Xerox Corp.

Deep inside a nondescript, two-story brick building in the center of Helena, Mont., Ryan Betcher ruminates about the days when the state’s Print & Mail Services Bureau was filled with printing presses, running eight hours a day.

Randy Patrick was fed up with wrestling with a folder that had been at his in-plant longer than he had. The rollers and wheels were worn, there were feeding issues and it was creating static on digitally printed jobs.

Salla Vaerma-Jadlos has helped lead ReproMail for the City and County of San Francisco through good times and bad. She's been at the in-plant for 21 years and has seen the department achieve success in uncertain times for the printing industry.

In Denver, the State of Colorado’s Integrated Document Solutions (IDS) operation is in the final stage of contracting with the vendor it selected to provide an inkjet production press. The in-plant made a deal to replace three Xerox Nuvera printers with an inkjet press, a move that will save 20 percent in monthly expenditures. 

With just over a week to go until Graph Expo opens its gates, scores of in-plant managers are getting ready to make the trip to Chicago. More than 120 of them have signed up so far for the three in-plant events being hosted by In-plant Graphics, and many others plan to attend the in-plant luncheon being presented by the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA).

In-plant managers in Boise, Idaho, and Baton Rouge, La., have something in common. Both groups will be meeting next Friday, September 19, in their respective cities for a full day of networking, education and in-plant tours as part of the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association's series of fall regional meetings.

The new Xerox Color C60/C70 printer gives users a cost-effective option for a wide range of printing needs, including magnets and brochures. The machine can also print on linen, which can be useful for applications like event planning, appliques and luxurious embellishments.

To stay strong, in-plants must transform themselves from printers into value-add partners. A free breakfast session at Graph Expo will feature a panel of in-plant managers sharing how they have successfully done that at their operations.

Ask Michael George what else he might have done with his life had he not become an in-plant manager and his answer comes quickly.

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.