In-plant Profiles

After 33 years with the state of Louisiana, Irene Babin looks forward to retiring this month. By Joe Ranoia Several years into her printing career, Irene Babin made a startling discovery: Her grandfather had been a printer. "That figures," she muses. But it's also fitting, since Babin, director of General Services for the State of Louisiana, already feels she has lots of family among her employees at the state's Printing Services department. "The people in the shop are the most important part of any success I've had," she declares. And she's enjoyed a lot of success. For example, two years ago

In the past year the in-plant at Big Lots has leapt into CTP and four-color printing, increasing impressions by almost 40 percent in the process. By Erik Cagle Imagine a cashier bellowing into her microphone, "I need a price check on Captain Don's Bait System," and you have a good idea of the shopping experience offered by Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots. This is not your mother's discount retailer. Sol Shenk, the company's late founder, purchased and resold items that would make a local clean sweeps auction seem boring: 2,700 DeLorean cars, six million bottles of Breck shampoo, 20,000 cases of Oreo Milk Changers, used

After months of speculation, Eastman Kodak has agreed to acquire Heidelberg's digital division. This follows Heidelberg's November announcement that it would stop manufacturing digital printers as part of its realignment. "From now on, Heidelberg will strengthen its focus on the sheetfed offset business," says Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Kodak will purchase Heidelberg's 50 percent interest in NexPress Solutions L.L.C., a joint venture of the two, and the equity of Heidelberg Digital L.L.C., which made digital black-and-white printing systems. Heidelberg and Kodak created Nexpress Solutions in 1997 to develop a digital color printing press. Heidelberg acquired Kodak's black-and-white digital printing

With terms like TEACH, Fair Use and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act being tossed around, how is an in-plant manager to know when to get permission? Here's some help. By Rosemary A. Chase In the wake of numerous lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), copyright law has been in the spotlight a lot lately. And with the Web making it easy for anyone to be a "publisher" by simply putting other people's words, images and music on our own Web sites, we stand to see a lot more news about copyright infringement. After all, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Relocating is never easy, especially when you're one of the country's largest in-plants. But that's what University of California-Berkeley Printing Services is facing, after 65 years in its facility. By Cheryl A. Adams A stone's throw from downtown Berkeley, Printing Services at the University of California-Berkeley has sat conveniently across the street from campus since the 1930s. While the student protests of the '60s were making national headlines nearby, the in-plant was churning out growing volumes of print while slowly expanding its equipment arsenal. Today it is the largest university in-plant in the country, according to IPG's Top 50. After 130 years of operation,

The in-plant aboard the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner has a heavy workload. But the fringe benefits are sure nice. By Mark Michelson William Neugebauer plans out his print shop's workload—and the required paper and consumables needed—well in advance. Four months in advance, to be precise. As chief printer in charge of the in-plant on board the new Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) graduate carefully coordinates the shipment of supplies to faraway ports where the vessel docks. "A ship is not very ideal for printing," he notes. Chemicals slosh around in the plate processor while the Queen Mary

Maury Kane decided long ago to leave offset behind and model his in-plant after the retail operations on Temple University's campus. By Kristen E. Monte While many university in-plants focus on forms and letterhead, Temple University Duplicating Services is competing with the retail copy shops congregating on its North Philadelphia campus. The main reason the 10-employee in-plant is able to do this is because its director, Maury Kane, has spent the past 17 years revamping the in-plant, and turning it into a full service facility. Kane was born and raised in Philadelphia, and after graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Humanities,

By adding digital duplicators, these in-plants have saved money, decreased turnaround times and kept more work in-house. Majoring In High-volume Color o grow beyond its humble beginnings, the Glassboro Normal School, home to 400 students in 1923, knew progress would be measured by more than a name change. Today, after much dedication and innovation, Rowan University, in Rowan, N.J., has almost 10,000 students and 1,200 faculty and staff. Back in the pre-digital days, students and staff turned to the Rowan University print shop for most of their document needs. In 1994, when Mike Lukasavage started to run Rowan's printing operations, he had a

Despite a tough few years, airline in-plants use promotion and efficiency to get off the ground. By Mike Llewellyn So the Dow Jones has been holding steady above 10,000. The rate of layoffs nationwide seems to be leveling off. Maybe—let's not speak too soon—but just maybe, the three-year fiscal winter that has kept the country's economy at a plodding pace is showing signs of a thaw. That's good news for every in-plant manager who's been warily eyeing dwindling clicks and the migration of forms work to electronic formats. And it's great news for in-plants fighting through the storm at airlines. It's no secret that

For a quarter of a century, Jerry Grouzard has been using his business expertise to make Allstate's printing operation one of the country's most respected. By Bob Neubauer The Allstate Print Communications Center is a true in-plant success story. Ranked second on the IPG Top 50, the $100 million operation has won numerous leadership awards and is a model for in-plants everywhere. For the past 25 years, one of the primary engines behind the operation's growth has been Jerry Grouzard, print communication manager. His understanding of the business end of printing has helped propel the in-plant to where it is today. Born and