From the Editor In-plant Insight

So what exactly is the current state of the in-plant industry? From time to time people ask me that question at industry events (usually when my mouth is stuffed with food). It's never been easy to answer.

For instance, last year, as in previous years, a few in-plants were forced to close their doors. To some this might be a sign that the in-plant industry is disappearing, until you consider the great number of commercial printing operations that also shut down in 2002, victims of a brutal economic climate.

Would you say the commercial printing industry is also on its way out? Probably not.

Other times in recent months, university and government in-plants complained about budget cuts, hiring freezes and volume decreases. On top of that the Government Printing Office—the mightiest in-plant in the land—has been challenged by the President's Office of Management and Budget, an ongoing threat that could drastically reduce GPO's workload—and its work force (see story).

Things look bad for in-plants, wouldn't you say? Well not when you consider how many of them have been buying equipment lately. IPG is finding it hard to keep up with all the story leads we've been getting. And I'm talking about some big purchases, like six-color offset presses, and high-speed digital color printers like the NexPress 2100 and Xerox iGen3. These in-plants are clearly expecting a lot more business. Many have already seen growth: More than half of the in-plants on last month's Top 50 list increased their business and their sales in 2002.

So as IPG begins its 53rd year, you can see that getting a true picture of the state of the in-plant industry remains as elusive as ever.

To help us sort it all out, and provide you with the most useful information possible, IPG recently enhanced our editorial advisory board with three new members: Cindy Larson, of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota; Ken Macro, of California Polytechnic State University; and Joe Tucker, of the Ohio Office of State Printing. With their assistance, we will be able to focus future stories even more sharply on the topics of most importance to in-plant managers like you.