Objectif Lune

As departments at Marist College increasingly use their copiers for smaller jobs, the in-plant has found itself handling more of the color-critical variable data marketing work needed by the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., college.

It was anything but destiny that led Steve Schmuger to become manager of an in-plant printing operation. Inquisitive and intelligent, he majored in philosophy of science at Boston University—not quite a road map to the printing industry—but possesses a free-flowing nature and a quest for knowledge.

To improve the quality of its brochures, booklets, post cards and color statements, the 23-employee printing and mailing operation at Western & Southern Financial Group recently became one of the first in-plants to install the new Xerox iGen4 digital press. Dan Cowan, Print/Volume Document Production Manager, feels the quality of the iGen4’s output is even better than that of the iGen3. “It’s much closer to offset,” he contends.

THE AMERICAN Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has served as an advocate, educational resource and standards bearer for U.S. doctors for more than half a century. Currently, the AAFP boasts a membership of 94,600 family physicians. Of course, the national association can't make house calls to each of its members. It has, however, made the right call by operating in-house Digital Printing and Mailing Services departments at its Leawood, Kan., head–quarters.

Printers are by transitioning from traditional print shops into marketing service providers. To find out how and why they are differentiating themselves in this way, IKON Office Solutions (now a Ricoh company) and The NAPL Network are offering half-day, hands-on workshops in four cities.

Xerox has honored 15 business partners for their contributions, chief among them Rochester Software Associates Inc. and C.P. Bourg. Xerox works with software and hardware providers to create integrated solutions that extend the capabilities of Xerox products. The awards recognize leading partners in two categories: workflow software and document feeding and finishing solutions.

PENNSYLVANIA WAS a whirlwind of activity this spring. Campaigning, rallies, forums, debates and other events all led up to the Democratic primary on April 22. Messiah College was right in the thick if it when it hosted the Compassion Forum on April 13 to discuss moral issues that bridge ideological divides within the country. The school’s 11-employee in-plant, College Press, spent 60 hours of overtime to take care of behind-the-scenes printing work leading up to the forum, which hosted presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. “We were very disappointed when Senator [John] McCain was unable to attend due to what his campaign

In-plants interested in variable data printing should take things one step at a time. By Chris Reid Whether you're a small reprographics shop or a large offset printer, the prospect of supporting variable data printing (VDP) applications for your customers can be daunting. Many shops lack the IT skills or infrastructure to handle VDP. They may not be familiar with typical variable data formats or the composition tools used to build variable applications. Still others haven't made the leap to digital print technology in order to support a fully variable page for color or black-and-white printing. You may be at a

Retaining customers at a large institution like the University of California-Davis requires a mix of customer service and cutting-edge technology. By Carol Brzozowski One of the most distinctive aspects of the University of California-Davis' Repro Graphics department is that it commands 85 percent of the university's market share—even though there's no mandate that campus departments utilize the operation. "Most in-plant operations in other academic environments require departments go to that in-plant for printing," contends Ed Dunn, design services and business development manager. "We like to believe we are doing something right." Across the country, campus in-plant operations are cognizant that they are competing with

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