In-plant Installs Two Nuveras Despite Xerox Plans to End Manufacturing

Imagine this: You’ve just inked a contract to add two new presses to your in-plant’s lineup, and the manufacturer announces plans to discontinue the machines. What do you do?

That’s precisely the situation David Chappell, manager of Print Services at Sarasota County School District in Sarasota, Florida, found himself in earlier this year when Xerox announced it would discontinue the Nuvera digital press.

His decision? Move forward with the installation of a Nuvera 314 with Plockmatic booklet maker and a Nuvera 157, fulfilling the in-plant’s commitment to leasing the machines for 48 months.

“We had a long conversation with Xerox about the service and the warranty on them,” Chappell says. “That was the big thing for the school district and myself: to make sure they were going to abide by everything.”

Dave Chappell

Chappell explains that Xerox agreed to offer service and maintenance on the machines through the end of the leases. He also has a relationship with Xerox’s local sales team, as well as the contact information for the regional vice president for technical services, so he is confident that the company will respond to any needs that arise.

These two machines join Print Services’ already active fleet of Nuvera presses, bringing the total count up to five. According to Chappell, the seven-person in-plant printed 57 million black-and-white impressions last year on its Nuveras alone.

“Most of everything we print is curriculum for the kids — it’s all for the students,” Chappell says. “We do everything from books, paperwork, any type of curriculum that can be printed that we have the rights to, we’ll print for teachers. We average 55 to almost 60 million a year just in black-and-white printing in our facility.”

While the Nuveras are working out for the in-plant, Chappell is already thinking about changing things up when the leases end on the older Nuveras — about two years from now.

“We’ll be looking for something different, and that’s the big reason I went to Inkjet Summit, was to start looking for the future for this in-plant, for the school district,” Chappell says. “I think inkjet’s going to be the future as we go forward.”

The shift to inkjet is part of Chappell’s ongoing efforts to bring Print Services into the future. When he began six years ago, the in-plant was operating five days a week, 24 hours a day, with 12 employees. Now, the in-plant operates for 11 hours a day instead with seven employees — while producing the same amount.

“The biggest thing is that we installed WebCRD from RSA, and we’re all totally automated online,” Chappell says. “Everything is pretty much a no-touch system now … so everything comes in online, it’s sent over to the machines. Everything is mass produced as quick as possible, [with] as little touch as we want. Basically: load the paper, unload the machines, you’re done. That’s our philosophy.”

Aside from that, Chappell notes Print Services has cut back on the number of options teachers can request, from finishing (“you get a perfect bound book and that’s it”) to paper (there used to be 14 different colors). Additionally, to keep the machines from wearing out too quickly, Chappell has limited leases to 48 months; previously, they were leasing for 72.

In time, Chappell foresees the in-plant becoming a fully inkjet operation.

“I think the future is going to be a totally inkjet facility,” he says. “As far as what I see, the guys are making machinery that you don’t need dryers, you don’t need the special coated papers — you can print on regular 20-lb. bond.”

Chappell anticipates that inkjet will be a huge benefit to the teachers the in-plant serves.

“We could afford to add the inkjets and still absorb the cost, so the teachers would get color free of charge,” Chappell says. “I think that’s going to be the win for the district down the road — that we can offer [that to] teachers, especially in the K-5 age range where color is very important for the visuals for kids.”