Talk from the Top Offset and Digital Printing

Top 50 in-plants say one of the keys to their success is modernizing their offset and digital printing capabilities.

By Eric Martin

You're probably sitting at a desk, not winded or breathing hard—but in all likelihood, at this very moment, you're racing against competitors to get work printed.

This competition is even more apparent at the in-plants on the IPG Top 50. They operate in a "get it done yesterday" mind-set, and that goal has pushed these successful operations to update their printing equipment with an eye solely on speed.

In 2003, for example, John A. Sarantakos, administrator of University of Oklahoma Printing Services, in Norman, Okla., added a MAN Roland double perfector press and saw an immediate boost in efficiency and productivity at his shop, which ranks 28th on this year's Top 50.

"It's the difference between a new car and an old one in terms of nearly everything," says Sarantakos. "We cut makereadies by a third to a half, and the run times are two to three times as fast as on our previous short-run two- and four-color presses. The hourly rates are a little more expensive, but the amount of work you get done in that time is almost exponential.

"As a university, the short- and mid-run color market is a significant part of our business, and doing it two to three times faster has made all the difference in the world in terms of our profitability," he says. "Print quality is better as well, with better controls and repeatability, but that almost goes without saying.

"The concept and processes with any printing equipment are similar," continues Sarantakos. "You can do a job with a 30-year-old press the same as with a new one, but not nearly as fast. Today, you have to push things through and make money."

Faster, Better, Stronger

The need for speed has also taken hold within Printing and Distribution Services at Texas Health and Human Services, in Austin.

"By volume, forms continue to make up approximately 60 percent of our workload," says manager Paul Kida, who saw his shop land in 31st place on the Top 50. "We currently have five web presses to meet that demand, and without the speed of those web presses, we couldn't keep our shop competitive in today's market.

"On the sheetfed side, approximately two years ago, we acquired a Sakurai 466, and this 26˝ four-color perfector has made a huge difference in the speed that we can turn out four-color process and two-over-two work," continues Kida. "We operate this press 18 hours a day, and it can produce a tremendous amount of color work in a short period of time."

A "new" press doesn't even have to be the latest and greatest model if it tops what you currently have.

"We've upgraded our offset capability by replacing an older press with a used late-model Heidelberg SM52-2p press," says Gary Boyd, manager of Printing Services for Iowa State University, which came in at number 44 on this year's Top 50.

In addition to being equipped with automated features such as auto plate loading, blanket wash-up and push-button register, the press attains speeds that are twice that of the shop's previous model, Boyd says.

"It has improved our quality and turnaround time, while making it easier for the operator to do his or her job," Boyd says. Other changes at Iowa State include the installation of Epson 10600 and 9600 plotters that allow improved color and production speed over older equipment.

Says Boyd, "We've also improved our digital capability for black-and-white by replacing three older DocuTech 135s with new DocuTech 115s with Digipaths [scanners]. The new equipment is more reliable and offers improved image quality. The Digipaths also make it easier to move files between machines and locations for load balancing, thus making us more productive and helping us meet shorter customer turnaround times."

Rick Wise, director of University of Missouri Printing Services, in Columbia, also stresses the benefits of offering customers both offset and digital printing.

"I think it's been a tremendous advantage for us, since we can switch back and forth and do combination jobs as required," he says. "We've kept up with digital toner technology, and by staying ahead of that curve we've been able to grow our business. We probably would have died if we'd just stayed on the glass copier."

Instead of dying, though, the shop's adaptability earned it a number 28 spot on the Top 50.

Wide-format work, both posters and lamination, have flourished since Wise's shop installed an HP 5000.

"After we put that device in and marketed it even modestly, customers started giving us more and more jobs for wide output," he says. "It's a good cultivatable market, especially for a college in-plant."

Another manager working on the "if you build it, they will come" principle is Dianne Gregory, executive director of General Services at the University of Minnesota, who added a Xerox DocuColor 2045 to her shop within the past year.

"We have good variable data black-and-white and wanted to offer color variable as well," she says. "We also wanted a quicker turnaround on small color projects at a good price point."

So far, says Gregory, customers have been thrilled by the new machine's output—even if they aren't yet seeing everything it can do.

"We aren't doing too much variable color, but as people are seeing it, like in the workshops we're doing, they're beginning to see the possibilities and make use of it," she says. With this cultivation of new customers and new work, the shop could easily top its rank of 32 in next year's Top 50.

Beyond the Race

Improving your printing output doesn't necessarily mean a focus solely on putting the pedal to the metal. By contrast, J. R. Gaddis, director of University of Oregon Printing and Mailing Services, in Eugene, talks up his shop's relatively recent purchase of a six-color Heidelberg press.

"We've been able to bring back the four-, five- and six-color premium printing in our marketing materials that we had previously outsourced to private industry," says Gaddis. This has boosted business, earning the in-plant a place on the Top 50 at number 47.

"Over the past year," Gaddis continues, "we have become the printer of choice for the departments on campus that produce premium printed pieces, and we've saved thousands in scarce budget resources in the process."

As a result, he adds, "We have enjoyed one of the most rewarding financial years in the department's 115-year history."

The University of Oregon is now preparing for a new five-year fund-raising campaign that will use color much more vividly in its marketing materials. To handle the increased production—production that wouldn't have been possible a few years ago—Gaddis has hired a swing-shift six-color press operator.

"We've also installed a Xerox 6060 to elevate our digital color printing offerings to the university while decreasing their costs. With customer access through our Web page, we are projecting a tenfold increase in our present volume and variable data abilities of short-run digital color printing."

Over the long term, Gaddis plans to promote an integrated package of offset and digital printing by talking up, in his words, "the strong points of low-cost, long-run premium color with the one-on-one personalization of digital color."

Sure, speed helps when you're racing against others, but knowing what your customers need—even before they do—can also help you reach printing paradise. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you'll find printing opportunities galore.