Every year, as I peruse the winning pieces on display at the In-Print awards reception, I’m amazed at how many of the in-plant managers all around me didn’t even enter the contest. This always floors me, given how easy — and cheap — it is to enter.
When I ask some of these managers why they didn’t enter, the response is always “we meant to, but we got busy.”
Yeah. We’re all busy.
The real question should be, are you too busy to promote your in-plant? Too busy to applaud your staff’s high-quality work by entering it in a national competition? Too busy to excite your customers by telling them their job was selected for entry?
There are countless ways you can use the In-Print contest to promote your in-plant. Yet you’re too busy to bother?
If you’re one of those managers, you still have a few weeks to redeem yourself. Put your operators in charge of selecting pieces to enter. They’ll be thrilled with the opportunity to show off their work. Make sure they inspect each of the four samples for flaws — or our judges will find them for you.
IPMA members can enter three pieces for no charge at all. Why would you not take advantage of that? But if you find more than three, the fee to enter each additional piece is so small you shouldn’t hesitate. It’s just $35 per piece. (Compare this with other printing contests, which charge more than $100 per entry!)
Besides, the big winners know they increase their chances by submitting a lot of entries. They recoup their expenses with the recognition they receive. Some in-plants hold a reception and present duplicate awards to the customers who ordered those jobs. This not only makes customers happy, it brings positive attention to the in-plant and makes the operators proud, motivating them to continue doing their best work. It also reminds them to keep an eye out for jobs to enter the following year.
So don’t let another year go by where you’re “too busy” to enter. Get to it right now. The deadline is January 31. You still have plenty of time, but only if you start now.
To see the online entry form and read tips on how to win, visit our In-Print Contest page.
Bob Neubauer is the editor and content director of In-plant Graphics, the only magazine in the world dedicated exclusively to in-plant managers. He has served as editor of the Philadelphia-based publication since October, 1994. Prior to that he was a managing editor at Printing Impressions magazine. A recipient of the 2017 IPMA Outstanding Contributor Award, Bob is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences, and has visited more than 160 in-plant operations to keep abreast of managers’ concerns. Bob has coordinated numerous conferences and seminars for in-plants and has given scores of presentations to in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Contact him at bobneubauer@napco.com.