It’s time to take a hard look in the mirror and ask a difficult question: Is your print and mail operation built for the reality of 2026 and beyond, or are you still operating from a legacy mindset?
In my work with in-plants across higher education, financial services, and government, I see a recurring theme. Managers are no longer just fighting for budget; they are fighting a “Visibility Crisis.” They are struggling with a collision of forces: a rapidly retiring workforce, a desperate need for operational agility, and the constant pressure to prove that the in-plant is a strategic asset rather than a departmental expense. I recently spoke with 3 IPMA members running state government in-plant operations with second generation production inkjet equipment.
For years, we viewed inkjet as a way to save on click charges. In 2026, the stakes are higher. It’s about organizational resilience. To succeed today, we must move beyond the “toner trap”—the cycle of managing complex, operator-dependent equipment—and start viewing high-speed inkjet not just as a printer, but as a strategic platform for enterprise-wide resilience.
De-Risking the “Silver Tsunami”
The most significant risk to your operation isn’t declining volume; it’s the exit of institutional knowledge as employees leave and retire. When a 30-year veteran operator walks out the door, they take decades of “machine whispering” with them. In a toner or offset environment, that loss can be catastrophic.
Inkjet changes the math of talent management. By moving to a more automated, data-driven platform, you are de-risking your workforce. You can onboard new employees and train them in hours or days not weeks or months. You are replacing specialized, manual “craft” with repeatable, scalable, digital processes.
I recently spoke with Jeff Peeler, who manages the State of Colorado’s integrated solutions. Jeff didn’t come from a traditional print background; he came from the private sector with a focus on high-tech and business controls. He noted, “I came in really more with the private enterprise background and I’m focusing more on the business side… evaluating volumes… that’s what we’re billing for.” By leveraging inkjet, Jeff can focus on the business side because the technology provides a simplified, high-visibility workflow. This allows you to hire for a “data manager” mindset rather than searching for a disappearing trade. It is an institutional insurance policy for your talent pipeline.
The Digital Bridge: Elevating the Customer Experience
Whether you serve students, bank customers, or citizens, the mandate is the same: communications must be relevant, personalized, and fast. And content for print must be repurposed in digital channels. If your operation is still tied to pre-printed shells and complex warehouse inventories, you are an obstacle to your organization’s digital goals and communication needs.
Inkjet is the physical manifestation of a digital-first strategy. It acts as the “bridge” that allows you to move to a white-paper workflow, providing the agility to pivot messaging at a moment’s notice. Tammy Golden, Assistant Commissioner for the State of Tennessee, admitted that the inkjet transition required a mindset shift. “It took me a long time to get on board… I had a hard time getting over the lack of redundancy we always had with previous printers,” she told me. However, by embracing the technology, her team eliminated the nightmare of managing color paper inserts and pre-printed forms. This agility allows the in-plant to provide a better “Citizen Experience,” using full-color, personalized messaging that drives users to digital portals via QR codes. Inkjet has proven more reliable, improved uptime and reduced costs associated with inventory management.
Agility as a Service
In rapidly changing business environments, your equipment must function as a scalable, strategic platform with the capacity to consolidate and execute new types of work from across your organization and customer base. If another department is struggling with a legacy process, can you absorb it?
Kristen Hampton, the Director of Print and Mail Management for the state of Michigan describes her operation’s inkjet platform as a vital tool for centralization. Because their system is a “workhorse,” they aren’t just serving the executive branch; they’re expanding to serve local municipalities and police departments. They have become a shared-service powerhouse for the entire state.
This is the definition of agility. When you have a platform that delivers both speed, quality and flexibility without the bottlenecks of older toner or offset technology, you become the primary solution for your organization’s communication needs.
Final Thought: From Support to Essential
When I ask managers what results they have produced over the last 24 months, the most successful ones are those who have moved from “supporting” the organization to being “essential” to its strategy. That isn’t hype. That’s leveraging a tool to provide a practical advantage.
When your customers see your effort to provide solutions and knowledge, they’ll become your cheerleaders. They’ll see an operation that isn’t just “printing stuff,” but an operation that has the vision to navigate the workforce changes and the structure to lead the digital future. Stop just managing a print shop. Start leading a strategic team that supports your organization’s communications and compliance needs.
Lois Ritarossi, CMC®, is the President of High Rock Strategies, a consulting firm focused on sales and marketing strategies, and business growth for firms in the print, mail and communication sectors. Lois brings her clients a cross functional skill set and strategic thinking with disciplines in business strategy, sales process, sales training, marketing, software implementation, inkjet transformation and workflow optimization. Lois has enabled clients to successfully launch new products and services with integrated sales and marketing strategies, and enabled sales teams to effectively win new business. You can reach Lois at https://www.highrockstrategies.com/ or Lritarossi@highrockstrategies.com