In-plants produce creative wide-format inkjet applications, generate big profits

By Chris Bauer

Hershey Wraps More than Candy

In 2009, the staff at The Hershey Company’s in-plant used its wide-format printing capabilities to transform an old Isuzu box truck into a work of art. That project led the in-plant to start insourcing jobs wrapping vehicles, says Bob Wamsher , manager of Printing Services at the Hershey, Pa.-based in-plant.

The candy company’s in-plant is home to a pair of 60˝ Canon wide-format printers used for indoor materials, and a Roland XC540 that produces outdoor materials such as vinyl banners and vehicle wraps. The shop has been doing wide-format work in-house for about eight years.

“We have an interesting project coming up,” Wamsher confides. “The company bought eight totally electric cars and we will be wrapping them in a theme to show the public what the cars are and how they will be used.”

The in-plant works in conjunction with the company’s marketing department and an in-house designer to come up with new ways to use the wide-format equipment. Hershey has its own retail stores around the country, and the in-plant produces work for the various locations, including in-store signage and window decorations, Wamsher says.

He notes that sign printing is the fastest-growing area of the in-plant, and he has plans to install a flatbed printer to create jobs directly on foam board, which will eliminate labor and costs involved in mounting.

The shop has received a lot of positive customer feedback about its wide-format projects, Wamsher contends.

“A lot of people in the company didn’t even know we had these capabilities,” he says. “So the more we do, the more the word gets out there, and it is good publicity for our shop.”

The 2011-2012 college basketball season was an exciting time on the campus of Murray State University, in Murray, Ky. The Murray State Racers were the last undefeated Division I team in the nation, and people were beginning to take notice.

"I was watching a game one night on television and thought it would be fun if we had those fatheads at our games," recalls Sherry McClain, director of Print Media at Murray State. Fatheads are oversized printed likenesses of various athletes or public figures.

McClain first talked to the in-plant staff about ways they could produce fatheads in-house at a reasonable cost. Then she contacted the marketing coordinator in the athletic department and asked if he would be interested in producing fatheads at a discounted price to be used at the home games.

"And he jumped on it," she points out. "The first night they were out, people just went bananas over them."

Likewise, in-plants have been going bananas over wide-format inkjet printing for years now. Intense customer interest and rapid ROI make these devices a sure hit for those in-plants smart enough to install them. The latest IPG research shows that 59 percent of in-plants offer wide-format printing. They are continually finding new creative, innovative applications for their customers—such as the fatheads at Murray State.

McClain says her shop prints them with a Canon imagePROGRAF iPF9000s. At 48˝ wide, they have a cardboard backing and are laminated using a Xyron Pro 4400. The in-plant produced fathead versions of the school's head coach, former and current players, ESPN college basketball guru Dick Vitale, the president of the university, 'Scrat' from the movie Ice Age, and the Grinch. The athletic department handed them out to fans attending games.

McClain says that the pinnacle of the fathead program's success was when Vitale came to campus to call a Murray State game for ESPN in February, and the students had his fathead in the background of the camera shots. Research showed that the basketball team's successful season netted Murray State in excess of $46 million worth of exposure to an audience of more than 459 million people, she notes.

"I can definitely say that our investment paid for itself quickly and continues to be a money-maker for us," McClain maintains, noting that the shop printed its first banner with the Canon machine in April 2011 and the printer had paid for itself by the end of June 2011.

Besides the fatheads, Murray State's in-plant has produced various posters and banners for offices, college programs and events on campus, as well as for students to use for presentations.

"We have great in-house designers, so we can do knock-out jobs among other projects," McClain boasts.

Wide-format a Necessity

In Memphis, David Griste, manager of the 10-employee in-plant for the Shelby County Government, says the addition of the shop's 42˝ HP Designjet 5500ps was out of necessity.

"It was something we had to do," he explains. "The county jail and corrections facilities needed informational posters and we were continually sending those out. And of course once we got the equipment it just generated more work."

The in-plant uses its wide-format equipment to print posters, signs and banners for all Shelby County departments; to reproduce architectural plans for various agencies; and to produce evidence drawings used in court proceedings by the Attorney General's Office.

But the shop's niche is providing custom framed and matted photos and prints for governmental office décor, Griste contends. The in-plant has access to hundreds of old photos of the Memphis area dating back to the 1800s, and also has a photographer on staff that provides current photos of the area.

"The photographer will go out and take specific photos for customers as well as others to add to the database for future use," Griste says. "We are constantly looking to find new things to do."

The government in-plant also does all the framing/mat cutting in-house.

"It all started as a special project for our Commission Office and just spread from there," Griste says. "We have done hundreds of these over the past years."

In 2011, the shop purchased a GBC Titan 1244WF laminator that does hot lamination and cold mounting. Griste feels it has greatly increased the quality of work produced for his clients. The shop also has a 42˝ HP Designjet 4500 color scanner that is a perfect match for the 5500, he says.

Before adding the laminator, the shop was using spray glue to finish wide-format jobs. "The problem with that here, with the humidity that we have, is that it bubbles up and looks really cruddy," Griste says.

One of the more unusual wide-format jobs the shop produced was a television backdrop for the previous mayor's weekly TV show.

"We took banner material and our graphic artist designed the backdrop and we hung it in the air like curtains," Griste explains. "It was just outstanding."

Griste admits he had no idea there would be this much business available prior to bringing in the wide-format equipment six years ago.

"We have a bad habit of telling people 'oh, yes we can do that' and then as soon as they leave we say 'now how are we going to do that?' " he says with a laugh. "But that pressure creates creativity."

Lots of Wide-format Experience

Wide-format printing is nothing new for the staff at California State University, Sacramento, Reprographics & Mail Services. Assistant to the Director Laura Lockett notes that the in-plant got into the wide-format game 12 years ago, and now utilizes a 44˝ Epson Stylus Pro 9800 to serve its clients on campus.

"The bulk of our work supports a division on campus called Conference and Training Services, part of the College of Continuing Education," she notes. "They do conferences for state agencies, and we print all their conference easel signage." The shop uses a proSeal 44 Pouch laminator for finishing the easel signs.

"We've also opened our services to the Department of Design, and print design student projects," Lockett says. "These often include posters for special events or interior design layouts."

The in-plant also had metal/Plexiglas frames installed on its mail delivery carts, and sells advertising space for special events. Every month a different event poster is printed, laminated and installed on the cart.

"The advertising on the carts is a good way of promoting the in-plant and its capabilities," she says, adding that the in-plant also holds open houses, sends out e-mail and puts information on its Web site about its wide-format capabilities.

Lockett notes that the university has several galleries on campus that have allowed the in-plant to get involved in some unusual projects. One such job had the shop provide printed materials for a Greek exhibit display.

"We ran a Greek illustration on eight 24x120˝ panels," Lockett recalls. "They hung them from PVC pipe emulating a 'Greek column feel' behind a display of artifacts. It turned out really well."

Lockett says it is fun for the operators to do interesting and more creative jobs. It also allows the shop to work with students to produce class projects.

"For one project, the students had to take an old music band and make a concert revival series," Lockett says, which included a package of collateral materials and a poster. "We ran a ton of posters for that. For me, the fun part is being part of the education process."

As for the cost of the in-plant's wide-format printers, Lockett says the payback time has been quick.

"Our volumes have more than covered the cost of both devices, and it continues to be a great revenue stream for us," she notes.