Editor's Note The In-plant Family

When I took this job back in 1994, I assumed in-plants were pretty much the same as commercial printers, but with different clients. I'd been covering the latter while at Printing Impressions magazine, so I imagined my job wouldn't change much; I'd interview in-plants, write a few stories and then mostly forget about those in-plants afterwards.

But that's not exactly how it went.

Fairly early in the game I realized that in-plants were not like commercial printers. They were friendlier, more tight-knit—almost like a family. What's more, after a while they accepted me into that family.

This changed my whole outlook. I began to view my articles as not just a part of the job, but as a way to give in-plants a little respect and credit for the work they had been quietly doing for years. In-plant managers became not just sources but friends whom I wanted to help out through my articles.

This perspective has certainly made my job more enjoyable. It has turned industry conferences into class reunions.

At the recent IPMA 2002 conference, I stopped to chat with folks from all over the country—people like James Mason, of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas, who seems to spread laughter wherever he goes. I hung out with Tim Criswell, of Sunkist Growers, who let me know what was happening at his shop in California. Mike Loyd and I rehashed memories from the ACUP conference he hosted in Baton Rouge a few months ago.

Everywhere I looked I saw a friendly face. Across the room I spied West Barton of BYU, and we talked about places to visit in Utah when the conference comes to his home turf in Salt Lake City next year. Then I turned to shake hands with Mike Sprayberry, of First Tennessee Bank, before chatting with Tom Owens, of American Agrisurance, about life back in Omaha.

Niki Steenhoek stopped to say hello, and I asked her about her comrades in Des Moines. Then I bumped into Dave Schlueter, of Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis, and we lamented that neither of us ran the conference Fun Run this year—though we're both sure we would have won.

No, the in-plant industry is nothing at all like the commercial printing sector. The camaraderie is much stronger. I'm thankful my job has given me the chance to befriend folks like these from all over the country.

The highlight of the conference for me came after I'd helped hand out the In-Print awards. Before I could leave the stage, Carol Kraft, IPMA's new COO, summoned IPG Publisher Gary Rubin to join me and thanked us both for our efforts to strengthen the in-plant industry. As I peered out into the crowd through the glare of the spotlights, I saw every in-plant manager in the room standing and cheering. It was a very touching gesture.

I sincerely thank all of you who were there—and all who would have liked to be—for such terrific support. I'm proud to know all of you and glad to have been able to give you a little of the respect you deserve over the years in the pages of IPG.