Xerox Corp.

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.

Growing up in Missouri with an interest in art and history, Michael Jaffe admits a career in the Northern California graphic arts scene wasn't his original plan.

"I just kind of fell into printing," quips the supervisor of the General Services Unit for the Judicial Council of California, in San Francisco.

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.

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.

When Debbie Burke and her staff enter their hospital in-plant each day, one question constantly remains on their minds: 'What else can we do to better serve the hospital, its patients and its staff?'

Across the country, several in-plants have added production inkjet presses. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield installed one about a year ago and is seeing significant cost savings as a result. The State of Colorado is about to add one as well.