Business Management - In-plant Justification

TO REDUCE the environmental impact of their operations, in-plants are reexamining the way they do things. As a result, soy-based inks, water-soluble solvents and recycled/FSC-certified paper are becoming commonplace. In-plants are switching to chemistry-free CTP, promoting duplexing and initiating recycling programs—all in the name of improving their image and doing the right thing for the environment.

You need to have a good idea about what you want your future to look like in order to chart a path to get there. It’s not enough to want to create a strategic plan or survey your customers; you need a reason as well.

Here are some Standard Operating Procedures from a shop I visited recently: No one leaves for the day until the white board is cleared and all jobs due that day are finished.

I just hung up from a conversation with an administrator at a major university in the Southwest. Background: This school closed its in-plant printing department—offset and digital—four or five years ago. That’s right, they outsourced everything.

Customers want more control of the production process. Frank Romano (I think) coined the term “ransom note typesetting” not long after the first Macintosh came out. The early Macs offered 30+ fonts. Suddenly fonts were available to everyone. Customers became typographers and graphic designers.

In June 2009, the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) met in Rochester, NY, for a successful conference that drew more than 100 in-plant managers.

WHILE ATTENDING the Digital Printing in Government & Higher Education Forum in Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago, I listened to Leslie Rutledge, manager of ReproGraphic Services at San Diego State University, describe how she saved her in-plant.

"WE DON'T tell upper management everything that the machine can do. If they knew, well… (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) then there would be more work for us."

RECENTLY, I had the pleasure of meeting an exceptionally kind and open in-plant manager who works for a pharmaceutical company. I was told the shop was recently placed "in scope" by management and was looking for help on how to deal with the situation.

"ARE THERE any studies that demonstrate the superiority of an in-plant as opposed to outsourcing printing?" That request was sent to one of the e-mail listservs I participate on.