Mr. Michael George

• Build-versus-Buy for Web-to-Print. (Presenter: Michael George, Villanova University) - Wednesday April 1, 11:10

"Students wanted to be able to submit their papers and reports, often a mix of color and black-and-white pages, anytime of the day or night and not have to think about the printing process," said Michael George, Villanova's director of central services.

"Students wanted to be able to submit their papers and reports -often a mix of color and black-and-white pages-anytime of the day or night and not have to think about the printing process," according to Michael George, Director of Central Services.
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"WebCRD talks to our production printer, tells it what the job specs are and it rolls right through," noted George.

Michael George Director of Central Services, Villanova University

Michael George is a very busy man.Whether he's meeting with customers, flying to trade shows or solving any number of daily crises in the in-plant, he's always looking for a way to get a little more time.

Michael George, director of Villanova University Graphics, shows off his in-plant's Heidelberg Quicksetter 400 computer-to-plate (CTP) system.

George is director of Villanova University Graphics, a 13-employee shop tucked away on the second floor of Galberry Hall in a far corner of campus.Operating in what was once a house, the in-plant is its own storm of activity, and it's in a constant race against the clock.

A little over two years ago, George says the Philadelphia-area in-plant made a purchase designed to beat the clock--a Heidelberg Quicksetter 400 computer-to-plate (CTP) system.Picked up at Graph Expo 2000, the Quicksetter images both film and plates.It has helped Villanova's in-plant handle some major volume increases.

"The type of work that we're doing has stayed the same, but the volume has really increased," George says.

CTP has helped the shop keep up.

With some 30 percent of in-plants now using CTP systems, according to IPG research, the message seems to be getting out: CTP can substantially reduce the amount of time, labor and money necessary to complete an offset job.In-plants that use platesetters agree.

Waste Management

Back in October 2001, the Wal-Mart Printing and Mailing Distribution Center, in Bentonville, Ark., installed a CreoScitex (now Creo) Lotem B2 thermal platesetter.
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At Villanova, George says the Quicksetter not only knocked hours off job times, but it freed up an employee to focus on other areas of the growing business.

"I used to have one person dedicated to prepress," he says.But since the purchase of the CTP system it hasn't been necessary to devote any employee exclusively to the operation of the Quicksetter.

Although CTP gets attention for the amount of time it saves, most managers say their platesetters save money on materials, as well.

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To get approval for the purchase of the Quicksetter, Villanova's George was subjected to a rather involved process.

"Villanova has an entrepreneurial society and a budget committee," he says."I spent two months getting proposals from different vendors.I took that research to them, and they bought into it."

George says originally he wanted a five- to seven-year plan to pay for the device, but the university wanted it paid for in three.

No big deal, he says.

"So now we've got one more payment.And then it's ours."

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"We don't use metal plates," affirms Michael George, director of University Graphics."That sort of system didn't fit within our budget."

He says the polyester plates are well-suited to the run lengths typical of his 13-employee in-plant.

"We do very little four-color.It's lots of stationery orders, brochures, stuff that is short-run.This is the best equipment for that sort of thing," he believes, adding that polyester plates are not designed for very long press runs.

Regardless of shorter run lengths, George says the shop is quite happy with polyester.

"We've pushed these plates to 20,000 impressions," reveals George.

Since going with a CTP system, George says the quality of the finished product has improved, as well.

"Going from a traditional negative, the quality is much sharper and much easier to read," he contends."You don't have the same exposure fluctuations either."

And Gerlinde Williams, administrator of Central Printing for the State of Oklahoma, says there's an extra bonus to working with polyester plates.

"It's a one-time-use plate, which you can file in a computer," she says."Metal plates have to get filed in an actual cabinet."

Presenter:  Michael George, Villanova University

Michael George Director of Central Services, Villanova University

Mike George is the Director of Central Services for Villanova University. In researching an automated Web-to-Print solution, Mr. George wanted a seamless way for Villanova's 6,000 students, 535 faculty, and substantial support staff to submit and print an extensive array of documents.

Michael George Director of Central Services, Villanova University

Mike George is the Director of Central Services for Villanova University. In researching an automated Web-to-Print solution, Mr. George wanted a seamless way for Villanova's 6,000 students, 535 faculty, and substantial support staff to submit and print an extensive array of documents.

Michael V GeorgeVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY800 Lancaster AvenueVillanova PA 19085610-519-4471