'Good, Basic Printing'

Though the publishing industry is infused with digital technologies, the in-plants that serve publishers often run more modest operations.

In remote Madawaska, Maine, digital printing technology is about as common as a winter sunbather.

"We haven't seen much up here, because we're in a very rural area," says Maurice Morin, in-plant printing manager of the St. John Valley Times. Morin, who oversees five full-time and three part-time employees in this town on the Canadian border, takes this all in stride, however.

"Digital technology is something that larger firms can afford to buy. The money's just not here. People here want good, basic printing—nothing fancy."

Even in the publishing industry, where digital technologies abound, not every in-plant is decked out with the latest computerized gear. Though digital technologies have become integral to book and magazine publishing, the in-plants serving these companies sometimes have more modest capabilities.

Despite the difficulties of keeping pace, however, Morin stresses that his operation is not totally in the dark.

"We have a Macintosh computer system and a Riso, but everything else is offset," he notes. "If someone has a job that needs digital work, we send it out. We don't have any demand for it."

Morin's shop, which has a million-dollar annual operating budget, handles a variety of printing jobs in addition to the St. John Valley Times, a 6,500-circulation weekly community newspaper. Among the 1,500 outside jobs it completes each year are small-run magazines for local historical societies, annual reports, brochures, business cards, posters, calendars, and newsletters, all with an average run of 1,000 pieces. Nearly all of its printing is done in black and white or multi-color; just two percent of the jobs are produced in four-color process. All told, the shop brings in between $15,000 and $20,000 worth of business per month.

Morin usually does about five or six four-color process printing jobs annually, but he expects to do more this year, since color separation can now be done with the firm's own equipment. Once customers learn of this added capability, Morin expects the total of four-color jobs to steadily rise.

Recently, the firm speeded up its turnaround time significantly by adding a Riso and a two-color press, in addition to a computerized camera and processor.

"We advertised that we can now get jobs out in five working days," says Morin, "which our customers know is comparable to or faster than what they can get elsewhere."

Ultimately, Morin would like to install more digital equipment in his shop. For now, though, he is more worried about the state losing business to Canadian printers, who can offer more competitive prices thanks to the favorable rate of exchange on the Canadian dollar.

"Digital technology won't make much of an impact in our area of Maine for a while," predicted Morin. "The money to buy the equipment isn't here, and the demand doesn't justify it."

Religious Printer Sticks With Offset

At another publishing company named for a saint, Winona, Minn.-based St. Mary's Press similarly does well without the latest digital gear.

"We looked into digital printing, but the size of our print runs means that these jobs are done just as easily on offset," says Bill Northam, plant manager. "We also laminate many of our covers, and the laminate doesn't like to stick to the toners on digital presses."

The small publisher, owned by the Catholic Church-affiliated Christian Brothers, specializes in printing prayer books, as well as religious education textbooks for junior and senior high schools. With an annual operating budget of $1.3 million, the in-plant also takes on about 700 outside jobs per year consisting mostly of direct mail pieces and manuals.

Print runs average 5,000 pieces. Sixty percent of the work is in black and white, 30 percent is multi-color and 10 percent is four-color process. The firm prepares about a dozen school textbooks, for which only the prepress work is done in-house. The in-plant has a full-time staff of 12.

Jobs needing to be output on a Xerox DocuTech are sent out for processing, though Northam says he would like to move this capability in-house at some point.

Northam says that digital equipment wouldn't be cost-effective because the in-plant would have to drum up the business needed to justify its purchase.

"Besides, we're a non-profit corporation that is exempted from paying taxes, and we don't want to step on the toes of other printers in town by directly competing with them," he says.

Instead, the company has carved out its own niche by providing perfect-binding, laminating and punching services that its competitors don't offer.

Eventually, Northam would like to add direct-to-plate capabilities to the operation, especially as its printing business increases. He also would like to replace his circa-1925 single-color press with a DocuTech. For the present, though, Northam is content to purchase services from outside providers.

"If we need work done on a DocuTech, I'd rather send it outside to have it done, and if we're satisfied with the results, then eventually we can buy the machine," he says. "Since our bindery output has built a niche in this area, jobbing out printing might not be that big a loss in the long run."

No Digital Output—Yet

At Watt Publishing Co. of Mt. Morris, Ill., QuarkXPress software and laser printers are used to put together magazine pages, but the firm has no digital output capabilities of its own. Poly plates are made from laser printed pages, but imagesetting and plate-making work is all provided by outside sources.

The company produces 25 food- and agriculture-related magazines, including beefy titles like Meat Processing and Broiler Industry. The two-person in-plant department produces two-color promotional materials for its advertising department, black-and-white subscription renewal forms for its circulation department, and magazine article reprints in black and white and multi-color. In addition, it takes on about 500 outside jobs annually, including brochures, business forms, direct mail pieces, newsletters and pamphlets. Print runs average 1,500 pieces. Multi-color work accounts for 60 percent of production, while black-and-white jobs account for 40 percent.

"We eventually want to get into more digital output and make more of our work on direct-imaging plates," says production director Jeff Swanson. "We've had success with poly plates, but we want to expand it. We want to accomplish all this within two years."

Digital Prepress Reduces Errors

Some in-plants have already reached that point. The 25-employee in-plant operation at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Mobile Home magazine has seen a dramatic decrease in production errors thanks to its transition to digital prepress. Owner/manager Elizabeth Tripp claims the error rate has been cut by 90 percent.

"It's made our work a breeze," says Tripp. "With digital prepress, one person can do the work, and with a minimum of errors. It used to be a horror doing jobs that required prepress work, but thanks to the technology we have now, we can do these jobs easily and well."

Mobile Home is a 55,000-circulation magazine with 300 separate editions, printed by region. The average print run is 250, while the largest is 1,000. Black-and-white work accounts for 95 percent of the in-plant's jobs, while 4 percent are multi-color. Among the few four-color jobs printed is the magazine's cover. "We make our own electrostatic plates, and we have color plates made for us," says Tripp.

In addition to Mobile Home, the company takes in about 2,000 outside jobs per year, consisting mainly of annual reports, catalogs, directories, direct mail pieces, envelopes, and newsletters. The average print run is 1,000 pieces.

The firm's capital budget for new equipment is less than a quarter-million dollars per year, yet Tripp is committed to staying abreast of new developments in digital technology, insofar as her budget allows.

"We're always updating our computers, copiers and other repro equipment, she says. "We also bought a couple of Ryobi perfectors and a 22-bin collator/saddle-stitcher this year, and we want to update our server. It's made us more efficient and has cut down on our turnaround time."

Some managers have the daunting task of convincing budget-conscious company owners to update old equipment. But for owner and manager Tripp, it's not a hard sell.

"When we need something, we make the move," she says. "You're only as good as what you're working with, so you must constantly update your equipment."

And this investment has paid off. Thanks to the firm's digital capabilities and other new equipment, it has had a 10 percent increase in the number of outside publications it now prints. Overall, Tripp claims that production is up 20 percent.

Tripp also has used the Internet to ensure that her magazine, which has its own Web site, is as widely accessible as possible.

"Our advertisers can reach our readers through the Web site," says Tripp. "A few years ago, nobody cared about having a Web site for their publication. Now, it's the hottest thing going.

"Manufactured [mobile] homes account for only 5,000 units here in California, and that's our business sector. Since it's a small segment, we must do everything we can to make sure they turn to us."