Danka

For short-run, on-demand work—especially work that can be enhanced with variable data—digital printing is the answer. FOR YEARS the data center at Georgia Tech University was churning out up to 12 million impressions annually and was a separate department from the in-plant. Paul Thomas, director of printing and copying services, knew that if he could combine both departments, he would produce this work cheaper and faster. Last year Thomas merged the in-plant with the data center. He then made another bold move by purchasing two new 110-ppm Kodak DigiSource 9110s, distributed through Danka. He hasn't looked back since. "It enabled us to take

Several vendors have released products designed to tap the high-speed digital printing market, long the domain of the Xerox DocuTech. Ever since the Xerox DocuTech made its debut in 1990, it has stood virtually alone in its class. In recent weeks, however, other vendors have unleashed products designed to cut into the digital market that Xerox created. Specifically, these new products are geared toward printers who don't have the volume to afford a DocuTech, but want the same features at a slower speed. One unlikely entrant into the print-on-demand market is Heidelberg, a dominant force in the offset world. At Graph Expo

Once copying and printing was brought in-house, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office was able to take advantage of the low cost of color. Sidney Ettedgui of the Manatee County, Florida, Sheriff's Office certainly has his hands full. As a crime prevention practitioner he is often speaking to community groups and planning programs to deter crime. As if that weren't enough, though, he is also responsible for managing all internal and external documents for the 1,005-person sheriff's department, which includes more than 356 law enforcement officials. With officers constantly filing crime and incident reports, document management is a priority. About five years ago Ettedgui

Color copier connectivity rates are soaring, as is the quality, speed and ease of color output. How does this impact your in-plant? WITH THE demand for color documents on the rise, color copiers are getting more use than ever in in-plants. And with the number of color copier devices and color impressions projected to skyrocket within the next five years, vendors are working hard to provide equipment for every speed requirement. "A few years ago you only had very slow, six page-per-minute devices, and controllers from a relatively few manufacturers," recalls Tim Griffin, director of product marketing for Danka. Speed, he says, went up

Customer-oriented, technology-focused and always looking for ways to save the university money, Mike Loyd has worked hard to build LSU Graphic Services into a leading in-plant. Ralph Gossard routinely makes key business decisions using hard facts, so it isn't often he renders judgement based upon a gut feeling. But four years ago, Gossard—the associate vice chancellor for administrative services at Louisiana State University—decided to take a gamble when he selected Mike Loyd as LSU's Director of Graphic Services. "Mike did not really have the large weight of experience you would normally look for," says Gossard. "But I knew him well enough to know he

When the Texas Agricultural Extension Service cleaned out its warehouse several years ago, it recycled 36 tons of paper. Thanks to on-demand printing, those days are gone for good. Ralph Piper's print shop is famous within the Texas Agricultural Extension Service for performing magic. In one case, the communications unit, which supports the Extension Service, was responsible for creating a manual on drought response in 36 hours for a federal government conference. Input was accepted and compiled electronically from extension services and experts all over the country. The 300-page file was transmitted to the print shop Thursday night. The shop created 500

In-plant managers should be on the lookout for ways to improve document management, storage and output in their organizations. In-plant managers can and should play a leadership role in developing their organizations' document management and storage systems. • They can work with information systems (IS) managers to evaluate software and set guidelines for the production process. • They can help set and enforce standards-such as TIFF, PostScript, PCL and PDF. • In-plants can recommend that documents be stored in a print-ready format. • They can assume responsibility for indexing and archiving, and act as a resource for users who are

Do your homework before switching to a digital copier. And consult with your IT folks to make sure you can network it later. "The buzz word impacting everyone is digital. Digital is here to stay." That's the word from Jeff Smith, director of consumer services for Buyers Laboratory, a Hackensack, N.J.-based consumer advocate for buyers of office equipment. But don't ditch that analog copier yet, Smith says. Although copier manufacturers are beginning the phasing-out process, analog copiers are going to be around longer than most people think. "It's not going to be a short-term thing," says Smith. "I believe it will take

While color is predominantly restricted to sales and marketing materials today, it will gradually be integrated into internal documents as well. Color represents one of the largest growth areas for in-plants in the foreseeable future. In the four years from 1997 to 2001, annual impressions from production process color printing systems (25 ppm and faster) are predicted to skyrocket from 1.03 billion to 10.08 billion, according to the "U. S. Print On Demand Market Forecast 1996-2001" issued by CAP Ventures last year. Offering in-house color reproduction services is an excellent way to capitalize on this dizzying growth, while providing customers with

Cloudy skies did not obscure the illumination coming from the many educational sessions at the IPMA 98 conference, which drew 620 people.