Three Views of Rising Use of Wide-format in In-plant Printing Operations

One common, and rather outdated, assumption about In-plant printing operations — those shops that are captive within school districts, universities, and corporations — is that they are "print shops," in place only to serve the document needs of their parent company. In reality, these operations have changed what they print to meet their customers needs. Increasingly, that means moving into wide-format production.

My colleague Bob Neubauer, content director at In-Plant Impressions, recently posted three profiles of in-plants that have adopted wide-format, how they're using it, and how it has transformed what they do. In many cases, they've "brought inside" a variety of jobs they used to farm out to commercial wide-format producers.

How these shops are approaching wide-format, and how they're using it is interesting to consider. The wide-format capabilities at these shops may not meet the productivity or capability requirements for all wide-format jobs needed. And because of this, farming out some jobs may still be their chosen production need. To capture some of this work — if that is interest to your business — it may be wise to maintain or establish strategic connections with in-plant operations.

Article: Infusion of Wide-Format Gear Sets Shippensburg In-plant on a Course for Success

Key Takeaway: This article describes how the Shippensburg University in-plant moved into wide-format technologies as a way to improve its offerings, but also its value to the university. There was a known need, and the in-plant stepped in to fill that need. Most interestingly, the in-plant is looking beyond yard signs and pole flags and toward new opportunities. They have plans to move into events -- upping the look and feel of, for instance, on-campus ceremonies, giving them a "dressed up" look. They are moving toward greater service offerings.

Video: New Wide-format at University of California San Francisco's In-plant

Key Takeaway:  Answering the growing demand for "posters" used for scientific symposia, the University of California in-plant moved into wide-format. But, like the Shippensburg in-plant, UCSF saw additional opportunities. With the addition of a Graphtec cutting system, the shop has been able to fulfill requests for short-run decals, particularly for those jobs where the run-lengths are below those required by print-on-demand decal producers. Again, with wide-format technology in place, this in-plant quickly found ways to expand its offerings and its reach.

Video: Sacramento In-plant ventures into "Wide-Format Land"

Key Takeaway: The Sacrament State University in-plant director, Laura Lockett, states, "wide-format is growing like crazy," and explains that wide-format focused revenue is rising as revenue from traditional print applications has declined. The shop has branched into numerous applications and has also moved into elements for campus events. This is an example of the in-plant supplying applications the university had not used before. The presence of wide-format is creating opportunities. Further, the shop is using a narrow format UV printer to produce awards and braille -- another application area no longer farmed out to others.

If there is a common theme among these the in-plants profiled, it is that wide-format technology is opening possibilities for these them, helping them transcend who they have historically been, and enabling them to better meet the needs of the organizations for which they print.

For a deeper view of how wide-format technologies are changing the opportunity structures in-plant operations see as their new North Star, head over to inplantimpressions.com.