ACUP in the Sunshine State

WHEN YOU combine a vibrant, amiable group like the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) with a beautiful setting like Clearwater Beach, Fla., you have the recipe for an excellent event. Last month’s ACUP conference was exactly that. It brought together 130 in-plant managers from all over the world for four days of discussions, educational sessions and fun in the Florida sun.

Old friends and newcomers alike fell easily into conversation at every opportunity, sharing information during the sessions, at breaks and late into the night. Even Monday evening’s sunset boat cruise became an opportunity to talk shop and compare stories. Poolside discussions, too, usually centered on the latest digital presses and Web-to-print solutions.

ACUP has a very loyal fan base. Attendees came from all corners of the country: Alaska, Maine, California and everywhere in between. Very few states were not represented. Even the U.K., Australia and Canada sent representatives.

This year’s ACUP—the 44th—was organized by Jennifer Bowers, director of Printing, Mailing and Postal Services at Florida State University, and Tully Burnett, associate director of Auxiliary Services at the University of North Florida. They chose a great location and assembled a terrific lineup of speakers. They also brought in almost 40 vendors, who set up exhibits just outside the meeting rooms.

Off to a Good Start

In-Plant Graphics had the honor of kicking off the conference when Editor Bob Neubauer gave a presentation on the state of the in-plant industry. ACUP attendees were the first to see the results of a major IPG industry survey. (Watch for the full report soon.)

In-plants continue to grow, according to the data; in the last three years, 74 percent have added equipment and 57 percent have added services. Some of the top new services have been online ordering (35 percent have added it since 2005), wide-format printing (28 percent) and scanning to PDF (24 percent). Survey data shows a notable increase in the number of in-plants that handle services like print procurement, digital printing, mailing and fulfillment.

IPG research reveals a drop in production of stationery, business forms, envelopes and directories, and an increase in banners/signs, magazines, calendars, tags/labels and ID cards. Attendees also learned other important facts, like which manager has appeared on the most IPG covers and how many in-plant magazines there are in the entire world. (One, in case you didn’t know.)

Mail Industry Update

Neubauer’s presentation was followed by an update on changes in the mailing industry by David Riscile, of Böwe Bell + Howell. Automation discounts have never been better, he said, and he showed some of the savings mailers can obtain. He explained the details of Intelligent Mail Barcodes and noted that mailers who participate will receive additional discounts. Riscile also noted that, despite corporate efforts to reduce printed statements and move consumers to e-statements, only about 5 percent of us are willing to part with our printed statements, on average.

Mail was also the topic of another session by Purdue’s Chuck Tuttle and Thom Roylance of Brigham Young University. They took turns discussing the challenges and benefits of merging mail and print operations. Such a one-stop-shop arrangement provides faster turnaround and more opportunities for using variable data printing, they said. It also cuts staff requirements due to cross training.

Roylance discussed evolving postal regulations, including size and content restrictions, and provided a “to do” list to help others propose and carry out a print-mail merger.

Tuttle added that because his in-plant includes both, some customers don’t bother to bid out print jobs that will be mailed from the in-plant; it’s easier to have the in-plant print them too. To ensure compatibility with postal requirements, pieces are reviewed by mail staff before they’re even printed, Tuttle said.

Getting What You Want

Next year’s ACUP host Richard Griffin, of Central Piedmont Community College, led a session on justifying equipment and software acquisitions. To get what you want, he stressed, you must find a way to show how it will benefit the university—not just your in-plant. The first step is getting your staff excited about it, he said. This is not always a sure thing, as he was surprised to find out when he proposed adding a digital color printer. To get staff on board, he enlisted the support of a trusted supervisor, who had credibility due to her long tenure at the in-plant.

Next, Griffin said, visit departments and show them how the new equipment will help them. But also listen to them and understand their true needs.

“You have to know what your customers want before you can move on to the next step,” he said. You may even have to rethink what you want, based on their needs.

When you make your presentation to upper management, bring a representative from each department that will benefit from the new technology.

“You need to have someone there who doesn’t have a stake in the acquisition,” Griffin maintained.

All they have to do is affirm the benefits you describe. If no one can come, at least get a signed letter stating the benefits to that department, he suggested.

“You need to involve other departments in this process,” he said.

Eat Change for Breakfast

Change can be scary for employees, said speaker Leslie Rutledge, of San Diego State University. So you have to make it exciting for them and explain how it will make their lives better.

When she started at ReproGraphic Services in 2005, Rutledge made changes carefully, so staff would accept them. She made a commitment to training, and began by teaching staff how to enter jobs into the shop’s Printer’s Plan management system. This gave them a better understanding of job workflow, she said.

Rutledge detailed her in-plant’s move into digital color with an HP Indigo 1050, and how this allowed the shop to bring business cards in-house, with a two-day turnaround instead of the previous six-week turnaround. This has led the in-plant into online ordering. An e-commerce solution for stationery items is being added. Recently the in-plant upgraded to an HP Indigo 5000, which, combined with a Presstek DI press, has given it a completely digital workflow.

In a session on outsourcing, Tom Tozier, of the University of Colorado-Boulder, revealed how he partnered with commercial vendors when he was at the University of CaliforniawasSanta Cruz. He convinced vendors to stop calling on his customers, and in return he outsourced work to them, saving them the time of making sales calls. The vendors gave the in-plant price breaks and the in-plant added a slight markup.

“We ended up with 26 percent of our revenue coming in that way,” Tozier said.

Web submission software was a hot topic at ACUP. Mike Alred, of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, described his shop’s move to EDU Business Solutions software and took questions from the audience, about half of which did not have online ordering. One concern was how to integrate Web submission software with existing order entry systems.

Rhonda Kohler, of Central Michigan University, gave a session on data mining with key customers and using variable data printing to create personalized marketing material.

Understanding the Generations

Catherine Chambers, manager of Printing & Mailing Services for the State College Area School District, made a very interesting presentation called “Understanding the Generations We Manage.” She detailed the differing traits and work habits of the four generations that make up many in-plants’ work forces:

• Traditionalists (born 1922-1943)
• Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965)
• Generation X (born 1966-1980)
• Millennials (born 1980-2000)

Dealing with the younger generations has been a rude awakening for many of us, she said.  They don’t take to the notion of “dues paying,” don’t have the job loyalty of older generations and communicate differently. To more effectively manage them, she said, we must understand how they like to be managed. Generally speaking:

• 
Boomers live to work, are very competitive and are respectful of authority.
• 
Gen Xers are latchkey kids, very individualistic, value work/life balance (as in no overtime), embrace change, are very outcome focused, and they expect to switch jobs. They also desire specific, constructive feedback on performance.
• 
Millennials are sheltered, confident, team-oriented and want to be “rich and famous.” They need interesting work. Multitasking is a way of life, staying connected is essential, and they have zero tolerance for delays.

Communicating with the younger generations should be done differently than with older employees, she contended. Instead of annual reviews, Gen Xers like to receive frequent feedback. They prefer sound bites and informal communications. Make sure they know that what they do matters, she advised. Mentor often but don’t hover. Balance assignments with flexibility. Learn their language and use it to communicate. Reward them immediately and publicly. Create an engaging and fun workplace. Create accountability structures to prevent misunderstandings. Let them use the problem-solving abilities they learned when they were “home-alone.”

As for Millennials, they also like instant feedback and prefer action words and informal communications. They need to have fun when working, but also need to work on things that matter. Challenge them. Ask for their opinion.

Creating a Successful RFP

Cathy Chambers’ husband Ray Chambers, a former in-plant manager and ACUP host who is now CEO of the Chambers Management Group, gave a presentation on creating a successful RFP (request for proposal).

He- explained that an RFP offers several advantages when making large, complex purchases. Primarily, it identifies the goals and expectations for the purchase and defines criteria to be used to make the final decision. This allows the institution to look for the “best solution” to the problem rather than the lowest cost.

The RFP can also become a part of the final agreement, which can offset many of the boilerplate terms of some vendor agreements. Further, the RFP provides a format for the institution to specify required performance factors.

Chambers identified seven areas that need to be addressed to maximize the effectiveness of an RFP:

1. 
Instructions and vendor responsibilities
2. 
Background, problem description and expectations
3. Schedule
4. Evaluation process
5. Award and implementation
6. Institutional terms and conditions
7. 
Specifications (including device specifications, service/maintenance, administrative, technology, cost-per-copy and billing)

On the last full day of ACUP, attendees rode buses to Sunken Gardens, a botanical garden in St. Petersburg. In this green setting, Vic Barkin spoke about sustainability issues and urged in-plants to be more environmentally responsible. He listed 10 things in-plants can do to make an impact:

1. 
Be/get in compliance with all regulatory agencies.
2. 
Promote high recycled content paper and two-sided printing.
3. 
Promote certified paper; get FSC certified.
4. 
Recycle everything (paper, packaging, PCs, supplies, food).
5. 
Let your vendors and subcontractors know you want “green.”
6. 
Investigate, test and implement low VOC/HAP products.
7. 
Discuss “green” options with your clients.
8. 
Get an energy audit; calculate your carbon footprint.
9. 
Adopt a cause (charities, adopt-a-highway, plant-a-tree, etc.).
10. 
Track, report, market, promote and publicize your efforts.

The conference wrapped up with a tour of the St. Petersburg Times printing facility, followed by a dinner at the hotel.

Planning for ACUP 2009 is already underway. It will be hosted by Central Piedmont Community College, in Charlotte, N.C. It was reassuring to hear that several universities have stepped forward to host future ACUPs in locations such as San Diego, Austin, Texas, and Boulder, Colorado.