In-plants Come Together at Graph Expo

I got home from Chicago late Wednesday night after spending four very busy days at Graph Expo. Though flight delays and cancellations tainted nearly everyone's trip (mine included), the show seemed to rebound from this opening irritation. The crowds on the show floor were impressive, even on Sunday, and numerous vendors told me of equipment being sold right off the show floor.

As for in-plants, I saw hundreds of them in the four days I was there—not only at the in-plant events IPG hosted but checking out equipment in booths, hanging around the IPMA's "In-plant Place" and attending some of the evening activities hosted by vendors. More than at any previous Graph Expo, this one seemed to really draw the in-plant crowd.

Before the show opened on Monday morning, in-plant managers gathered for breakfast to hear NAPL Consultant Howie Fenton explain how benchmarking can strengthen an in-plant. Then Canon Solutions America’s Aaron Hale unveiled a new benchmarking tool for in-plants called the Performance Challenge, created in collaboration with research firm InfoTrends.

Just a few hours later, managers met again for a luncheon we had organized. Villanova University’s Mike George, director of General Services, related his shop’s experiences with Rochester Software Associates’ WebCRD software, and described for fellow managers what lies ahead after receiving approval to purchase Web-to-print software.

On Tuesday morning, in-plant managers packed the room again to hear Xerox Marketing Manager Allen Lea interview a panel of managers about their operations and future plans. Participants hailed from CoreLogic, Federated Insurance and the State of Michigan. They discussed topics like digital publishing, Web-to-print, variable data, skills needed by today’s in-plant managers and plans for 2015.

Later that day, the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association held its “In-plant Lunch & Learn Session.” Four in-plant managers answered questions about how they use metrics to prove their in-plants’ worth, how they make it easy to do business with them and their efforts to get staff involved and committed.