Why Join NIPPA

NIPPA has 100+ members and provides opportunities, procedures and services to in-house publishing and distribution professionals and suppliers through the following resources:

Conferences, exhibitions and workshops;
Branch meetings held bi-monthly at venues decided by members e.g. universities, associate members premises etc.;
Professional certification opportunities;
Leadership opportunities from State Branches to Committee of Management;
Collective buying opportunities;
Listserve (e-mail networking system);
Bulletins and information updates;
Employment Networking opportunities
Benchmarking exercises
Technical support and advice

International Links

ACUP - Association of College and University Printers - USA

In August of 1964 Printing Managers of several Atlantic Coast Colleges and Universities from Maine to Virginia agreed that the formation of an association dedicated to the special circumstances and needs of collegiate printing facility managers would be highly beneficial. As a result, an "organizing meeting" was held at Harvard University in November of that year. Twenty-five separate school printing facilities were represented at this, the first association conference.

Chic Moran and his associates in Charlottesville hosted the "group's" first spring conference, held at the University of Virginia in April, 1965. The members in attendance voted during this conference to call the new association "The Association of College and University Printers," or "ACUP," and agreed to limit membership to the thirteen Northeastern states. Printing managers from states outside of this area would be invited to attend conferences as "guests."

Only three years later, in 1968, attendance had increased so greatly that this limited membership boundary was expanded to the entire country by popular demand. ACUP became a national organization, serving as a forum for college and university printers from all over the United States to meet and develop fellowships and benevolent acquaintances.

In April of 1970, the first conference outside the Northeast was held at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Since then, numerous schools have voluntarily hosted the annual conferences outside of the original boundaries. The University of Virginia hosted the 25th meeting of the Association in 1988, their third conference.

Since 1964 countless people have contributed to ACUP's success. The volunteers who have so graciously agreed to host held delightful conferences each year. In addition, multitudes of members have been speakers, instructors and panelists for conferences. Many have maintained mailing lists, conducted surveys, taken notes at meetings and performed other valued services to the Association.

In September of 2010, ACUP officially incorporated as a non-profit organization. The goal, continue to serve the printing, copying and related operations administrators by providing a forum to meet annually and explore subjects and problems common to us all. Additional membership services will be development of webinars, virtual roundtables, workshops and other on-line web services such as white papers, RFP samples, surveys, and other tools to assist in-plants in successful operations.

ACUP is the keystone that holds university in-plants together, through knowledge sharing, networking, support and collegiality.

APME - Association of Print Managers in Education - UK

Association of Print Manager group in Education (APME) exists primarily to promote and advance best value and good practice within the higher education (HE) reprographics, print and design environment. It encourages more coherent resourcing models for reprographics, in-plant lithographic printing and digital printing. It also discusses technological developments in the context of their intelligent application and management.

The APME membership consists of a group of professional people working in the HE sector, dealing specifically with their institutions' print, design and print related services. Some members serve their local authorities and other businesses to generate external income for their HEIs. The APME has over 100 members from around 80 HEIs throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The aims are:

improve the standards of communication amongst our member institutions;
address strategic issues regionally and nationally;
find and promote better training and promotional opportunities for our members;
encourage more coherent and comprehensive resourcing models for in-plant printing;
discuss and advise on technological developments and encourage their take-up in a practical way;

help our members manage their Units more effectively.

IPMA - In-Plant Printing Management Association - USA

Unlike other trade associations, IPMA answers the unique needs of the in-plant community by offering:

A competitive-free environment to exchange ideas and offer solutions.
Access to the largest concentration of best-in-class managers and industry experts.
Professional resources that speak directly to an in-plant’s needs.
Outstanding educational programs with an in-house perspective.
And so much more!

One of the curious things about the In-Plant Printing/Mailing industry is that our administrators and customers generally lack a clear knowledge of what it is we do. If you were to ask our customers, they would tell you one thing. Ask our direct supervisors and you would get a different answer. Ask senior management the same questions and they will either know who you are and what you do, or they will question what that is and why are we doing it.

Herein lies the crux of our problem. There is no one focal point or answer to who we are and for that matter, why we are. This is the most significant hurdle we must overcome. On a daily basis we must define, market, and prove our worth.

My initial question was “Why IPMA?”. The answer is simple. IPMA is an Association run by the members, for the benefit of the members. The single most important advantage IPMA has over other groups, is the fact that we do not compete with each other. What one shop does will not affect what another shop in the same vicinity does. Different customers, different missions, different scopes of work. What it does foster is an environment where help and resources are always available and shared by members.

IPMA provides a single resource for all In-Plant operations, regardless of size, number of employees or equipment mix. With over 600 members, all segments are thoroughly represented and all size shops have more than just a few fellow members. In other words, if you are a small operation with three employees and believe you are all alone. You would be very mistaken.

For those of you that belong to other groups, I say good for you. Other groups have some value, but you must also belong to IPMA. For the simple reason that it provides more access to a diverse membership. For those that say my group deals with different problems, I say they do not completely understand the In-Plant market. Educational institutions have to fight political battles just like state printers. Industrial operations must support stockholders just like insurance segments. You cannot single out any specific problem that does not also affect many other segments. This fact is what provides the solidarity offered by IPMA. All members are willing to share processes, procedures, and all thing In-Plant. In other words, IPMA has a stronger foundation that supports a bigger house.

I have personally been a member of many print related organizations, such as IPMA, ACUP, SUPDMC, TACUP, ACUMS, SWACUMS, Craftsmen’s Club, Litho Club, Big 10 Printers, and Big 12 Printers. All were worthwile groups. None of them provided the wealth of knowledge and the breadth of support IPMA has over my career.

I would encourage each of you to evaluate why you belong to any group. Ask yourselves: Does it provide value? Does it provide solutions? Does it provide learning opportunities? Does it help me do my job better? Does it provide community support? If you answer no or hesitate to say yes, then why belong? IPMA delivers all these things and more.

Our jobs are not getting easier. The pressure to do more with less is each of our concerns. Your opportunity to join a group that can provide solutions, knowledge, value and help you preform your duties to a higher standard, is right before you. IPMA is that organization. Is bigger always better? No, but in this case it is. More members, more collective knowledge, more resources and most importantly, more community.

By John Sarantakos, OU Printing, Mailing and Document Services