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,
Danka
Xerox has a lead with its DocuTech, but other vendors are successfully challenging it. In-plant users have strong opinions on the available machines. by Allan Martin Kemler Xerox has ruled the high-speed black-and-white digital printing world since it launched its DocuTech in 1990. So when Heidelberg, a giant in its own right, decided to step into the fray, everyone wanted to see what would happen next. What happened was Heidelberg partnered with Danka, Canon and IBM to sell its print engine to the world's print-on-demand customers as the Danka/Heidelberg Digimaster 9110, the Canon Imagerunner 110 and the IBM Infoprint 2000. Now, everyone wants
Federal Reserve Bank in-plants don't print money, but they work together to try to save it. COSMO CORVAGLIA has a kingdom—though he'd probably prefer to call it an area, or maybe just a district. Either way, he's the one responsible for it. This kingdom (or district if you prefer) stretches from Trenton, N.J., to Rehoboth, Del., and from Pittsburgh to Cape May Point, N.J. And although he isn't really a king, or even a prince for that matter, he is part of an organization few understand—and even fewer could live without. Cos Corvaglia is print manager for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
A new Heidelberg Digimaster 9110 and a dedicated staff have helped Case Western Reserve University refine course pack production. When Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, outsourced its offset press work and bookstore operations, it considered outsourcing all printing services at the same time. That might have happened, too, had Lisa Gerlach, printing services manager, not been able to demonstrate that her department achieves lower per copy costs than outside providers—while simultaneously providing outstanding service. Gerlach's staff focuses on creating a professional image for the university, while maintaining low costs for students. When the staff processes copyright clearances for course packs,
Twenty-four years after its first meeting, the National State Publishing Association returned to Carson City for one of its most ambitious conferences yet. The National State Publishing Association certainly has a loyal following. Not only did its recent conference in Carson City, Nev., draw 48 government in-plant representatives from 34 states, but more than a half dozen retired government printers showed up as well—from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. Their trek to Nevada's state capital was well worth it, because Don Bailey, Nevada State Printer, together with his staff and the NSPA office staff, organized an activity-packed three-day event, blending education and
Managers of southern universities got together for the 25th year, this time in Louisiana. Lagniappe is a word not easily translated into English. But to the 152 participants from 75 different institutions who were fortunate enough to attend the 25th annual Southeastern University Printing and Duplicating Manager's Conference (SUPDMC) in Baton Rouge, La., recently it's something they experienced first hand. Lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap) is a Cajun-French word meaning "something extra." And that's what every participant got from the workshops, speakers, vendors, food, festivities, entertainment and hospitality provided by LSU's Graphics Services Department, which hosted the event. One of the newest and hottest services to
Color printing may be the latest trend, but black-and-white copiers are still crucial parts of any in-plant. Find out more about the latest models. Numerous Sorting Capabilities The Canon NP 6035F is a modular 35-copy-per-minute (cpm) copier. Its recirculating document feeder feeds up to 50 one- or two-sided originals at a time, giving you numerous duplexing and sorting capabilities. A large-capacity paper supply option lets you increase the standard 1,050-sheet capacity to 2,550 sheets. Enhanced features like Image Combination and other automatic features reduce paper consumption and save time. The user-friendly LCD panel has a 3-D graphic display. Output options include two stapler/sorter choices.
People like their laser printers—a bit too much. Convincing them to use your in-plant instead is one of your biggest challenges as a manager. Like the "Doggie in the Window" Patti Page longed for in her 1953 song, laser printers are the cuddly friend everybody wants in today's office environments. Whether it's a handy-dandy personal printer next to someone's workstation, a networked printer or small digital copier serving an entire office, people crave the convenience of a laser printer. But laser printers are being abused. By overusing them, people are incurring huge costs for their parent organizations and taking big chunks out of
Leasing can bring the latest technology into your in-plant now. But there are pitfalls. Learn how other managers make their decisions. "Years ago, you could easily justify the purchase of a press and be confident of a 10- to 20-year productive life span. Technology changes so fast today, it's very difficult to commit to a major purchase unless the return on investment is relatively short." That comment from Dean A. Focht, manager of GPU Energy's in-plant in Reading, Pa., probably has you shaking your head in agreement. But what can you do about it? Leasing is one answer. It lets you try out
As you evaluate new digital printer platforms, take a careful look inside the box. Is the quality of digital networked printers as good as it's going to get? Not at all. The newest generation of printers is approaching image quality in a new way. To date, digital platforms have offered in-plants limited quality improvements over their optical predecessors. That's because most existing digital print platforms retain many of the same imaging components and processes used in optical devices. Since optical and digital devices approach the imaging process from different perspectives, the technology needs to be tailored to the process. Conventional optical
