Small 
Shop Ready to Grow

Ever Since she took over Kellogg Community College's print shop seven and a half years ago, June Lewis has never had more than one or two student helpers to assist her. But after an equipment overhaul a few years ago at the Battle Creek, Mich., in-plant and a two-year effort to restore confidence in the shop's capabilities, Lewis says her full-time staff is about to double.

"I finally convinced our director and vice president that we needed to add a staff member so that we can run more efficiently and offer better service and turnaround time to the college," reveals Lewis, Duplication-Distribution Center operator. "We have come a long way and made many improvements. We now have the equipment to handle the volume, plus a lot more is still out there to be brought in. We just needed the man hours to operate the equipment to produce the volume."

She expects that new employee to start in July.

"We were working with older equipment that was outdated and operating in very manual unaccountable way," Lewis explains. "We then brought the department up to date with current technology in the fall of 2007, and were given responsibility for managing the college's copier fleet."

Today the in-plant's equipment includes an Océ VarioPrint 6160 with inline high-capacity stacker, finisher and BLM 200 bookletmaker with square-fold capabilities, and an Océ CS620 (a rebranded Konica Minolta color machine) with a basic inline bookletmaker. The in-plant also uses Avanti print management software.

New Types of Services

Lewis has seen a growing demand for scanning services, creating electronic PDF files and custom course packs.

"We added CD/DVD burning/imprinting in 2008 to give faculty another option for getting materials out to their students," she says. The in-plant is currently exploring the possibility of adding even more services such as wide-format, envelope printing and variable data.

"Finding little ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies within our area and determining if these changes create a cost savings for other areas is a big plus in our favor," says Lewis.

Although she is still developing a long-term strategy, Lewis anticipates doing even more on-demand printing of coursepacks for the bookstore, as well as the on-demand printing of other items typically ordered in large quantities and warehoused.

"We continually evaluate what we offer and which services will best replace outdated services," she says. The in-plant is also in the beginning stages of a building renovation that will give it a new space to arrange equipment for improved production workflow and time savings.

In addition to managing printing and the college's copier fleet, Lewis also oversees the mail center.

"We provide for the pickup of outbound U.S. mail and ready it for a local vendor to process it daily at the presort first-class rate, saving the college postage costs," she says. The in-plant handles approximately 165,000 pieces of regular mail per year, plus another 50,000 pieces of bulk mail a year.

"Be proactive with your administration about the value of your department to the organization," advises Lewis. "Do your research and be prepared to defend your department with good facts and information. Show that you're proactive in looking at ways to keep costs low, not just for your department, but for the whole organization."