In-plants Swarm Graph Expo
Graph Expo wrapped up its four-day domination of Chicago's McCormick Place on Wednesday, leaving memories of a surprisingly busy show floor. The crowds were augmented by hundreds of in-plant managers, scouting out equipment and attending the numerous in-plant-focused sessions. IPG Editor Bob Neubauer chatted with dozens of managers on the show floor, at the sessions and in the "InPlant Place" area, hosted by the In-Plant Printing & Mailing Association.
About 125 people packed the lunch-and-learn session on Monday organized by the IPMA. Most of the session's sponsors let their in-plant customers take the stage to explain how technology has improved their operations:
- Rochester Software Associates let customer Andrea Eshoo, assistant director at Diversified, tell how her operations uses RSA’s WebCRD Web-to-print solution.
- Xerox invited John Meyer, manager of Rochester Institute of Technology's print and mail center, and NAPL Senior Consultant Howie Fenton, to chime in on the value of QR codes in marketing materials.
- Kodak allowed Shana Farrell, of Fox Valley Technical College, to explain how her in-plant used Kodak's Dimensional Print to create an unforgettable holiday card for the college's president on the shop's NexPress. Then Debbie Pavletich, manager of Briggs & Stratton's in-plant, elaborated on how impressed customers are with the promotional pieces printed with her shop's NexPress.
Another hot session that drew scores of in-plants was the panel discussion called “Empowered In-plants: Tell-All Success Stories from the Field." Rochester Software Associates' Elisha Kasinskas asked four managers in-depth questions about the reasons for their success, while also probing for examples of their biggest failures. Providing enlightening responses were Jimmy Friend (University of North Texas), Debbie Gallagher (State of Oregon), Gene Voelker (Parkview Health) and Phil Larson (Shepherd Consulting OK). Read the full account of this informative session in the November issue of IPG.
