Ricoh Corp.

With just a two-color offset press and a Xerox DocuColor 2045 for producing color work, University of Regina Printing Services was outsourcing a lot of jobs. But after installing a Kodak NexPress 2500 SE digital press, the in-plant started printing that work in-house.

JUDGING BY the number of in-plant managers walking the Graph Expo show floor last month, there are quite a few in-plants itching to leave the recession behind and get busy adding equipment. The show gave them plenty to ogle, too, particularly in the inkjet arena.

To accommodate a large increase in digitally printed pieces, the in-plant at Grace Community Church, in Arleta, Calif., has replaced its friction-fed perforating/scoring/slitting machine with a new air-fed 24˝ Rollem ETR Champion. It boasts a more sophisticated guiding system and a deep pile feeder that handles stacks up to 30˝ deep.

After putting up with aging equipment for years, Printing Services at California State University at San Bernadino recently replaced its Challenge cutter with a Perfecta 76 HTVC, installed a new James Burn Lhermite DocuPunch to replace an old GBC Streampunch and added a new Standard Horizon system, including an SPF-200A stitcher/folder, an FC 200 face trimmer and a 10-bin air-fed VAC-100A collator.

Fox Valley Technical College held its first Open House and Technology Expo on May 24, in partnership with Ricoh Business Solutions. Nearly 100 attendees from 44 statewide organizations, including commercial printers and in-plant professionals, came to view the facility, get personal tours and attend sessions on digital printing, industry trends and workflow.

Thomas Lecy, supervisor of Printing Services at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne, has a plan for the student interns at his in-plant: he wants to train them well on all the aspects of the in-plant, including the new Ricoh Pro C901s his shop just acquired. That way when they graduate they will have marketable skills beyond their degree.

When Printing and Mailing Services Director Glenn Strause heard about an in-plant using photo kiosks, he thought it was a great idea—just not the right idea for Lehigh.

There was something about the recent In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference in Charleston, S.C., that really made it stand out; something more than the great sessions and packed vendor fair; something beyond the fact that Ricoh Americas launched a major color print system there, bringing the event into the national spotlight.

When Graph Expo 2011 kicks off in Chicago on September 11, in-plant managers who walk the floor at McCormick Place will notice one big difference from last year: the resurgence of offset printing. True, there were presses at last year's show, most notably in Presstek's booth. But three offset giants—Heidelberg USA, Komori America and Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses—all chose to sit that show out.

The IPMA 2011 conference was one of the most vibrant, well attended conferences in years. Here's a glimpse of what it was like.