New Four-color Press Bolsters Mayo Clinic’s Capabilities
To provide the Mayo Clinic with quality printing of patient education materials and continuing professional development postcards and brochures, the non-profit medical center has relied on its in-plant for many years. The 55-employee shop, based in Rochester, Minn., has kept up with changes in technology and even added a digital color press two years ago.
But even though digital presses are replacing offset at in-plants around the country, Mayo’s in-plant found itself outsourcing a lot of long-run four-color work because it was not cost effective to print it digitally.
To keep this business in-house, the in-plant recently installed a brand new four-color sheetfed press with a perfector—its first four-color offset press. It joined a pair of offset duplicators and a two-color press.
“We’re actually taking [work] off the [digital press] and putting it on that,” remarks Rick Olsen, production supervisor. He refers to long-run jobs that weren’t well-suited to the digital press. The new offset press is producing them much faster, at speeds up to 13,000 impressions per hour.
“This thing is just cranking out the work like you wouldn’t believe,” Olsen says.
By adding the offset press, he says, the in-plant is saving Mayo money by bringing formerly outsourced jobs back in-house, where they are produced for less money. For example, the in-plant is now printing note cards with colorful images on them to send out to donors, a job the shop had not been able to do in the past. Also, now his staff can ensure that colors are produced accurately, such as Mayo’s signature blue (PMS 293).
“It gives us more scheduling options,” he adds. “More flexibility.”
Olsen says the in-plant has started to focus on Lean Manufacturing. To get them started, a consultant recently ran a two-day training at the facility for 10 supervisors.
- People:
- Rick Olsen
- Places:
- Rochester, Minn.
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
