February 2006 Issue
A Tale of Two In-plants
University of Kansas may have closed one in-plant, but it relocated and expanded another, to the delight of its customers. By Bob Neubauer TWO THINGS happened at the University of Kansas last year: The school closed the in-plant on its main campus in Lawrence, and it moved and expanded the in-plant at the University of Kansas Medical Center an hour away in Kansas City. Why would a university close one shop and expand another? Matt Doughty thinks he knows the answer: Service. Doughty, director of Publishing and Postal Services at KU's Medical Center, feels his 20-employee operation collaborates so closely with its customers, and
An Outsourcing Debacle
Folks are fuming in Texas after The Dallas Morning News reported that copying/printing costs at the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) have more than doubled since the district contracted with Kinko's. In 2003, before the contract, the district spent $5.87 million for copying/desktop printing equipment and services; by last year it had jumped to $12.82 million. This is no surprise to those of us in the in-plant industry. Kinko's, like every other outside print service provider, needs to make money to stay in business—lots of money. The way they all do it is by providing companies and other organizations with very high estimates
Black-and-white Printers in a Four-color World
Monochrome printers provide cost, productivity and flexibility benefits that color printers can’t touch. AS DEMANDS for color printing continue to increase, many wonder about the fate of black-and-white-only printers. Most industry experts say not only will they still be an integral part of a printing operation, they will include more features and improved workflow functions. Paula Balik uses the analogy of a stove and microwave oven. “If you’ve got a microwave now, should you get rid of your oven or does it specifically have applications that make your kitchen efficient?” poses Balik, worldwide product marketing manager for Kodak’s black-and-white printing systems. “That’s what
Wisdom Born from Experience
Despite never considering a career in printing, Dean Sutera has turned a required job into a three-decade-long profession. By Kristen E. Monte WHEN FRED Meyer Inc. merged with Kroger, in 1999, its in-plant was in a position to expect the worst. Yet, thanks to lots of analysis, and 26 years of hard work by Manager Dean Sutera, he says he never even heard any outsourcing talk. Sutera was born in South Dakota and spent the majority of his youth in Kansas City. His father worked in the printing industry, for Intercollegiate Press, yet it had never crossed Sutera's mind to go into the business.
WSU: Indigo Brings ‘Amazing’ Results
Steven Rigby expected folks at Washington State University to be pleased when they saw what his in-plant’s new HP Indigo 3050 digital press could do. He just didn’t anticipate the all-out exuberant response to the press and the nearly immediate jump in business that it brought. “Everybody’s delighted,” remarks Rigby, director of Printing and Web Services. “Since our open house, we’ve doubled our printing orders going to that press.” The 3050 was added in November, he says, and by February it started turning a profit. Rigby says 80 percent of the work going to the press is work the shop never did, or previously brokered
