In-plants Gather at Texas Ranch

TACUP/SWACUMS attendees enjoyed a trailer ride through the Flying L Ranch property to watch "the deer and the antelope play.”

Last week in Texas, nearly two dozen in-plant printing and mailing managers met at the Flying L Ranch, outside of San Antonio for the joint Texas Association of College and University Printers (TACUP) / Southwest Association of College and University Mail Services (SWACUMS) conference. Though most attendees hailed from the Lone Star State, some managers traveled from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Utah as well.

Speakers at the conference included:

• Richard Beto, of The University of Texas at Austin, who discussed the planning and changes involved with relocating a printing center and losing building space, as well as the need for better communication across university channels.
• Eric Silber, of Concordia University, who talked about developing a customer service matrix involving perceived performance balanced against perceived importance.
• Arthur Paré, with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, who led a discussion on in-plant topics such as copyright, trademark, privacy rights, Fair Use, licensing, course packs and scanning.
• Jerrick Johns, of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, who talked about managing the multi-function copier fleet, software development and copier selection.

Other topics covered:

• Making your in-plant invaluable.
• How your in-plant can become a distributor of promotional products and sell them to your university.
• Tracking technologies for inventory control, labor accumulation and workflow.
• The importance of understanding non-verbal communication.