C.P. Bourg Inc.

Printing about 4 million offset and digital impressions a year, American Electric Power (AEP) Workplace Services is a busy in-plant. In addition to printing, the shop processes 285,000 pieces of incoming/outgoing mail a year, and oversees the design and order fulfillment of 4,000 company forms.

The founder of an international print finishing equipment manufacturer, C.P. Bourg Group, has died. Christian-Pierre Bourg, who started the company in 1960, was 89. Bourg passed away in Boston, not far from his company's U.S. headquarters in New Bedford, MA. Even though he no longer oversaw the day-to-day business of his company, he still made a point to go to the office every day.

Insurance is all about planning ahead. As the in-plant for one of the largest health insurers in the United States, Highmark's Corporate Printing Services (CPS) operation recently executed well-planned facilities and technology upgrades that leave it extremely well-positioned for the future.

Here's a look at some of the new printing and binding equipment and software that will be shown at PRINT 13, taking place in Chicago, September 8-12.

Strengthening your in-plant by adding new services is an excellent strategy. But finding new customers for existing services may offer even greater possibilities. That’s what Print Services at Hemet Unified School District, in Hemet, Calif., found, after adding yearbook printing to its repertoire three years ago. Manager Karl Melzer then made yearbooks available to other schools in southern California, along with customized student planners, and today the in-plant prints yearbooks for 16 schools and planners for 35. The shop also prints items like class work, banners, envelopes and apparel for other schools.

For the first time in its 49-year history, the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) ventured into Minnesota last month, bringing 80 higher-ed in-plant managers together for four days of networking and education.

Xerox recently honored several of its partners with its annual Business Innovation Partner of the Year awards. The awards acknowledge leading partners that help the company and its customers capture new opportunities and achieve business success.

Times are good at the University of Washington. Its Creative Communications operation ended its fiscal year on June 30 $200,000 in the black—the second year in a row that the 90-employee operation has earned a profit.

Take a stroll through the halls of drupa and you will see more finishing equipment than you have ever imagined in your life. Most of those machines, sadly, are unavailable here on the other side of the Atlantic. So we've decided to focus on the equipment that is, and have provided a quick look at some of the new bindery and finishing systems that made their debuts at drupa.

At Placer County Central Services in Auburn, Calif., manager Leslie Blagg has been nothing but impressed since the January installation of her in-plant’s new C.P. Bourg two-tower collator/booklet maker with face trimmer.