ACUP Roundup in Texas

It may have looked and felt just like a traditional ACUP conference, but when the Association of College and University Printers met in Dallas in April, it was really a new beginning. This was the association's first meeting as a dues-paying, non-profit organization.

For the 86 in-plant managers in attendance, though, it felt a lot like the 40 ACUPs that had come before it, with all the features they had come to love: informative sessions, socializing with peers, vendor exhibits, field trips and, of course, evening social events. This full agenda was the result of months of effort by Tom Tozier, executive director, and Jennifer Bowers, administrative director. Both former ACUP hosts and presidents, they put together a rewarding event that satisfied both new and long-time members.

Many of the "usual" faces were back this year, joined by a whole crew of first- and second-time attendees. They came from 26 states and all four corners of the country, including an impressive contingent from California, a state whose budget woes and travel restrictions have kept its managers at home in recent years.

Four Canadian in-plant managers attended ACUP this year, all members of CUPMAC, the College and University Print Management Association of Canada. They were joined by another international attendee, Andrew Scott, of Glasgow Caledonian University, attending his 13th ACUP.

The conference started with a lively evening reception and culminated with a visit to one of the country's most recognized in-plants, University of North Texas Printing & Distribution Solutions. In between, the educational sessions all carried a common theme: in-plants need to think beyond traditional printing and incorporate new services and new media.

Attendees had ample time to reflect on that message during the evening social events, which included a dinner sponsored by Canon, a tour of Cowboys Stadium, dinner at Billy Bob's Honky Tonk in Fort Worth and a closing banquet with entertainment by magician/comedian John Kline (and his assistant Jimmy Friend).

Rethink Your In-plant

"We must stop thinking of ourselves as printers," implored opening keynote speaker Dr. Jerry Waite, professor of technology at the University of Houston. "It's our job to help our customers get the right message to the right person at the right time using the right media."

This, he noted, requires a mix of media, not just printing. In-plants must seek ways to incorporate e-mail, PURLs, social media and mobile communications into integrated print campaigns.

"Printing drives Web site attendance, and Web site hits are what it's all about," he said. QR codes are an essential tool to help bring this about, he noted, adding that people respond better to a QR code on a printed piece than they do to a Web site message.

In-plants must focus on measurable results and help customers identify how much printed pieces contribute to their campaigns' success. Prove to them that printing provides the best return on investment. Part of that ROI, though, is the added value your in-plant provides, so make sure you offer numerous related services, like scanning, photography, database management, consulting, etc.

Waite also implored in-plants to become part of their university's mission.

"Become an integral part of the education process," he said. Collaborate with marketing professors on student projects involving print and QR codes. Invite graphic arts students to visit. Provide internships. And make sure your administration knows how you are contributing to the educational mission.

Waite also discussed the environmental friendliness of printing vs. electronic media. Paper is made from renewable materials, he said, and is manufactured using largely carbon-neutral energy sources.

"You need to be an evangelist for print," he implored—and this means responding to e-mails that bear tag lines like "Save a tree. Don't print this." Educate people about how green print really is.

Value-added Services

Waite's messages were driven home by other speakers during the three-day conference, who also stressed the need for value-added services. In a panel discussion on that topic, IPG's Bob Neubauer offered numerous examples of in-plants that have successfully added services like document scanning, sign making, engraving, QR codes and more.

Then Bucknell University's Lisa Hoover detailed how her in-plant took over e-mail distribution for the university. She told others interested in offering this service to first find out how e-mail broadcasts are currently being handled. If the process is decentralized, she said, stress the value of having one department coordinate all e-mails. That department can ensure the same audience is not inundated with messages, and also that the content and look of e-messages are coordinated with printed messages. Plus, keeping this service in-house will keep e-mail addresses more secure.

Also on the panel was Paul Roberts, of the University of New Hampshire, who described how his shop has been successfully printing custom wallpaper for students, using its 60˝ HP Designjet L25500 printer and HP PVC-free paper. Students love it, he said, and the wallpaper has enabled the in-plant to better connect with this audience. What's more, senior marketing students have been enlisted to help market the wallpaper.

Managed Print Services

In another session, Ray Chambers, CEO of Chambers Management Group, challenged managers to think critically about managed print services proposals from vendors. Will their money-saving claims stand up to scrutiny?

The first problem, he said, is that most higher-ed organizations don't know what they're spending because of their de-centralized nature, so determining savings is nothing more that a guess. The only way to determine what an organization is spending is to track costs for an extended period of time, preferably one year, he said.

Chambers showed the audience examples of MPS proposals and suggested ways to think critically about them. For example, if an MPS vendor tells you the cost of a particular device in terms of toner and inkjet costs and expected yields, go to the equipment vendor's site and check. You may find that the MPS "industry standard" is inflated.

MIS and Web-to-print

A panel discussion on workflow, MIS and Web-to-print software featured Bonnie Lyons, of Villanova University, Jack Williams, of the University of Tennessee, and Hamid Kasmai, of George Mason University. They discussed the pros and cons of their software (from Rochester Software Associates, Printable and EFI, respectively).

Lyons reported that before adding RSA's WebCRD software, the shop was inundated with questions about jobs, and jobs were "touched" a lot more by staff. Now, however, faculty, staff and students fill out orders, proof their jobs and get quotes and receipts all online, saving time and adding efficiency. Some 95 percent of student work now "auto flows" into the in-plant, she said.

The other panel members noted the same benefits. Williams, though, cautioned that job templates take time to set up and they won't necessarily transfer to a different software if you ever want to switch. So choose carefully, he warned.

Survival in Today's Economy

Virginia Tech's Catherine Chambers discussed four primary techniques for survival in today's turbulent economy: financial management, marketing, adding services and showing strategic relevance.

Being "better, cheaper and faster" is no longer enough, she said. Today's in-plants must understand the trends affecting their institutions and governing boards and promote the ways they contribute to the academic mission of the institution. She suggested reporting metrics regularly on how the in-plant contributes (e.g. course materials, copyright clearances, recruiting materials).

Marketing your services to the entire campus community is crucial for in-plants, she said. Chambers showed examples of new services offered by other higher-ed in-plants and suggested that in-plants follow the lead of Richard Beto (University of Texas at Austin), whom she feels sets the standard for higher-ed in-plant marketing initiatives.

Be Smartest, Most Innovative

In a similar vein, Howie Fenton, senior consultant with the National Association for Printing Leadership, advised attendees to strive to be the smartest, best managed and most innovative in-plant. In his keynote address on day two of the conference, he told attendees to make sure they know their mission at the university and that they understand how they are evaluated.

Everyone on your staff, he noted, should be a salesperson for the in-plant. They should all be able to articulate the value the in-plant provides (e.g. cost, convenience, brand police) and be able to upsell other products when talking with customers.

He encouraged managers to talk with customers about their needs and update services accordingly.

"Surveys are very important," he said. "Your customers' needs are changing."

He also told managers to closely monitor their bottom line. "Look at your bottom line at least four times a year," he said, and reduce your cost structures as volumes decline.

When doing a "make vs. buy analysis," he noted, don't focus only on the lowest-cost provider, but take the average of all providers. This is most likely what you will end up paying.

He noted that variable data printing is where the future lies for printers. He also talked about the importance of QR codes for making print interactive, and showed examples of how they are being used.

In a session on sustainability, Tozier (who is also president/CEO of TNT Sustainable Business Solutions) discussed the environmental, economical and social responsibility aspects of sustainability. By stressing your in-plant's sustainable efforts, he said, you align yourself more closely with your university's green goals.

He detailed the new In-Plant Sustainable and Green certification that his company provides, noting that University of North Texas Printing and Distribution Solutions was the first in-plant to earn it.

The Best for Last

That in-plant was the topic of the very last session at ACUP, when Director Jimmy Friend, with the help of his supervisor Deborah Leliaert, vice president for University Relations, Communications and Marketing, told the crowd how he had turned his shop from a failure into a roll model.

Leliaert revealed that, back in 1994, she had fired the in-plant for its poor quality printing and bad service. Friend acknowledged that, when he started as director in 1995, the in-plant was in bad shape. Employees had bad attitudes toward each other and toward customers. When he sent out a survey to 200 customers that year, only 22 bothered to respond—and 15 of those rated the shop's service and quality "unacceptable."

To turn things around, Friend conducted an operational audit. He asked Larry Lorino, in-plant manager at the University of Texas-Houston, Health Science Center, to verify the results. Then he developed a plan to improve and measure each aspect of the audit.

He insisted employees improve their attitudes. He began a personal contact campaign, visiting customers frequently to make it clear he was not happy with the way the in-plant had been operating and was serious about changing things.

To improve quality, he analyzed problems in the process, refusing to dwell on employee errors and blame. As the process improved, so did quality, and employees' attitudes followed suit.

In the years that followed, Friend and his team did a lot more to turn their shop around, including creating a reserve fund to upgrade equipment and implementing a five-year equipment plan. Slowly the in-plant changed, as did its perception at UNT. Today it's a well-respected, well-utilized operation on campus. What's more, it has become a model for other in-plants and has earned 60 In-Print awards to date.

The tour of UNT's print and mail operation was a fitting end to the conference. (Watch it on video at InPlantGraphics.com.) Attendees got to see the in-plant's two new Ryobi offset presses (a five-color and a direct imaging press) as well as its new digital printing room, housing two HP Indigo digital presses and two Océ VarioPrints (a 6160 and a 2100). The Texas barbecue lunch in a tent outside, cooked up by UNT's Clem Deussen, was the perfect conclusion to ACUP 2011.

Next year, ACUP will head north to rural Lewisburg, Pa., where it will be hosted by Bucknell University.