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Operations of a PSP: In-plant Printers

Operations of a PSP: In-plant Printers

Operations of an In-plant PSP – Episode Summary

In this insightful episode of The Print University, Ryan McAbee and Pat McGrew break down the operational structure of in-plant print service providers—those located within corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations. Whether centralized or decentralized, in-plants function much like scaled-down commercial printers, but with their own unique organizational challenges. This episode is a valuable watch for printing industry training programs for new employees, teams designing print shop employee onboarding templates, or those evaluating outsourced training for print production staff.

The hosts explore three types of in-plants: corporate, educational, and transactional. Each supports internal clients, but some also serve external clients to maximize equipment utilization. Operational constraints are real—most in-plants are space-limited, housed in basements or office annexes, and use right-sized offset, wide-format, and digital presses. Employees often wear multiple hats, switching between sales, CSR, prepress, print ops, and finishing.

Key processes include estimating, online ordering via portals, prepress file prep, job routing, and finishing. The prepress/IT role is especially versatile, handling everything from file imposition to RFP assistance. Some in-plants offer limited finishing in-house, while others outsource complex work like perfect binding or large-format sewing.

The discussion also covers internal awareness (often lacking), mailroom integration, delivery logistics, and cost modeling. With shrinking print runs and tight timelines, in-plants must be agile, efficient, and aware of both corporate and customer expectations to stay relevant.

You Will Learn:

  • The three in-plant types: corporate, educational, and transactional

  • Common roles and staffing models for small-space print environments

  • Workflow stages: prepress, printing, finishing, fulfillment, delivery

  • Portal ordering, awareness-building, and handling rush requests

  • Trends in automation, IT integration, and in-house vs. outsourced finishing

Who This Course Is For:

In-plant managers, operations leaders, customer service reps, facilities coordinators, and anyone pursuing lean manufacturing training printing industry or MIS software training for print production

Time to Watch:

Approx. 24 minutes