60 Years of In-plant Graphics

Brace yourself: this issue marks the 60th anniversary of In-plant Graphics. True, it’s gone through its share of name changes over the years (six, in fact), but the magazine you’re now holding in your hands traces its roots back to the January 1951 debut issue of Offset Duplicator Review.

Back then, founding editor/publisher Richard F. Caruzzi acknowledged that “We have a long, tough grind ahead of us before this thing becomes a truly going concern.”

He didn’t know the half of it.

Back in his day, when in-plant popularity was soaring, he could never have guessed at the challenges and threats that awaited his in-plant friends. And while he struggled to popularize the newfangled offset printing technology in the face of jeers from letterpress proponents, his jaw would have dropped had he known how drastically digital technology would eventually alter the world of print.

Over the past six decades, Caruzzi’s 32-page, 6x9˝ publication has grown and evolved into something far different than he’d ever imagined. It has both chronicaled the technology changes in the printing industry and offered advice to in-plant managers to help them improve their operations. For the past 60 years, IPG has unfailingly supported in-plants, proclaiming their successes, highlighting their advantages and strengthening their credibility.

Rather than recounting the magazine’s history—already well documented in our January 2001 issue (available online)—we thought we’d ask some of our readers how IPG has impacted them over their careers.

Harv Dahl
Arizona State University

In 1959, when I was a student in a college printing degree program, a regular assignment was to read the trade magazines and then discuss what we learned. Reproductions Review was a popular magazine that had a lot of information on the emerging offset printing technology.

Every issue had articles with lots of tips and techniques. We experimented with each as we were taught how to best put ink on paper, how to repair and maintain equipment, and how to generate quality production. The result was, we became printers who were trained to apply the knowledge others were willing to share with us.

Thinking back on my career, much of which has been in university in-plant management, I’ve learned to rely on magazines like In-Plant Graphics as tools, equally important as computers, ink knives, line gauges and proportional wheels because they contain information that goes beyond the physical and mechanical art of printing. If I want to learn how to better enhance scanned images, troubleshoot ink trapping and picking problems, build digital files, plan a new press purchase, or any of the other many issues printing managers deal with every day, it is very likely that a colleague already has as solution and is reporting on it in an IPG article. Now, after more than 51 years in the printing industry, one point is very clear: you are never too old to learn and implement good solutions.

Rick Wise
University of Missouri-Columbia

I remember during the 1990s I had a healthy disdain for color copiers, what we now refer to as digital color. We had, and still have, a strong offset operation; color copying was just not up to professional quality by our standards.

Then I read about in-plant after in-plant adding primarily iGen3s and NexPresses. I remember specifically reading about Mike Loyd’s NexPress purchase at the LSU in-plant and comments he and his staff made regarding the high level of quality these digital color printers were producing.
Only by reading such comments from peers that I respect did I get on board with the digital color revolution.

We ended up purchasing an iGen3 in December 2005, and we’ve never looked back. For our in-plant, the combination of offset and digital printing best fulfills the university’s wide variety of needs.

Charlie Mannino
Fashion Institute of Technology (Retired)

I remember having copies of Reproductions Review around in 1966. During my career, I found IPG to be a useful tool to stay up to date with the in-plant industry. I could see what other print shops were doing and realized that the problems they were facing and addressing were similar to ours. With plenty of information to back me up, we were able to upgrade the print shop at the Fashion Institute of Technology over the years I was supervisor. Every time a new technology, process or machine was featured or discussed, I would explore its use and capabilities for FIT.

I also found out about the NY chapter of the IPMA from the magazine and joined in the ’70s. In later years, I learned about ACUP and attended a few of their meetings. I made many friends during that time and learned a lot from my peers.

Jean-Luc Devis
Washington State Department of Printing

Sometime in the mid-’90s I found out about IPG. I knew about IPMA and industry conferences but not the fact that there was a dedicated magazine crafted specifically for our industry. It opened up my world, allowing an avenue to create visibility for both our print shop and staff.

Personally IPG has created an opportunity to grow professionally through publishing and public speaking. I vividly remember when Editor Bob Neubauer asked me to do a short presentation at On Demand back in 1998. I was mortified, as it was my first time to present in public, so I joined Toastmasters to work on my presentation skills. I presented “Building a Digital Dynasty” in front of 100 people and will never forget that opportunity.

Joe Goss
Indiana University

There have been numerous articles in IPG over the 25 years I have been a subscriber that have strongly influenced me as an in-plant manager. There have also been ones that were just interesting to read and often humorous.

In 2001, the article you wrote about the deer crashing through the front doors of our offices was particularly interesting since I had a firsthand involvement with that incident. In fact, the deer and I were about six feet apart.

I recall a short piece that George Craig, retired printing director at UC-Berkeley, wrote in the early 1990s about stretching ourselves, constantly looking for new product/service opportunities for our in-plant operations, not thinking of ourselves as simply printers. I remember him saying that traditional printing was changing rapidly, and in-plants in the future would need other sources of revenue to be successful. Here we are 20 years later, and George was obviously a wise sage.

Garnett Michael Chapman
Habitat for Humanity International

There were so many stories, lessons taught and directions given in this magazine that helped me formulate plans that truly brought our fledgling non-profit print shop into the 21st century. Altogether, the formulated ideas in the magazine that we put to use helped us save our parent organization many dollars that we were able to place back into our mission: which is the elimination of substandard housing around the world.

Tony Seaman
University of Mississippi

It was IPG that first made me aware of ACUP (the Association of College and University Printers) and peaked my interest in attending my first ACUP at Arizona State University. It was there that I learned we were way behind the times at Ole Miss with new digital technology and not offering mail services.

One issue, which featured LSU on the front cover, opened up a dialog, which was the beginning of an association and friendship with former Director Mike Loyd. I learned a lot from him and his LSU team, especially that nothing was impossible. We started offering bulk mail services shortly after being encouraged to “go for it,” and we have grown from a few thousand mailings to over a million.

IPG has been the catalyst for many great milestones in the life of Ole Miss and for me personally. It was through IPG that we got involved with the In-Print contest and ultimately with IPMA, where I attained my CGCM. IPG’s insights into trends have been instrumental in helping us keep up with new technology and improved workflows.

Congratulations IPG on your 60 years of inspiration. Looking forward to the next 60 years.

Glenda Miley
Auburn University CopyCat
An article in the September 2009 issue entitled “If Only They Had Known...”
was so very interesting to me. We don’t have a digital press (yet), but the information that the managers contributed to the article was so honest and upfront. I’m sure it was helpful to anyone that was about to purchase a digital press.

Richard Beto
University of Texas-Austin

While working for another university, I had become acquainted with the in-plant operations for the universities of Missouri and Oklahoma by reading articles in IPG (admiring from afar). After moving to Texas, I was given opportunities to visit both Rick Wise (Missouri) and John Sarantakos (Oklahoma). My visits were well worth my time because I brought back ideas and suggestions to improve our operations. Our in-plant is an improved operation because of reading about these operations in IPG.

David Maloch
Arkansas State University

One thing I remember about IPG is reading about the ACUP conference many years ago. That year, the upcoming conference was being held at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. I was managing a small in-plant at a small college in Abilene, Texas, at the time. Being only a couple of hours drive from Lubbock, the article inspired me to ask the college for permission to attend.

That first ACUP conference was an awesome experience, and I made many new friends there. Some of the best ideas I’ve ever had I simply “stole” from other members.

In the long term it affected my life dramatically, for at future ACUP meetings I met Loyd Crane from LSU who ultimately offered me a job there, and finally led to my position here at Arkansas State University. Things have not been the same since, and I shudder to think where I might be today if I had not learned of ACUP from your magazine those many years ago. Happy 60th IPG, and thanks for all your help and work done for all in-plants.

Tom FitzSimons
Xanté (formerly with IntelSat’s in-plant)

Your magazine educated me about the real nuts and bolts of the in-plant industry and introduced me to the IPMA. I became very active in my local chapter in Washington, D.C., and was elected chapter president for two terms. This position put me inside dozens of in-plant shops to see how they were doing.

One of your editor’s notes about the importance of networking really hit home and inspired me to not only think about the local shops in D.C., but also in the mid-Atlantic region. Sharing experiences (especially about avoiding missteps) can save in-plants a ton of money, whether it involves staff training, equipment acquisitions or promoting the in-plant to senior management. It will be very interesting to see where the industry will be on IPG’s 70th anniversary. Keep up the good work.

Larry Clements
Redlands Community College

When I first started the print shop at Redlands 29 years ago, I needed some direction as to how other shops were being run. IPG was a great resource for ideas and direction.

One of the things that caught my attention, however, was the In-Print competition. I always looked forward to the issue each year that featured the printing contest. I found it so interesting to see what was being produced by shops all over the country. My shop being basically a one-man operation...I could only admire what the other guys were doing. I never dreamed that some day I would be one of the judges. IPG has been a wealth of information over the years, and I look forward each month to the next issue.

Debbie Pavletich
Briggs & Stratton Corp.

I am a loyal reader of IPG and have found exceptional value in every issue. Your articles always hit on the “hot topics” in the industry. My favorite article was in 2006, when you reported an outsourcing “debacle.” You stated that the a facilities management company actually ending up costing a school district more than double what they had been spending to support their in-plant. It’s not often that we hear about the failures of outsourcing; not many companies will come forward and admit that they made a poor decision.

Your articles are always very timely, very thorough and to the point. Thank you for supporting the in-plant industry throughout the years.

Jimmy Friend
University of North Texas

The first one that really made a direct impact on me was an article in the mid ’80s regarding MIS systems. A year later we were implementing our first MIS at SMU Printing—the Covalent System. It opened our minds to how sales history, production data and inventory tracking could be automated with the up-and-coming desktop computers.