June 2006 Issue
An IPMA Makeover
JOHN HURT spoke quite candidly when he addressed the crowd at April’s IPMA conference. The International Publishing Management Association has gone through some hard times, he said. Membership and conference attendance has declined, and a lack of clear business and recruitment policies have hindered growth. All that is changing now, continued Hurt, IPMA’s international president. Not only did this year’s IPMA conference in Las Vegas draw an increase in attendees over last year, it generated a profit for the first time in years. The association’s cash flow has been positive for more than six months, he added, its sponsorships are increasing, it has enacted
Binding On Demand
THOUGH PRINTING equipment may have grabbed most of the attention at the On Demand show last month, bindery equipment had a strong presence too. From desktop folding units to floor model perfect binders, the show had a range of post-press gear. IPG visited with all of the major vendors at the Philadelphia show and collected information on their latest products for the in-plant market. One bindery highlight at the show was the Standard Horizon BQ-470 fully-automated four-clamp perfect binder. Standard Finishing Systems was awarded Best of Show honors for this product in the bindery category at On Demand by judges from BERTL, a
Cookbook Takes Top Prize
EVEN THOUGH his in-plant won an impressive 10 awards in this year’s In-Print contest, Rodney Brown was not prepared to hear his shop’s name called out as the Best of Show winner during the recent awards ceremony. “I was totally surprised,” says Brown, manager of the Graphic Communications Center at the University of Delaware. “It just gets harder every year because of the quality that all the rest of the in-plants are putting out.” The piece that caught the judges’ attention was a case-bound 160-page cookbook featuring recipes from Vita Nova, the University of Delaware’s student-run restaurant, and illustrated with color photos of
Evaluating Wide-format Printers
THE DEMAND for high-quality color graphics in larger sizes has risen dramatically as the availability of larger ink-jet printers has increased. How do you decide what kind of ink-jet printer you should purchase? As with any business decision, you weigh your demand for the product against the cost of the equipment, materials and labor involved. If your customers are only interested in the capability of printing 13x19˝, then purchasing a 60˝ wide-format printer may not be a good choice. However, you should try to purchase above your current expectations so you can handle future growth or expand the services you currently offer.
Following Opportunities to SUCCESS
TONYA DEMERSON follows a simple path to success: She takes the opportunities given her, excels and earns more opportunities. Throughout her brilliant career this cycle has repeated itself, and it continues to pay off. At April’s IPMA conference, Demerson received the James M. Brahney scholarship, awarded annually to an IPMA member who is pursuing a degree in corporate publishing or management. Demerson, Reprographics manager for the City of Denton, Texas, took a unique road to her career in printing. Born in Queens, N.Y., raised in Amarillo, Texas, Demerson originally arrived in Denton to attend the University of North Texas as a psychology
Management Systems Can Save Your Shop
RECENT RESEARCH suggests that just over 40 percent of in-plants use some form of print shop management software or management information system (MIS). If you’re one of the other 60 percent, perhaps it’s time for you to consider joining them. Obviously, this depends on the work you do, your customer mix and the level of management and planning/analysis capabilities you need. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these systems. The Pros 1. Print shop MIS systems can significantly automate, speed up and organize almost every business and production management role in your shop, whether it’s large or small, litho or copier-based. Depending
