Bob Tierney

First the question: Who holds the record for appearing on the most IPG covers? Here are the choices: -Jean-Luc Devis -Mike Loyd -West Barton -Bob Slaughter -Rick Wise Answer: This was a trick question. But since we’re not giving out prizes, who really cares, right? There are actually TWO correct answers. Mike Loyd and West Barton have both appeared four times on our cover. And I should add, this was my decision, not theirs, lest you think there was some ego involved. There have been several three-timers, too: Rodney Brown, Rick Wise, Bob Slaughter, Carol Doffing-Kraft and Ralph Sperrazza. The list

As the largest insurance in-plant in the country, the Allstate Print Communications Center uses cutting-edge technology to provide unrivaled service. "You're in good hands." That's what Allstate Insurance tells its customers to reassure them that the company is looking out for their best interests. It's also what the Allstate Print Communications Center believes describes its relationship with its parent company. After all, in addition to both offset printing and digital black-and-white and color printing, the in-plant offers ink-jet addressing, mail processing, billing statement output, electronic prepress, bindery, distribution and more to support Allstate and its commerical business for external customers. Just about the only

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

The superior capabilities, innovations and vision of the Allstate Print Communications Center make it a role model and a true Industry Leader. If someone took all of the management tips and equipment advice ever offered in the pages of In-Plant Graphics and put them to work in a single in-plant, the resulting "super in-plant" would be equipped to handle virtually any type of print job, from design through mailing. It would report stellar savings to its appreciative management, thrill its customers with service and be a true leader in the printing industry—a model for in-plants everywhere. But such an in-plant doesn't exist,

In the first installment of our Great Debate series, two industry leaders discuss what went into their decisions to buy—or not buy—a digital press. When digital color printing burst upon the graphic arts world, a number of printers jumped into it, convinced they would find their fortunes. After all, "print-on-demand" was the latest catch phrase, and that was exactly what these presses were made for. But after snapping them up, a lot of commercial printers discovered that they didn't have the appropriate workloads to keep their investments busy with profitable work. In-plants, at the mercy of their parent organizations' budgets, were far more