Xerox Corp.

While Xerox technicians were developing the new DocuTech 100 and 120 copier/printers, they did a lot more than just talk among themselves. Xerox assembled two customer advisory councils to look at its plans and offer advice. One of these teams was made up entirely of in-plant managers. "In-plants represent a substantial part of our current market placements," explains Peter Fallon, Xerox product marketing manager. Consequently, Xerox wanted to make sure it was developing a product that met in-plants' needs. The in-plant panel comprised seven managers. One of them was Susan Anderson, director of Printing Services at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In a

Here is one in-plant production manager's take on recent technology introductions and how they address trends in the in-plant market. By Heath Cajandig In this industry, vendors are continuously trying to gear up the hype machine to tout a new vision for the future. Over time, it is hard not to be skeptical of any claim. Every now and then, though, a product actually does come along that perfectly sums up the current and future state of the industry. This past January, one of these products arrived: The Xerox DocuTech 100 series copier/printer. For Xerox it helps solidify a digital future for the company; for

Maury Kane decided long ago to leave offset behind and model his in-plant after the retail operations on Temple University's campus. By Kristen E. Monte While many university in-plants focus on forms and letterhead, Temple University Duplicating Services is competing with the retail copy shops congregating on its North Philadelphia campus. The main reason the 10-employee in-plant is able to do this is because its director, Maury Kane, has spent the past 17 years revamping the in-plant, and turning it into a full service facility. Kane was born and raised in Philadelphia, and after graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Humanities,

Variable Data Printing has become a buzz word. But how do you sell it to customers? What does it take to provide VDP? And how can your department profit from it? By Vic Nathan Barkin When taking aim with a rifle, the smaller the target you aim for, the more likely you are to hit that target. The very same concept can be applied to personalized variable data printing. The VDP process is much more than just printing with new technology, though; it's a fundamental change in how printing is perceived, utilized and produced. A musket in the time of the American Revolution

While I was in New York the other day at the In-Plant Graphics Conference, I listened in on an interesting panel discussion. One of the speakers, Michael Josefowicz, is a professor at Parsons School of Design, where he spends his time preparing the next wave of graphic artists for careers in this industry. He grabbed my attention when he said his students are no longer interested in Web site design; that was something they did for fun in high school. But they were very excited when they got the opportunity to create and produce a 52-page magazine as part of their course.

By adding digital duplicators, these in-plants have saved money, decreased turnaround times and kept more work in-house. Majoring In High-volume Color o grow beyond its humble beginnings, the Glassboro Normal School, home to 400 students in 1923, knew progress would be measured by more than a name change. Today, after much dedication and innovation, Rowan University, in Rowan, N.J., has almost 10,000 students and 1,200 faculty and staff. Back in the pre-digital days, students and staff turned to the Rowan University print shop for most of their document needs. In 1994, when Mike Lukasavage started to run Rowan's printing operations, he had a

Quick printers have long competed with in-plants for business, but Kinko's, fueled by the FedEx acquisition, could be turning up the heat even more. By Bob Neubauer With the recent $2.4 billion acquisition of Kinko's by FedEx, its fair to ask what impact this sale might have on in-plants. After all, even before FedEx stepped in, Kinko's provided significant competition, especially to in-plants at universities, where quick copy shops seem to congregate. That competition heated up last fall when Kinko's returned to the course pack printing business that it abandoned more than a decade ago after it was sued by publishers for copyright infringement.

Like anyone who's learned to play guitar, I spent part of my youth daydreaming about being up on stage, hitting the power chords and thrilling the wildly cheering crowds. Though the rock star part has mostly eluded me, I do find myself on stage now and then as editor of IPG—though my "performances" are far less musical than I had once imagined, and the cheering only comes after I finally shut up. Still, I enjoy taking the stage once in a while at industry conferences, to sing the praises of in-plants, so to speak. One highlight of these events is meeting the in-plant

In-plants that have added digital color printing capabilities are thriving—and the call for more on-demand color work is only getting louder. By Cheryl Adams ACE Hardware certainly has a loyal customer base. "We have 6.2 million customers in our ACE Helpful Hardware Club," maintains Rick Salinas, production manager at the company's in-plant in Downers Grove, Ill. He says the club—which awards customers points, and eventually store credit, for purchases—is the "second largest customer-loyalty program in the country." The company's in-plant has played a major part in creating that loyalty, chiefly through the huge number of personalized color marketing materials it produces. In 1998

Despite a tough few years, airline in-plants use promotion and efficiency to get off the ground. By Mike Llewellyn So the Dow Jones has been holding steady above 10,000. The rate of layoffs nationwide seems to be leveling off. Maybe—let's not speak too soon—but just maybe, the three-year fiscal winter that has kept the country's economy at a plodding pace is showing signs of a thaw. That's good news for every in-plant manager who's been warily eyeing dwindling clicks and the migration of forms work to electronic formats. And it's great news for in-plants fighting through the storm at airlines. It's no secret that