IPG Conference A Success

At the recent IPG Conference and Expo in the Big Apple, in-plant managers wanted fresh ideas for dealing with tough times.

by Mike Llewellyn

CHANGE WAS on everyone's mind at the recent In-Plant Graphics Conference and Expo. Whether that meant breaking into digital technology or rolling with the punches in a down economy, most in-plant managers in attendance wanted to know what they should do differently to stay ahead of the curve.

The turnout was solid at the debut of the IPG Conference in midtown Manhattan last month. Held in conjunction with the established BookTech show, it featured an exhibition of more than 150 publishing and production technology vendors, as well as more than 40 educational sessions, seven of them geared specifically to in-plants.

A keynote address by Peter Meirs, director of alternative media technologies at Time, Inc., kicked off the event, and his talk set the tone for the rest of the conference. Titled "Ride the Wave," Meirs' presentation focused on the importance of staying open and enthusiastic about change, an attitude he calls "business agility."

Using Time as an example, Meirs described how he lead the magazine publishing giant to adopt an integrated operations management system and a computer-to-plate system. Because this was such a major change in the day-to-day operation of the company, Meirs and his team expected resistance. Instead, they were able to implement the shift in just under a year. Meirs says success came because the team stayed attuned to the concerns of the employees whom the change would affect.

"Trust, inclusion and empowerment create a culture that readily embraces change," he told the crowd, explaining that management must constantly communicate its vision. Employees who expect change, he added, are more likely to embrace the arrival of new technology.

Empowered to embrace change, in-plant managers were ready for the rest of the conference.

Staying In Business

One of the first issues tackled was keeping your in-plant in business. IPG Editor Bob Neubauer led off the session by stressing the importance of getting employees to help you market your in-plant. Employees with bad attitudes can drive customers away, he said, so explain to them the crucial role they play in generating and maintaining business.

Neubauer also urged managers to track costs and charge back. Report frequently to management, he said, so management knows you are looking out for the good of the organization. Also, find ways to integrate your in-plant into the electronic operations of the organization.

Cary Sherburne, owner of Sherburne & Associates, a marketing and consulting firm, encouraged managers to stand in their customers' shoes and assess whether or not the in-plant is easy to do business with.

"The biggest question is, why are customers not using your services?" she asked. She suggested managers consult with accounting to learn which departments are sending print work outside, then talk to those departments. Find out what the in-plant can do to make their lives easier.

Sherburne stressed that e-business—whether through a hosted service like Printable Technologies, or with licensed software, such as that of T/R Systems' Digital Storefront—will make your in-plant more user-friendly.

Brad Sanders, president of VOS Design, noted that new technology can also make it much easier for in-plants to report to management.

"Software exists out there to allow you to track and control every job that goes through your in-plant," he said. This allows you to create a report at any time, and to instantly know the status of any job.

Rounding out the session was Bill Lavelle, principal of Point Balance. The former TV Guide in-plant manager described problems with current costing systems (such as those using a budgeted hourly rate), and discussed activity-based cost management, which considers all costs that go into a job.

"It's basically going to ensure that you survive," he said.

The Digital Discussion

At a session entitled "In-plant Digital Production Workflows," EPAC President Michael Britton got things rolling by explaining that in-plants will succeed as long as they pay careful attention to what he calls "the four E's" of in-plant success: expertise, equipment, elimination and expandability.

When managed under this philosophy, says Britton, a shop will naturally be lead into the digital arena. Emerging digital technology allows managers to eliminate steps in a document's life cycle and create a shop that is more easily expandable than an offset shop.

Taking that theme as his cue, Bob Raus, of Océ Printing Systems USA, took the podium to illustrate the savings a digital operation can offer. His message was simple: Using an offset press for short- to medium-run jobs produces excessive waste and cost. On shorter runs, in-plants should take advantage of the negligible makeready times and low skill requirements of digital printing, and the ability to print exactly as many pieces as demand calls for.

If managers still hadn't had their appetites for digital printing information sated, there was more lined up at the next session, "Digital Printing: Unveiling the Opportunities."

Cary Sherburne opened the session by saying what many managers had been thinking all along: "Print on demand is already mainstream."

She stressed that once a shop goes digital, it has to do its best to be more than just a print shop.

"The challenge is really about being a value-added provider," she said.

To make that leap, understand your customers' needs, Sherburne said. She recommended including questionnaires with every job and asking customers what they expect of the in-plant. Armed with that data, she said, you can find the right digital package for your shop.

Following Sherburne, Dan Halkyard demonstrated just how versatile digital—in this case ink-jet—printing can be. Halkyard, marketing director for display media at InteliCoat Technologies, brought a range of coated substrates to illustrate that in-plants, using wide-format equipment, can print wall coverings, automobile decals and many other products.

The Push For Personalization

Attendees convened again the next morning to learn more about producing variable data documents. Boasting the largest panel of the IPG Conference, this session was hosted by representatives from Xerox, Océ and IBM, as well as Tim Steenhoek, director of the document management center at ING Americas, in Des Moines, Iowa.

After Larry Zusman, manager of 1 to 1 solutions marketing for Xerox, laid out the parameters of the presentation, Ken Renko, of Océ Printing Services, noted that today's end users are expecting to receive personalized mailings. He encouraged in-plants to find out what documents are important to their clients and decide what technology is needed to produce them.

"Don't base your decisions on technology—identify your current requirements and select solutions that fit [your shop]," he recommended.

With the "whys" defined, the next speaker went into the "hows." Rich Howarth, IBM Printing Systems' director of strategy, gave an information-packed presentation on the steps in-plants need to take to start printing variable data. First, he said, work with your marketing department to get access to demographic data. In-plants will need to build their database skills, he said.

"If you don't have the data, there's no way you can build a variable data campaign," he pointed out.

Howarth discussed designing the job template with portions for fixed and variable data, and creating the "rules" that tell the printer which data to print on which document.

He cautioned that when you design variable data applications, make sure they generate data your printer can print. Does your application produce standard data streams (e.g. PPML or AFP) that can be used on a range of devices? Howarth offered examples of variable data application software, stressing that the price of the software pales compared to the learning curve.

"The first project is always the hardest. It will get easier as you gain experience," he said. "Try to develop a repeatable process and strive for automation."

Providing an example of an in-plant that is actually doing variable data printing, Tim Steenhoek, shared how ING's operation reduced processing steps and costs, experienced quicker turnaround times and realized better utilization of the existing infrastructure through variable data.

His operation produces personalized post cards, flyers, statements, checks and other items. ING's largest variable printing job utilized 4.5 million records, Steenhoek said.

Steenhoek was back for more at the next session, titled "Merging and Managing Mail Operations." Combining printing and mailing in an organization "just seems to make sense," Steenhoek said, and then proceeded to detail the benefits ING realized by merging the two, including eliminating redundancy of space and staff.

Merging print and mail brings more value to the organization, he said, and saves money.

"We ended up saving ING $1 million," said Steenhoek, adding that this was a very conservative estimate.

Industry consultant C. Clint Bolte reported on the availability of the very powerful Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup Instrument (MERLIN), and ways in which in-plants can focus on using mail as a revenue generator.

"Despite the increased charges [for postage], you should consider the postal service your print partner," he said.

Bolte appeared again in the final session, called "The Web: Enhancing the In-plant Workflow." He detailed in-plant opportunities in online ordering of business cards and stationery and in offering information fulfillment warehousing.

He was joined by Brad Sanders, president of VOS Design, who explained that online job submission is an in-plant essential because of the convenience it brings to customers.

"Value plus convenience equals money. That's what I call the Sanders Theory," he joked, explaining that if an in-plant doesn't add convenience, its days are numbered.