Working 'For the Kids'

"To even out the workflow, we decided we had to figure out exactly what order the jobs were coming in and to prioritize them," she says. "If there's a situation where there are a bunch of jobs coming in on the same day, we'll move to a first-come, first-served system."

Awards for Quality Work

The careful attention Printing Services pays to quality output earned it In-Print awards in 1997 and 1999. A performance like that isn't bad for a small shop with an annual operating budget of $310,000. Hale passes on a lot of the credit for the success of her plant to the International Publishing Management Association (IPMA), of which she's been a member since 1996. She recently served as vice president of the Rocky Mountain chapter and is on its officers' board. She has also received her certified graphic communications manager (CGCM) certification from IPMA.