Georgia-Pacific

Continuous-feed production inkjet is an exciting, evolving market. Average annual growth since 2010 has been at 93 percent, according to IT Strategies; in 2013 alone, 146 billion pages were printed globally with continuous-feed inkjet. Market-Intell estimates that this represents 350,000 tons of paper in North America in 2013.

International Paper announced that distribution solutions businesses xpedx and Unisource Worldwide will merge under the terms of a definitive agreement that will result in the creation of a new publicly traded company.

Sick of poor service and price increases, Georgia-Pacific kicked its outsourcing firm out and brought its in-plant back to life. By Bob Neubauer The old joke goes: Price, Quality or Service: Pick any two. A few years ago, Georgia-Pacific couldn't even get those two from its print provider. The facilities management firm with which Georgia-Pacific had contracted—so full of promises in the beginning—had gradually revealed itself to be less than fully committed to the company's interests. Andy McDonald puts it more bluntly: "It really was a disaster," declares McDonald, manager of administrative services. "They did not work with the business units or

You can avoid printing pitfalls by paying more attention to how you handle your paper. Follow these tips. by Dennis Davey Following a few rules of thumb for paper handling and usage can significantly impact document quality and press operation. Here are some tips: Streamline Workflow One simple workflow rule is "First In, First Out." When paper arrives in a warehouse, the first paper to go in should be the first paper printed. This will prevent paper from aging in the back of a warehouse because it is blocked by more recent shipments. Paper damaged from improper storage can erode print quality and

Today's offset paper product lines offer a range of versatility for in-plants. by Caroline Miller IS YOUR in-plant flexible? It better be, if you want it to survive. That goes for your paper too. Paper companies know this. That's why many of them are developing papers that can be used with a variety of output devices. "Today, we think that it is very important that papers be able to perform for all the ways you print," says Laura Shore, Mohawk Paper Mill's creative director. "A job might be printed four-color process on an offset press one time, but then somebody might go back later

Despite the economic downturn, many printers made the trip to New York to see the latest in on-demand printing technologies. by Bob Neubauer With print sales predicted to be relatively flat in 2002, it was encouraging to see the exhibit floors of the ninth annual On Demand Conference fairly busy with attendees. According to conference organizers, nearly 19,000 "industry professionals from around the world" were in attendance. Though the number of exhibitors (150+) was down from last year (200), the event still drew a number of in-plants to New York's Jacob Javits Center, to do some serious looking—and even purchasing. Still, all was

Despite directing one of the country's largest in-plants, George Morton tries to maintain a personal relationship with each employee. by Bob Neubauer To say George Morton is concerned about his employees is simply not saying enough. "Every day I go out into the plant. I talk to my employees. I find out how they're doing, what their ideas are, what do they think we can do better, and we listen to those things," says the 55-year-old director of the Washington State Department of Printing. And with 157 employees—110 or so of them in the main plant—that is no easy task. "It's a commitment,"

Managers Honored In-plant managers received more than just knowledge from the recent International Publishing Management Association conference in Portland, Ore. Dozens of them took home awards. The In-Print awards got the most attention. All 105 plaques were on display, and first-place winners had their awards presented to them on stage during the awards banquet. Boeing claimed the Best of Show victory, its fifth in 11 years. Additionally, IPMA recognized a number of in-plants for their accomplishments: • Duke Energy, of Houston, won IPMA's annual award for In-house Promotional Excellence for holding an open house in the company's lobby that drew more than 500

As digital printers and Web pages take work away from offset presses, how has the offset paper market fared? Rather well, say those in the paper business. by W. Eric Martin For years now, wave after wave of digital printing technology has battered the rock-solid shore of the offset market, making lots of noise with each splashy new entrance and drawing "oohs" and "ahs" from onlookers. But just as it takes eons for water to hammer stone into countless grains of sand, the offset industry has easily withstood the competition from digital waters and remains the industry's most popular printing process. Don't believe

To compete in the future, you must start providing customers with non-paper-based services today. LAST YEAR at the On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing conference, the unofficial theme of the show was dotcom fever. Now that the fever has broken, the big bang buzz is all about paperless communication. But this isn't your father's "paperless office of the future," mind you. This is different. In the past, when the term "paperless office" was first being bandied about like a baby at a bridal shower, the term reflected the hazy euphoria associated with early computing. This time around, having had the benefit of a