Hewlett-Packard

Commercial printer equipment installations and other news from Printing Impressions’ March 2013 edition, featuring Mele Printing.

When Robert Donahue started as director of purchasing at Franklin University, one of his goals was to revamp the mailing services operation and cut costs. His success there got him thinking about other ways to save money for the 111-year-old private university, based in Columbus, Ohio. In particular, he wondered how much the university was spending to outsource printing and whether the school could save money by getting equipment and printing that work in-house.

In-plants have introduced scores of new services in just the past two years, ranging from new types of printed products, like vehicle wraps, foil security printing, magnets and envelopes, to data management services, such as mail list cleansing, transactional scanning and records management.

As early as 1923, The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University recognized the benefit of having an in-house printing facility. However, several years ago, the shop found itself in a financial hole.

More than 2,000 enthusiastic HP users packed the auditorium at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, TN last month for the opening of the eighth annual Dscoop conference. The three-day meeting included scores of educational sessions geared toward HP users, as well as an exhibit area with nearly 100 partners showing equipment and software designed to work with HP equipment.

After a welcome from Dscoop officials (all sporting bad toupees with ponytails), a bluegrass band gave an appropriate Tennessee greeting by getting the crowd to sing along to Rocky Top, a state anthem. Then keynote speaker Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade gave an uplifting and humorous talk that detailed how he and his team developed a vision to become the best performance golf brand in the world, then followed through with it.

NASHVILLE, TN—More than 2,000 enthusiastic HP users packed the auditorium at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center last week for the opening of the eighth annual Dscoop conference, a gathering of graphic arts business owners and technical professionals who use HP equipment.

Eric Hawkinson, Dscoop's executive director, spoke before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 2,000 print professionals at the opening of Dscoop8 yesterday in Nashville, TN, announcing two major business development Initiatives, Dscoop University and the Dscoop Print Directory.

In just six days, the 2013 Dscoop Annual Conference: “Spark” will kick off in Nashville, with an impressive lineup of international speakers and consultants. Dscoop (the Digital Solutions Cooperative) is a community of graphic arts professionals who use HP equipment and related solutions. Several in-plant users of HP Indigo equipment, such as Brigham Young University and Arizona State University, plan to attend.

The Dscoop8 conference in Nashville, TN next week is officially sold out. Attendees can expect a strong program lineup of speakers who will highlight some of the most effective ways to gain insight into industry-specific trends. “The fact that Dscoop8 has already sold out, shows that our members truly value the Dscoop community and what it has to offer,” said Howard Owen, Dscoop8 chairman and owner of Stafford Printing.