Xerox Corp.

Back in the early '80s, when he was touring with rock legend Elvis Costello, John Barron didn't give much thought to the world of printing. He was the road manager for a band named Sussman Lawrence—well known in the Twin Cities at the time—trying to help his high school buddies make it big.

Anyone who has approached or passed the half-century mark in life is familiar with the stream of mailings from AARP—the American Association of Retired People. Increasingly populated these days by Baby Boomers who adamantly refuse to acknowledge age as a limitation, the organization behind the mailings is a well-oiled machine that relies heavily on print and mail to acquire and service nearly 40 million loyal members. The lion's share of the print and mail that supports AARP's internal needs comes out of the Print Services operation at AARP's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

AN IN-PLANT is a perfect candidate for applying Lean production practices. We are essentially a manufacturing environment that uses multiple steps in various processes. We utilize a variety of equipment, technology, human resources and supplies. There is an ever-present risk of waste and errors, and quality and speed are at the forefront of our concerns.

IPG visited Briggs & Stratton Graphic Services to check out all the impressive capabilities of this award-winning in-plant.

Michigan Farm Bureau Printing Services has replaced its four-year-old Xerox DocuColor 8000 with a new Kodak NexPress 2500—a big change for the long-time Xerox shop. “One of the things we loved about it was the Dimensional Printing,” remarks Meyers. “No one in our marketplace can offer that.”

The University of Arkansas recently added a Kodak Magnus 800 CTP system, Heidelberg’s Prinect workflow and an HP Designjet Z2100 inkjet proofer, which was color profiled to the in-plant’s five-color, 20x28˝ Komori.

In this digital age, not everyone views the subject of printing in an optimistic light. But Catherine Ciardi feels she has the perfect surfboard underneath her to navigate and tame the wave of the future.

STEVEN HOWE'S drive has been integral to his professional success at previous jobs and in his current role as manager of Printing Services, Stores and Mail Operations for the city of Cincinnati. But it was his driving that steered him onto the right career path.

Hard to believe it’s been a decade since I sat down to write about In-plant Graphics’ 50th anniversary. And now, this month, we turn 60. Don’t feel bad if you can’t remember all the way back to our first issue

When IPG Editor Bob Neubauer drove through central Pennsylvania last month to visit in-plants, he documented his experiences on video. That video has just been posted on IPG's Web site.