Business Management - In-plant Justification

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.

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.

Private sector printers have been bad-mouthing in-plants since time immemorial. Hungry for business, they have long tried to shame governments/universities/companies into privatizing their printing, with claims of their own superior prices, quality and service.

The current economy can be viewed as a threat or an opportunity. For in-plants that have made the right investments, the economy has opened the door to some new and exciting opportunities.

The Washington State Department of Printing (PRT) has had a tough year, with some members of the state senate pushing for its closure. A recent victory for the in-plant, however, is sure to make some of those pro-outsourcing senators squirm. The Department of Printing won the 2011 IPMA Management Award, which recognizes an outstanding in-house publishing department for its team effort in support services to the organization.