Inkjet Summit, ACUP Both Begin Monday

Next week will be a busy one for In-plant Impressions. Editor Bob Neubauer will be attending two of the biggest events of the spring, the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) conference, in New Haven, Conn., and the 7th annual Inkjet Summit, taking place in its usual location at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, near Jacksonville, Fla.

With 104 attendees expected from higher-ed and K-12 in-plants, ACUP will begin with a networking reception Sunday evening and continue with three days of educational sessions. Neubauer will provide an opening keynote on Monday, speaking about emerging opportunities for in-plants as they seek ways to add value in a converging graphic arts market.

2018 ACUP attendees gather for the opening keynote address. About 90 higher-ed and K-12 in-plant managers attended last year’s conference at Lake Tahoe.

A number of sessions this year will focus on wide-format printing, with users offering tech tips and tricks for both roll-fed and flatbed wide-format printing. Numerous roundtable discussions will bring managers together to discuss topics like envelope printing, Web-to-print, USPS regulations, staff development, specialized printing, production inkjet and more. Keynotes will cover how strategies employed by baseball team managers can be used to cultivate leadership skills, and how to create an environment where employees feel ownership and a high level of motivation to succeed.

ACUP will end with a tour of Yale University's award-winning Print & Publishing Services operation, followed by the ACUP Awards dinner and ceremony on Wednesday.

Meanwhile in Florida, the Inkjet Summit gets underway Monday evening with a keynote by event chair Marco Boer, VP of I.T. Strategies, who will look at how thriving print providers are leveraging inkjet technology to drive their growth — and the potential consequences of delaying inkjet investment. Sessions Tuesday and Wednesday will delve deep into production inkjet from many angles, such as selling the technology and finding the right finishing options.

With about 125 print providers expected — including nearly two dozen in-plants — the invitation-only Inkjet Summit, owned and run by IPI's parent company NAPCO Media, will provide attendees with an in-depth education about production inkjet printing. For three days, in-plant managers will mingle with printing company owners and senior-level operations managers, sharing real-life experiences and enjoying a nonstop program of keynotes, user panel discussions, case studies and expert consultant presentations.

Among the in-plants attending next week are managers from the University of Alabama, Mayo Clinic, the NYPD, SelectHealth, University of Michigan, Centene Corp., the State of Washington, Medical Mutual of Ohio, AAA and Washington State University, to name a few. Neubauer will lead a panel discussion of in-plant inkjet users on Wednesday featuring managers from Houston Independent School District, Aflac and Omaha Public Schools.