College and university printers around the country are packing their bags right now for the 53rd annual Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+) conference. Nearly 100 higher-ed in-plant managers will be there, including 19 first-timers and managers from Canada and Scotland. The event kicks off on Sunday evening with an opening reception, always a busy affair as managers meet one another or get reacquainted.
Monday morning will begin with a bang as Ken Macro, chair of Graphic Communications at Cal Poly State University, examines the shifting role of the in-plant. Tuesday's keynote speaker Jennifer Powers — in her provocatively titled session "Oh, Shift!" — will offer tools and strategies to help managers step into a more positive, empowered mindset. Wednesday will begin less provocatively, as IPG Editor Bob Neubauer presents brand new IPG data on in-plant software and prepress use, as well as other in-plant trends.
ACUP sessions and roundtable discussions will cover a variety of important topics, such as marketing, wide-format applications, utilizing student workers, strategic planning, in-plant success stories, revenue strategies, pricing of services, copier fleet management, bindery and merging with mail. There will be two days of vendor exhibits and on Wednesday night, the ACUP Awards will be presented at a gala dinner. For the first time this year, attendees will be able to select a People's Choice Award out of the 28 award winners. Check in with IPG on Twitter and Facebook all next week for updates.
Here’s a video of last year’s ACUP conference to get you in the right mood: