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Digital copiers have changed the way in-plants operate. Find out how paper companies have improved their products as a result. Over the past several years, as in-plants have swapped their analog and offset dancing partners of old for the fancy new moves of digital copiers, paper producers and equipment manufacturers have been involved in an elaborate pas de deux of their own. After all, when digital copiers first hit the dance floor, they found few partners waiting and could do little more than watch the older, more experienced machines hog the limelight. "Originally, the first digital presses required special paper, but the market

Unisys Plymouth, Mich. It seems only fitting that a pioneering software company like Unisys has one of the country's most cutting-edge in-plants. Having incorporated online book ordering, color management and print-on-demand (POD), Unisys' in-plant has firmly established itself as one of the leading in-plants. It's also one of the largest, with 91 employees and $16.5 million in annual sales. But again, this is only fitting for a company as vast as Unisys. "Unisys is a big company," declares Gregg Gabbana, manager of print-on-demand operations. "It has 37,000 employees and operations in 100 countries. As the company's in-plant, we do the worldwide printing and

Not only does Eastman Chemical Creative Services have sophisticated prepress and printing operations, it handles photography, video, streaming media, CDs—and it even insources. As the largest employer in Tennessee (with 10,000 on its payroll), Eastman Chemical has a large presence in the state, says Mike Thomas, manager of Eastman Chemical Creative Services. That presence is especially felt in eastern Tennessee, where the company's Kingsport facility is located. And it is in eastern Tennessee that this sophisticated in-plant is capitalizing on its parental relationship. By promoting its graphic arts capabilities externally, Creative Services is taking full advantage of Eastman Chemical's manufacturing fame. "The company

Today's digital, high-speed, black-and-white copiers provide advanced capabilities at a fraction of the cost of previous analog workhorse models. by JEFF SMITH The line between office and production equipment continues to become less and less distinct. "Distribute-then-print" has effectively replaced "print-then-distribute" for most applications in most environments. One of the primary causes of this shift in print distribution is the coming of age of digital office copiers, which, along with faster network printers, have provided an effective means to print electronically distributed documents. Today's digital, high-speed, office and production copiers are providing advanced capabilities to in-plants at a fraction of the cost of

At a recent IPG roundtable in Chicago, representatives of some of the Top 70 in-plants compared notes and shared ideas in a lively exchange. by Bob Neubauer It was a landmark event. Print managers from corporate giants like Allstate and Boeing mingled with representatives from leading universities. The supervisors of the Ohio and Washington state printing operations chatted with managers of the top insurance company in-plants, like Blue Cross, Safeco and Cigna. For the first time, the leaders of some of the country's largest in-plants sat together in one room to share their views. In-Plant Graphics organized this meeting during the recent

In-plants are being challenged by the Internet, outsourcing and other forces. At IPMA 2001, managers got lots of advice on how to cope. by Bob Neubauer Years ago, monthly chapter meetings were the most important way for IPMA members to exchange information. But times have changed; people are busier, and they have less time for meetings. So the International Publishing Management Association started looking for new ways to provide value to its members. At the recent IPMA 2001 conference, attendees found out what the association had in mind. International President Carol Doffing-Kraft outlined a major upgrade to IPMA's services that includes

Though tragedy cast a pall over the show's final days, most of Print 01 was filled with exciting product introductions and surprising merger news. by Bob Neubauer Even the biggest industry news at Print 01 was overshadowed by the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center, which stunned attendees as they prepared for the sixth day of the show. The resulting shock and cancelled travel plans drastically slowed trade show traffic on the show's final three days. Many vendors even abandoned their booths. Prior to that tragic Tuesday, the largest graphic arts trade show of the year had been a place of

by Bob Neubauer After watching the twin towers of the World Trade Center crash to the earth two days ago, I'm finding it a little difficult to write with enthusiasm about the "big news" of Print 01. The tragedy just overshadows it all. I flew back from the trade show in Chicago just a day and a half before New York and Washington were attacked, so I watched the terror unfold from a TV screen in our Philadelphia office. Many Print 01 attendees and vendors, however, were forced to confront the grim news from their hotel rooms, far from home, and were subsequently trapped

Many in-plants are requesting print vendors to provide solutions that include customized software addressing their specific needs. by Sam Errigo With the conversion to digital production printing systems, in-plant managers are finding that front-end software used to design and manage documents is critical to achieving efficient workflows. As a result, many in-plants are requesting—or in some cases requiring—print vendors to provide solutions that include customized software addressing their specific needs. In the past, customized solutions usually involved proprietary software and were often expensive to maintain and upgrade. Today, however, vendors can provide a customized solution by integrating existing, off-the-shelf software with their printing platform,

With digital technology growing, will there still be a demand for analog black-and-white copiers in the future? It depends on whom you ask. • Dennis Amorosano, Canon: "Surprisingly, there is a demand for analog machines. Much of the demand is due to price. The cost of analog is significantly less. A lot of customers don't have applications that justify digital, Internet-capable machines. For black-and-white copying only, you don't need to buy into digital. Analog will be around for all of these reasons, but mainly the due to the price." • Steve Pearl, Minolta: "There's still a demand for analog black-and-white because some businesses need