Xerox Corp.

A look back at the in-plant world of the early 1990s reveals a lot of the same concerns and predictions that we see today—but a lot of changes, as well. As one pages through issues of In-Plant Reproductions magazine (now called In-Plant Graphics, for those of you who have been asleep) from 1990, the most interesting observation is how similar the topics are to those covered in 1999. Even at the beginning of the decade, in-plant managers were worried about facilities management. Like today, IPR urged them to learn their costs by charging back and to justify themselves to management. And contrary

Allstate Print Communications Center Wheeling, Ill. Operating Budget: $30 million Full-time employees: 361 Part-time employees: 84 Jobs printed per year: 20,000 To keep a huge operation like the Allstate Print Communications Center productive and cost-effective, its management team must meet the challenges of changing technology and staggering workloads—while keeping costs low and bringing top-notch service to customers. "We are very successful at answering our company's printing needs and providing the most cost-effective solutions," explains Bob Tierney, print communication director. "Our cost-effectiveness is clearly our greatest strength." The Allstate Print Communications Center is not only a leader within its company, but also in the printing industry. It has

Boeing Printing & Output Service Seattle Annual sales/budget: $56 million Full-time employees: 330 Jobs printed per year: 240,000 Bill Walker, senior manager of printing operations at Boeing, has seen a lot of changes in his 33 years—and he knows that as soon as one technology is mastered, it's time to prepare for the next. "We've about maxed out the gains in our printing operation," says Walker of the shift from camera ready art to the digital original. "Ten years ago, it was tough to get an electronic original because customers didn't think that way. Today, 95 percent of our originals come to us digitally." That change

Wal-Mart Printing & Mailing Distribution Center Bentonville, Ark. Annual sales: $22,052.310 Operating budget: $22,037,626 Sales minus costs: $10,858,458 Full-time employees: 325 Jobs printed per year: 12,000+ As the largest general merchandiser in the world, Wal-Mart Stores serves more than 100 million customers weekly at its 2,485 stores. In Fortune magazine's latest Fortune 500 list, the 37-year-old company overtook Exxon to become the third largest firm in the U.S. So it's only fitting that a company of this magnitude also has one of the country's top in-plants. Located about a mile from Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, Wal-Mart Printing & Mailing Distribution Center (PMDC) boasts 325 employees—or "associates," in the company's

The management team at The Principal Financial Group worked together to improve their in-plant and were rewarded with being named Managers of the Year. by CHRIS BAUER WHEN REMEMBERING some of the dominant teams of the 1990s, a few come quickly to mind. The Chicago Bulls in basketball. The Dallas Cowboys in football. The Atlanta Braves in baseball. But when thinking of the in-plant world, one team stands out: The team from The Principal Financial Group, winners of the Manager of the Year award in 1995. Consisting of Dick Croll, Diane Goodson and Mel Zischler, this team is the only group of managers from

Bank in-plants face big changes as banks continue to merge and expand. With bank mergers on the rise, and online banking changing the way people deal with their banks, the in-plants that serve these institutions are undergoing alterations of their own. Print volume is increasing and work is migrating from forms to marketing pieces. Digital job delivery is becoming more common, as is on-demand printing. In Memphis, Tenn., Mike Sprayberry, print shop manager for First Tennessee Bank, is about to add a Xerox DocuTech 6135 so he can store jobs digitally and reduce the amount of work that is warehoused. "We've got several

This year's Manager of the Year has brought savings to his university through research, networking and an innovative managing style. IT WOULD be an understatement to say that this has been Mike Loyd's year. Going back to last December when Louisiana State University Graphic Services was ranked number 18 on the In-Plant Graphics Top 50 list and number five among all college and university shops, through June when he was named IPG Manager of the Year for 1999, it has been a year that he can look back on with pride. "Winning this award has brought prestige to me personally and to the organization,"

At investment banking firms like U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, confidentiality is a major concern—surpassed only by deadline pressure. IN THE world of high finance, you often have to move quickly to secure the best rate or make the smartest investment for your clients. For in-plants at these power brokerage firms, the pressure is on to get the documents customers need into their hands quickly and confidentially. At U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, an investment banking firm dealing in stocks, securities and mutual funds, confidentiality is a major concern for the in-plant. Convenience copiers have been put in all departments to avoid intermingling of reports between

Ralph Sperrazza has been at the forefront of the digital revolution and has brought new technologies and techniques to the in-plant at Pitney Bowes. by CHRIS BAUER ATTENDING THE 1990 IPMA conference, Ralph Sperrazza recalls walking through and seeing a table covered with copies of the May 1990 issue of the then IN-PLANT Reproductions magazine with his picture on the cover. He sums up that experience with one word: "Amazing." "Ten years goes by very fast," admits Sperrazza, 1990 Manger of the Year, who is general manager of the document services division for Pitney Bowes, of Stamford, Conn. He remembers getting a warm response

Wide-format printers bring a new dimension to your in-plant and allow you to offer customers jobs that are larger than life. IMAGINE GIVING your customers the option of making anything they want into a poster. Now think about the cost savings you could pass onto them by doing it in-house—not to mention the increased exposure and business for your shop. Many in-plant managers already have made this a reality, and are reaping the benefits of providing wide-format printing in-house. "In addition to the cost savings from not having to outsource, the in-plant gains greater control over the final print," says Kelli Ramirez, director of