Heidelberg

Top 50 in-plants say one of the keys to their success is modernizing their offset and digital printing capabilities. By Eric Martin You're probably sitting at a desk, not winded or breathing hard—but in all likelihood, at this very moment, you're racing against competitors to get work printed. This competition is even more apparent at the in-plants on the IPG Top 50. They operate in a "get it done yesterday" mind-set, and that goal has pushed these successful operations to update their printing equipment with an eye solely on speed. In 2003, for example, John A. Sarantakos, administrator of University of Oklahoma Printing

In-plant managers got a chance to see the technologies they've been reading about at the recent Graph Expo show. For the many in-plant managers in attendance, the recent Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004 show in Chicago was a graphic arts fantasy land. "I felt like a kid in a candy store," observes Mike Renn, of Mellon Corporate Publishing, in Philadelphia. "I went to take a look at the latest direct-to-plate systems and software management packages and came away with numerous options." Attendance this year was pretty healthy, he adds: "I had to wedge myself between bodies to check out the latest gear." Other managers agreed. "I

Smaller formats, chemistry-free alternatives and a variety of imaging technologies are motivating in-plants to successfully—and profitably—bring computer-to-plate imaging in-house. By Vincent De Franco Doug Fenske is one of the growing number of in-plant managers who have realized the benefits and profitability of converting to a computer-to-plate (CTP) workflow. "It's just awesome," he enthuses, referring to the productivity gains he's enjoyed since leading the transformation of the Minnesota State University at Mankato Print Center to CTP. According to Fenske, the range of new opportunities and benefits includes perfect registration, faster imaging speeds and significant process improvements. "It's just so cool," he says.

Hobby Lobby's in-plant has gone from a one-man, one-press shop when it started five years ago, to 14 employees, four presses and a new HP Indigo digital color press. By Bob Neubauer Brad Smith can still remember the good old days. "It started off small—one press, one person," recalls Smith, offset printing manager for Hobby Lobby's Oklahoma City-based in-plant. But he doesn't have to think back very far to summon up this memory. It was the fall of 1999, five short years ago, when he was hired to run the new Hamada 234 the company had ordered to print its forms. Having spent 12

A collator can save you time and money. But finding the right one requires some research. Several managers offer their insights. By Gretchen Peck When Western Washington University Publishing Services first installed a collator in 1996, it eliminated some very labor-intensive processes, such as hand collating, signature folding and stitching on a manual stitcher. Last year the Bellingham, Wash., in-plant upgraded to a two-tower Duplo 4000 collating system, with 10 bins in each tower. The modular, off-line collator is used by both copying and printing staff. "Depending upon the number of pages, we are saving from 30 to 100 percent in the

No one disputes the fact that four-color printing is on the rise. People seem to expect it. Yet a recent IPG survey shows that just 25 percent of in-plants have presses that print four or more colors. Ask the others why they don't and they'll say that their management would never OK such a huge expense. They'll say their in-plant is just too small or that their parent organization doesn't want them to compete with local commercial printers that offer four-color printing. Yet those in-plants that own four-color presses were once in the same boat. How did they get their presses?

The print shop dynamic is generally driven by the conflicting demands of cost, speed and quality. Today's copiers and digital printers are the kings of speed, for example, yet the payment plans imposed by manufacturers might drive the cost so high on large jobs that printers must turn elsewhere. That's where offset presses still shine. Despite all the hype from printer and copier manufacturers, offset presses still provide benefits that can't be

The three largest state government in-plants are all on the West Coast. Despite budget cuts and calls for privatization, they continue to thrive--but changes are afoot. By Erik Cagle Don't let the calendar fool you. It may not read 1849, but tremendous wealth is still being mined in the largely untapped western portion of our country. Instead of prospectors dredging local waterways for gold nuggets, though, government in-plants are reaping a fortune by producing print and communications-related products for their respective agencies. Look at the figures. Each of the three West Coast states cracked the top 10 list on the In-Plant Graphics Top

When the doors of Chicago's McCormick Place swing open to about 40,000 Graph Expo attendees on October 10, a large number of in-plant managers will be among them. Coming five months after the Drupa printing exposition in Germany, Graph Expo may not hold a lot of surprises, but that will hardly dampen the enthusiam that always accompanies this show. The one trend that stuck out at Drupa, according to Bill Lamparter, president of PrintCom Consulting Group in Charlotte, N.C., was the revitalization of the sheetfed offset press. Lamparter notes that most manufacturers unveiled "significant developments" to the sheetfed press, with Heidelberg practically rolling

ICTP may get all the attention, but at some in-plants imagesetters still have a few advantages. By Vince DeFranco Though computer-to-plate (CTP) and direct-to-press digital printing steal much of the technological spotlight, imagesetters still hold a place among in-plants and small commercial printers. Since many in-plants use older imagesetters that are paid for, the idea of re-engineering their plants to accommodate new, pricey CTP devices isn't a very popular one. "We didn't go CTP a few years ago because the cost to get an aluminum platesetter at that time was prohibitive to us," explains Michael Schrader, printing and publishing manager for Mercury Marine,