1.

Based on the consultant's recommendations, an RFP was sent out to vendors and one was picked to provide all MFDs. The university has gone from 1,196 devices to 586 so far, with a goal of reducing that to 317.

Also yesterday, Lisa Matthews, of Dalhousie University, talked about how her in-plant has collaborated with a local healthcare provider to handle all of its printing. This has reinvigorated her in-plant, which had seen its volumes and revenues drop to concerning levels prior to this deal.

CUPMAC continues today, with a tour of Carleton University's print facility and an evening boat cruise, during which the winners of the CUPMAC awards will be announced. Watch for a full report on the conference in IPG.