Business Management - In-plant Justification

Two years ago, things were looking up for M.I.T. Copy Technology Centers, the in-plant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. After a long search, the 21-employee operation had finally made the decision to acquire a Xerox iGen3 and was preparing to enter the world of high-quality color printing.

You need to update your equipment, but your financial circumstances say, "There are no funds available." So how do you buy what you need, so you can continue to improve your operating performance, when there's no cash, and no budget approved for needed equipment?

Why is it that sometimes in-plant printers can’t catch a break—at least, not from commercial printers? It seems like every time I talk to a commercial printer and the subjects of in-plants comes up, all I hear is negativity.

In-plants at non-profits play an especially crucial role for their organizations: they reduce the cost of printing, allowing the non-profit to put those savings to use to fulfill its mission. Our recent survey of in-plants at non-profit organizations brought in 37 responses.

A blog hosted by a well-known print periodical recently included a posting on why price should not be the sole criteria for choosing a printer. What’s the big deal? What if the print buyer is upper management, and the printer is the organization’s in-plant?

A blog hosted by a well-known print periodical recently included a posting on why price should not be the sole criteria for choosing a printer. What’s the big deal? What if the print buyer is upper management, and the printer is the organization’s in-plant?

My wife Catherine and I recently returned from an incredible experience. We were invited to present at the annual University Print Managers’ Group (UPMG) conference in the U.K.

Though Brian Wadell passed away on May 17, his 2011 article detailing all the ways his in-plant benefits the University of California-Davis is well worth another look. He shared it hoping other managers could use his list to help justify their own in-plants.

There was something about the recent In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference in Charleston, S.C., that really made it stand out; something more than the great sessions and packed vendor fair; something beyond the fact that Ricoh Americas launched a major color print system there, bringing the event into the national spotlight.

I had the opportunity to spend a few days recently visiting a shop that I worked with two or three years ago. Revisiting a shop that had issues, only to find that most—if not all—of the issues have been resolved, is one of the most rewarding things about my job.