Faith In Their Work

For in-plants serving religious organizations, printing takes on a much deeper meaning.

In her white habit and black veil, Sister Mary Jeremiah blends in well with the other 27 Dominican nuns at the Monastery of the Infant Jesus as they go about their daily routine of work and prayer. But when she throws a coverall apron over her habit and fires up her Multi 1250, one thing becomes instantly clear: She's a printer.

Sister Jeremiah has been running the in-plant at her Lufkin, Texas-based monastery for eight years. She's the third printer the monastery has had since it started its in-plant in 1954. She uses the press, plus a Minolta black-and-white copier and an assortment of folding, cutting and spiral binding equipment to output the prayer cards, stationery, brochures and newsletters that help the monastery fulfill its mission of evangelism.

"We see it as a little ministry," she says of the in-plant.

Though many in-plants would stop short of describing their shops in this way, in-plants for religious organizations take a different view of their operations. They see a deeper, more spiritual significance in what they do.

From the small shop serving a Baptist church in North Carolina, to the massive 500-employee in-plant for the Church of Latter Day Saints, in Salt Lake City, church-based in-plants say that printing takes on a new meaning and importance when they're doing it in support of their faith.

Some get philosophical about the topic. Dan Thompson, manager of the two-employee in-plant for the First Free Will Baptist Church, in Raleigh, N.C., insists that the quality of the work he prints must always be top notch because it reflects his devotion to the Lord.

"If you're going to do anything at all for Christ, it has to be done the absolute best," he stresses.

Also, because the tracts, brochures and bulletins he prints are passed out to people curious about the church, he wants them to be top quality.

"A complete stranger, that's their first impression of our entire ministry, and so it needs to look good," he points out. "Our stuff needs to look just as good as Nike's or Coca Cola's."

Thompson's strong work ethic and faith motivate him to keep himself trained by attending design seminars and trade shows. He and his assistant Lucinda Brooks design newsletters and other jobs for both the independent church and its 600-student school. Once the pastor approves the designs, making sure they are in line with the church's convictions, Thompson goes to press on his A.B.Dick 360 with a T-head. He also outsources some work, like envelopes, four-color printing, collating and large folding jobs.

Thompson says his small but busy shop is highly regarded by the church.

"There's no way we would be able to function as a ministry without an in-house print shop," he declares.

Simplicity And Self-sufficiency

Part of the lure of having an in-plant is that it allows religious institutions to be self-sufficient.

"It's just part of our life of simplicity and poverty, to do it ourselves," notes Sister Jeremiah, of the Monastery of the Infant Jesus. This simplicity is also reflected in her printed pieces, which she describes as "elegant but simple."

She designs the monastery's two-color newsletter on a PC using Pagemaker. Then she prints it on a laser printer, shoots it on the large, horizontal camera, burns plates and goes to press.

"I can print things for a third of the cost" of an outside printer, she says.

At another monastery, this one on the West Coast, Father Pius X Harding oversees the three-employee Benedictine Press at the Mt. Angel Abbey in St. Benedict, Ore. One of the oldest U.S. in-plants, it has been operating since 1889. Rev. Harding, though, sees even deeper roots.

"In the Middle Ages, monks copied books," he says. "It's kind of a natural extension."

These days, the copying is done with a Heidelberg MO press and smaller duplicating equipment. The in-plant also boasts a 36˝ Heidelberg Polar cutter, a 20˝ Baum folder, a scanner, an imagesetter, and a Mac-based prepress system. Printed products include newsletters for the monastery's benefactors and seminary alumni, bulletins, booklets, development materials, holy cards and the monastery's own line of greeting cards.

The in-plant prints more color these days, Rev. Harding says, especially spot color. A few four-color jobs come through each month, which require four passes through the press. The in-plant is also involved in Internet publishing.

Like most in-plants, the Benedictine Press strives to produce top quality work—but its motivation has a deeper source.

"Doing our ordinary tasks in an extraordinary manner is how we show people that God is alive and working in our midst," he explains.

Still, the abbey maintains the in-plant for strictly financial reasons.

"We have an in-plant because we don't want to waste any money," Rev. Harding says. "We don't want to be poor stewards of the resources that people give to us or that we work for."

Other in-plants also recognize the importance of saving money in printing costs that can be used to help spread the faith. Mark McDougan, graphic arts manager at Lifeway Christian Resources (formerly the Sunday School Board) in Nashville, Tenn., notes that the work his 56-employee operation does for Lifeway and other Southern Baptist agencies saves them 35 to 40 percent over outside costs—money that can be used to more effectively spread the Lord's word.

McDougan continuously looks for ways to save money for Lifeway. When his research showed that bringing outsourced four-color work in-house would cut costs, he acquired a four-color, 19x26˝ Shinohara press. About 60 percent of the in-plant's work is now four-color, McDougan says, most of this being promotional materials for the Southern Baptist Convention's seminars, programs and products.

The in-plant also boasts a one-color Shinohara, a T/R Systems Micropress system with eight networked printers, Konica color copiers, Agfa imagesetters and other equipment.

McDougan praises the friendly, caring atmosphere in his in-plant, which he says is a direct result of the shared beliefs of most of its employees. Swearing and dirty jokes are rarely heard, he says, and meetings are usually opened with a prayer. Employees often share personal problems with each other and ask others to pray for them, so people know much more about each other than in other types of in-plants, he says.

"In a way you become brothers and sisters in Christ and brothers and sisters in your work," McDougan says. "We are definitely sold on our mission statement, which is to reach others with Christ and to help our employees to reach others with Christ."

Also contributing to the positive atmosphere, he contends, is his belief that in-plants for religious organizations treat their employees better than most corporations treat theirs. Rather than viewing workers as equipment, Lifeway respects each person, treating each of their skills as God-given talents. Managers, he adds, are much more compassionate.

"We really feel like people who work for Lifeway Christian Resources are called to that job," McDougan says. "They're not here because of the money or the benefits. They're more here for the purpose of reaching others for Christ."

Several employees, he adds, are ministers. They feel that God has called them to use their printing skills in addition to their work behind the pulpit.

When hiring, McDougan says, Lifeway conducts extensive background checks looking not just for skilled printers but for people with a strong desire to work for Lifeway.

"If they don't feel like they've been called here, then they won't help us fulfill our mission," he explains.

Sharing The Faith

This belief that employees should have strong religious convictions is shared by churches of other faiths, as well. In Salt Lake City, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints requires all 500 employees in its printing and distribution center to be worthy members of the Church.

"The mission of the church is to bring souls to Christ, and that is also the purpose of the printing center," explains Craig Sedgwick, manager of the 149-year-old in-plant. "Because we all have the same standards"—no smoking, drinking or using the Lord's name in vain—"the atmosphere is comfortable to everybody, because we all believe the same thing."

The LDS Printing Center has a monumental workload. Each month it prints 1.25 million magazines in 32 different languages for worldwide distribution. Six million copies of the Book of Mormon are printed each year, plus other scriptures. The in-plant also prints numerous forms and other materials to help people research their ancestors, as well as support materials for the church's many missionaries.

To accomplish all this, the center uses a five-unit Baker Perkins G14 web press with three roll stands. It recently purchased a two-unit, 54˝ Timsons web, as well, and Sedgwick says he is looking into a new forms press.

"We're a completely self-sustaining unit at the church," he says. "We don't receive money from the general fund. If we can cost justify [equipment] and have the money in our account, then we are usually allowed to go ahead and buy."

All design and electronic prepress work is done at the church's downtown headquarters, six miles away. Then jobs are sent to the printing center across fiber optic cables. Sedgwick oversees both prepress operations.

Aside from the fact that the printing center is not open on Sunday, in honor of the Sabbath, it operates just like a commercial printer—and for a good reason. It used to be one. The church operated Deseret Press as a commercial shop until 1981, when it became an in-plant. But why is it so important for the church to own such a large in-plant?

"There are several things that are sensitive that we would rather keep in-house," Sedgwick explains. "And then, obviously, the price is the number one factor. It's less expensive to keep it inside, which is proven every year by doing market studies."

Confidentiality and price are at the heart of other church-based in-plants, as well. At the Archdiocese of Boston's six-employee in-plant, Bruce MacDonald, print and mail service manager, feels confidentiality is the main reason the archdiocese has an in-plant. MacDonald says he won't even tell his own family about some of the material he sees in his shop.

Quick turnaround is another important reason for the in-plant. MacDonald says that Bernard Cardinal Law, the region's top Roman Catholic Church official, occasionally calls him about rush jobs.

"He does contact me directly if he needs something immediately," he attests.

MacDonald started the in-plant 15 years ago to print the archdiocese's monthly mailings, billing forms, pay vouchers, memo pads and the Cardinal's watermarked letterhead. The shop uses a one-color Itek and a Xerox 5895, plus cutting, folding and collating equipment. MacDonald would like to add a new collator, but he says his expenses are being monitored closely. Still, he is confident that the archdiocese will keep its in-plant operating.

"The cardinal himself is behind our shop 100 percent," he declares.

by Bob Neubauer