Print Managers Gather Deep in the Heart of Texas

LAST MONTH, in-plant managers from Texas colleges and universities met in Austin for the Texas Association of College and University Printers' (TACUP) conference. While billed as a regional conference, TACUP was actually the largest gathering of university in-plant managers this year, with 40 managers in attendance from as far away as Arizona, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia. And judging by their responses, it was also one of the best events of its kind.

"As a first-time attendee of TACUP, I was very impressed with the caliber of the program," enthused Harv Dahl, of Arizona State University. "Our host planned and executed a conference with sessions of high interest to university print staff, and each session was an enlightening experience. With strong vendor support, this was one of the better conferences I've attended in recent years."

Bobby Espinoza, of Texas State University Print and Mail Services, agreed: "This was Texas State University's first time at TACUP, but it won't be our last. We came back with new knowledge on how to improve our print and mail services."

Richard Beto, director of Document Services at The University of Texas at Austin, and his crew organized an outstanding event. Participants were treated to two days of professional development, vendor networking and great Texas hospitality.

Beto and Marla Martinez, associate vice president for University Operations, kicked off the event with a big Texas welcome. Then keynote speaker Howie Fenton, an NAPL consultant, answered the question "What Makes a World Class University In-plant Printer?" Fenton shared the results of several NAPL surveys of profit leaders in the commercial print sector and pointed out that many in-plants don't keep good records on the types of work they do.

Michelle Mindziak, manager of Addressing, Mailing, & Delivery Services at Penn State, explained how to "Think Outside the Box." She described how Penn State Media and Printing Services leveraged the mail unit to drive up print volume by increasing perceived value and reducing costs. Under her leadership, the unit became the campus mail experts and was able to show departments how properly designed mail could maximize savings. Even in this tough economic climate, she was able to add equipment and staff.

Understanding IT

Kathy Lenox, who leads the information technology support unit serving UT-Austin Printing Services, shared tips for improving the client-IT relationship. She advised managers to recognize IT's peak periods and try to schedule around them. Always include IT when planning for upgrades and new equipment that requires IT support, she said.

Ray Chambers, higher education consultant and long-time in-plant manager, discussed the peer review process. Academic administrators often do not understand how to measure the success of support services, like printing, noted Chambers, so in-plant managers should follow the peer review model used by academic departments to measure performance. Peer review is widely used and understood by higher education administrators, and even though they many not understand printing, they do appreciate and understand the power of external review.

Other sessions included a presentation on taking advantage of the high-powered scanning capacity that comes with modern digital production equipment, and strategies for dealing with our aging workforce. A panel, consisting of Glen Bradford (Texas Christian University), Jimmy Friend (University of North Texas) and Sally Rowland-Kelty (University of Houston) led a discussion on a variety of management issues.

'One of the Top Three TACUP Conferences'

Attendees were very pleased with the quality of the conference.

“This year’s TACUP definitely ranks as one of the top three TACUP conferences I’ve attended—and I’ve been to a total of 25 during my tenure,” remarked Jimmy Friend, of the University of North Texas.

“This conference answered a lot of the questions I had without having to ask them and gave me ideas to increase profitability and efficiency at our own shop,” observed first-timer Courtney Akers of Texas State University Print and Mail Services.

Océ, one of TACUP’s vendor sponsors, invited Ruben Barraza, of North East Independent School District, to attend.

“I feel this was a good investment of time and money and hope to be able to attend next year,” he said.

Chuck Lind, of Texas A&M, agreed, noting “Attending TACUP helps me see what other in-plants are doing in serving their customers, plus it is always nice to see old friends and meet some new ones.”

Joe Goss, of Indiana University, summed it up well: “I attended TACUP to network with several printing experts I have known for years. I knew this group would be talking about the latest in technology improvements for our business. TACUP was an excellent conference. I hope to attend again in the future.”

Beto and his crew attracted a top-notch group of vendors, who displayed their wares during the conference. Lance Whitson, of Neopost, was very pleased with the TACUP experience, noting, “Higher education is a very attractive market for everything Neopost produces. Many of these schools already use our paper handling inserters or addressing systems, or are discussing the need to begin using them.”

Mike Loyd, of Ricoh Americas, was also satisfied with the experience.

“Ricoh continues to support conferences like TACUP because they provide us with face-to-face interaction with decision-makers,” he said. “The smaller venues provide a more intimate setting to really get to know the wants and needs of these printing professionals.”

Ron Shepard, of HP, agreed. “HP sees TACUP as a strong organization that shares openly with all who attend. As we go forward into 2010 many vendors including HP will have to make some tough decisions about the events that we sponsor. TACUP will continue to be an event that HP will strive to participate in each year.”

Bill Zana, of Pitney Bowes, thanked Beto and crew for the opportunity to participate, adding “Pitney Bowes has and will continue to dedicate a great deal of resources in support of our Higher Education clients nationally.”

Next year Sally Rowland-Kelty and her team from the University of Houston will host TACUP. It will be cohosted by The Southwest Association of College and University Mail Services (SWACUMS). Educational sessions will be targeted at both printing and mailing professionals. The joint conference will be held October 24-27, 2010, at the UH Conrad Hilton Hotel located on campus. Y’all come!

Ray Chambers, a consultant with the Chambers Management Group (and now a blogger for IPG), can be reached at: raychambers@earthlink.net