In-plant Profiles

Life has a way of changing our plans. And when you have as many interests and talents as John D.L. Johnson, the possibilities are endless. As a teenager, Johnson—now manager of Palm Beach County's Graphics Division—studied architectural drafting at Northern Montgomery County Vocational-Technical School, in Lansdale, Pa.

LOUIS FERREL wakes up each morning in the driver's seat, operating ahead of schedule even before he assumes his official duties as manager of printing services for Houston's Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro). What gives him such a head start?

To make itself even more integral to the university's marketing strategy, Cedarville University Postal & Print Services installed a Ricoh Pro C901 Graphic Arts Edition digital color printer.

When Colorado merged its print and mail operations with its document imaging/data entry units in 2005, the state was looking to increase efficiency and save money. Under the direction of Manager Mike Lincoln, the resulting Integrated Document Solutions (IDS) unit has been doing exactly that ever since.

Missouri's State Printing Center has relocated, along with the state's mailing operation, into a 250,000-square-foot building about seven miles from the State Capitol. "Because so much of what we print gets mailed anyway, it's really nice to have us all here together," says State Printer Rodney Vessell.

When University of Alabama President Dr. Witt took the Crimson Tide's reins in 2003, enrollment stood at 19,000. His aggressive growth initiative has resulted in a nearly 100 percent enrollment increase to 35,000 this past fall. In an age of multi-channel marketing, it was the humble yet time-tested success of printed recruiting materials that played a significant role in the population surge at Tuscaloosa, Ala.'s legendary 180-year-old institution.

At the Mail and Copy Solutions shop at St. Louis, Mo.-based Webster University, six to 10 work study students are recruited each semester to fill important roles ranging from graphic design to marketing to copywriting.

After putting up with an inefficient, Excel-based job management system for years, Ashland University Printing & Imaging Solutions acquired EDU Business Solutions' Print Shop Pro Manager software. Since then, life has been so much simpler for the in-plant's six full-time and four part-time and student workers. Customers can now pull up previous jobs and review the details, sparing staff from fielding their calls.

More than 40 year after moving to Alaska, Warren Fraser—manager of Printing Services for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks—has no regrets about having left New England. Fraser became manager of the University's Printing Services in 1990, and immediately set out to establish a benchmark for quality.

WHEN GARRY Boytos arrived at the University of Texas Health Science Center's in-plant (UT Print) in 2008, he faced a challenging situation. Boytos knew that to effectively compete with outside vendors, UT Print would have to make a lot of improvements.