First Right of Refusal: Everyone Wants It, Few Attain It
Most in-plants would agree that having the First Right of Refusal (FROR) for all their parent organization’s print work would make their lives much easier. Yet only 37% have it, according to IPI’s 2022 Trends and Services in the In-plant Industry report. Getting administrative approval of this policy is no easy task.
A new white paper from edu Business Solutions delves into the FROR and how it can help in-plants remain viable by keeping more services in-house. Authored by former in-plant manager Gordon Rivera, the paper cites data from a recent survey of Print Shop Pro users, 83% of whom indicated that they would be interested in establishing an FROR agreement at their organization.
The paper talks with two in-plants that have FROR to learn how they got it and how it benefits them. One of them is the Hudson Valley Community College Printshop, in Troy, New York. The FROR at the college was enacted more than 25 years ago when the administration eliminated print and marketing funding in departmental budgets. As a result, HVCC departments and programs were required to utilize the in-plant for their print and creative work.
Despite being an informal agreement, this FROR is ingrained into the campus culture with new hires directed to the in-plant for their graphics needs and services.
John Heiser, director of Creative Services at Hudson Valley Community College.
“It all starts with – ‘I need business cards. Where do I get those printed?’ Someone will say, ‘You need to contact the print shop,’” explains John Heiser, director of Creative Services. “That gets the process started; people just know they need to use us.”
One major benefit of this approach is that the in-plant understands the brand standards of the college and can enforce them in the materials it prints.
“Someone may want a new logo for their department,” Heiser explains. “We let them know there are brand guidelines for the college that are to be adhered to and that in order to strengthen the college’s identity, we want to build on that rather than break away. I think we are able to explain that as we move through the process.”
To learn more about the FROR and how in-plants have attained and benefited from it, download the full white paper here.
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
