Xerox Corp.

For years, Southern in-plant managers have been inviting me to the Southeastern University Printing and Digital Managers Conference (SUPDMC). As the name implies, this is a group of in-plant managers who hail mostly from Southern states.

Combining research, case studies, and market insight, InfoTrends has produced a much anticipated white paper entitled "The Strategic Value of an In-House Printing Operation: Trends and Best Practices." It's purpose: to provide key executives with an understanding of the intrinsic value that an in-house printing operation can provide in today's changing market.

ASK BILL Neff about the key to his success over his long printing career and he'll tell you it's his ability to listen—to customers and coworkers alike. His prowess at solving problems, his knack for adding just the right services to his in-plant—it all comes down to paying attention when people talk, and not being afraid to ask, "What more can I do to help?"

The strong turnout of in-plants at Graph Expo took me by surprise. With all the travel cutbacks of recent years, I thought we'd have trouble filling seats at the roundtable luncheon we hosted; we ended up with a packed room. I could hardly turn a corner at the show without bumping into an in-plant manager.

Earlier this year, Noridan Mutual Insurance Document Services made a significant change. “We eliminated all of our offset applications,” says Doug Weatherly, manager of the 29-employee in-plant, located in Fargo, N.D. “We figured we could do every application on digital printers.”

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.

WAYNE FRENCH didn't need a crystal ball to see what was coming. With two Shinohara presses, his in-plant at Ithaca College was proficient at churning out long runs of materials for the 119-year-old private school. The trouble was, these pieces were largely being warehoused, where many became outdated before they could be used.

Graph Expo was noticeably more busy this year, due in part to a surge in attendance by in-plant managers. These videos will give you a sense of what it was like.

IPG checked out some of the most innovative products at Graph Expo 2011. Here, Editor Bob Neubauer chats with Aanand Parthasarathi of Xerox about the new CiPress 500 waterless inkjet system.