Canon U.S.A.

AS RANDY Smith sees it, the only way his in-plant can ensure a quick response to its customers’ needs is by doing the work in-house—and that means having the necessary equipment on hand, ready for action. “I try so hard to do as much as I can under this one roof,” says Smith, director of University Printing Services at Texas Tech University. In pursuit of that goal, the 35-employee in-plant has added an impressive array of equipment over the last few months. At the top of the list is a new HP Indigo 5500. Installed in late July, it is the in-plant’s first digital color press.

Tod Pike is the new president of Canon Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. He has been senior vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A.’s Imaging Systems Group since May 1999.

Prior to serving in this role, he served as president of Office Equipment and executive vice president and general manager of the Imaging Systems Group at Canon Canada. Pike began his Canon career in 1993 as an executive vice president with MCS Business Machines (now part of CBS), and was promoted to president.

Our recent survey of insurance company in-plants may not have drawn a record response (just 28) but those who did reply run some very large operations. A third of them have more than 50 full-time employees. The median number of employees is 14 and the average is 50.

MARGARET KLING began her career in the printing industry rather unexpectedly three decades ago. “I had a week-old baby at home,” recalls Kling, “and my sister-in-law wanted me to help out for two weeks, part time...[type]setting some name badges.” Glad to lend a hand, the self-described “stay-at-home mom” took the temp job at First Capital Printing, in St. Louis. There she made a discovery: she had a knack for typesetting.  

Last Friday, Ricoh completed its acquisition of equipment distributor Ikon Office Solutions. Today, IPG learned that Canon has severed its retail dealer agreements with Ikon. Ikon will no longer be an authorized Canon dealer or service provider.

Though several in-plants’ Ikon dealers have reassured them they will see no cutbacks in service of Canon equipment purchased through Ikon, Ikon’s access to Canon’s higher levels of tech support may eventually be impacted. There may also be delays in getting Canon parts and supplies.

IT’S A good thing Catherine Chambers isn’t afraid of a challenge, because that’s exactly what she got when she accepted the position of manager of Printing & Mailing Services for the State College Area School District in State College, Pa. “I replaced an excellent manager [Gary Burris] who’d been in the position for 38 years,” she explains. “It was my job to take an analog print shop, complete with three offset presses, and bring it into the digital age.” And with more than 20 years of experience in managing print, copier and mailing functions in higher education and the private sector, Chambers was

FOR RODNEY Vessell, Missouri State Printer, working in the printing industry was never part of his plan. A native of Farmington, Mo., a town of about 10,000 people, Vessell graduated from Farmington High School in 1980 with one thing on his mind: basketball. In fact, he attended the University of Missouri on a full basketball scholarship, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. Upon graduation in 1984, he started sending out résumés. One of them found its way into the hands of Gary Judd, the Missouri State Printer. Judd called him for an interview. “After college, I had no

WASHINGTON, DC—10/06/08—The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization and Graphic Arts Show Corporation (GASC) today announced details for the JDF Works Print Shop Live! program at GRAPH EXPO 2008. The JDF Works Print Shop Live! is designed to show attendees exactly what can be accomplished using today’s print production automation technologies. At this new feature, show goers will follow a live digital print job through production at three different locations on the show floor from online job creation and customization, through order management, scheduling, prepress and imposition, to printing and finishing of the final printed

Canon U.S.A. has acquired San Francisco-based NEWCAL Industries, an independent value-added reseller of document and print solutions. Founded in 1991 by Steve Tarpley and Ken Wilkens, NEWCAL is an independent provider of technology solutions to businesses in the Bay Area. In 2008, the company was honored with the San Francisco Business Times’ “Recognized for Excellence” Award, and was part of the publication’s Top 100 privately held Bay Area Companies. “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of aggressively expanding our market presence and coverage, and continuing to be an imaging leader for years to come,” said Joe Adachi, president and chief executive officer, Canon

Though its rural location is part of its allure, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke also has fewer choices when it comes to services. Knowing this, its three-employee in-plant has been striving to build up its printing capabilities. “We absolutely believe that we can provide any of the printing that any commercial printer can do,” proclaims Glenda Kiser, print supervisor. Two recent installations will help her prove it. The shop has added both a Canon imagePRESS C7000VP and an HP DesignJet Z3100ps wide-format printer. The imagePRESS C7000VP, one of Canon’s newest color devices, prints letter-sized jobs at 70 pages per minute, regardless