In-plants Seek Louder Voice on Adobe Board

In a letter to Adobe, representatives of the in-plant printing community asked for greater representation on Adobe’s print advisory board.

Writing on behalf of the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP), the National Government Publishing Association (NGPA) and the International Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA), as well as in-plant print operations all over the country, Ray Chambers, CEO of Chambers Management Group, acknowledged with thanks Adobe’s prompt attention to their concerns regarding the “Send to FedEx Kinko’s” controversy.

In his letter Chambers noted “We also applaud Adobe’s effort to listen to the print community as it moves forward in the development of Web-to-print functionality in future products.”

As one of two in-plant attendees at the July 17 and August 1 meetings called by Adobe to discuss the FedEx Kinko’s link controversy, Chambers noted that “In-plant print operations are significantly underrepresented on the new print advisory board.”

While grateful for Adobe’s attention, ACUP, NGPA and IPMA wish for extended input regarding the next step in the Web-to-print enterprise. On behalf of the organizations, Chambers asked for better representation in upcoming decisions that have potential to impact the document management industry as a whole. In addition to himself and recent ACUP host Tom Tozier, of the University Of California Santa Cruz, Chambers presented a slate of seven additional in-plant representatives, including those with leadership positions in ACUP, IPMA and NGPA. Those names are:

• Maury Kane, Temple University

• Rick Wise, University of Missouri-Columbia

• Mike Loyd, Louisiana State University

• Steven M. Dimond, MIT Copy Technology Centers

• Audrey Marrocco, Department of General Services, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

• Jean-Luc Devis, State of Washington Department of Printing

• Debbie Pavletich, Briggs and Stratton

By contributing more “real world” instances, Chambers noted – including experiences in government compliance, contractual protocols, intellectual property abd labor issues – these institutional print professionals have a unique perspective that can enrich a partnership between their organizations and the Adobe-FedEx Kinko’s corporations.