In-plant Aids Presidential Forum

PENNSYLVANIA WAS a whirlwind of activity this spring. Campaigning, rallies, forums, debates and other events all led up to the Democratic primary on April 22. Messiah College was right in the thick if it when it hosted the Compassion Forum on April 13 to discuss moral issues that bridge ideological divides within the country.

The school’s 11-employee in-plant, College Press, spent 60 hours of overtime to take care of behind-the-scenes printing work leading up to the forum, which hosted presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

“We were very disappointed when Senator [John] McCain was unable to attend due to what his campaign cited as scheduling conflicts,” says Production Manager Carole Hutchison. “He has a standing invitation from President Kim S. Phipps to visit Messiah and speak to the students, faculty and staff whenever he is able. We feel fortunate to have such a forward-thinking person in President Phipps, who was able to arrange for this event, and to have been able to play a small part in this historical evening.”

Print Support

In preparation for the event (moderated by CNN anchor Campbell Brown and Newsweek’s Jon Meacham), the in-plant printed 500 media contact sheets, student contact sheets and fact sheets; 1,000 Messiah At-A-Glance flyers; 2,500 Messiah notepads; 2,000 Compassion Forum neighborhood letters; 305 volunteer badges; 1,475 tickets; 155 VIP parking passes; 130 employee volunteer parking passes; and eight various signs and marquees.

To complete these items, the College Press utilized its Xerox 260 with a DocuSP front end; Objectif Lune’s Printshop Mail variable data software; an HP 550 wide-format printer; A.B. Dick 9985 two-color presses; and assorted bindery equipment, including two hand embossers to put the logo of the college on the tickets, ensuring that they could not be forged.

The Xerox 260 was installed in December, and just as the in-plant was getting used to it, the Compassion Forum fell into its lap.

“There is no possible way we could have made due without a digital press. The turnaround-times were just too short,” says College Press Director Dwayne Magee. “Much of the printing happened all within a few days. Some of it was variable. I am very glad that we were ready. Because of this machine, we were heroes.”

The College Press had to outsource an 8x8? media burst, 1,000 pocket folders and 4,000 full-color programs because the turnaround time of 31/2 days didn’t allow for the in-plant to complete the task on its two-color Ryobi presses.

“Having established very good relationships with outside vendors through the years, we knew who we could count on for last-minute requests we were not able to handle in-house,” says Magee.

Tight Security

As security on campus became tighter in the two days prior to the forum, with secret service and sniffing dogs patrolling the grounds, the excitement began to build, Hutchison says. Many of College Press’s employees were able to attend the forum, having won seats in a lottery drawing. They participated as ticket takers, security, escorts and media runners.

Both Hutchison and Magee agree that the forum came together with little to no hitches. The only difficulty the in-plant faced was making sure it did not neglect other jobs.

“It was a real challenge keeping up with the other work in-house,” Magee says. “The printing for the Compassion Forum was so important and the event was so big, it would have been easy to forget that other jobs needed to be done as well.”

The two were also pleased with how the entire campus came together to get ready for the forum.

“The level of cooperation on the Messiah Campus from all areas was phenomenal. People really came together as a team,” says Hutchison.

Magee found that two different departments could unite under a common purpose, despite popular belief.

“A common complaint that is heard in university shops involves the relationship between designers and printers. However, this event really brought our departments together,” he explains. “It is my hope that this event proves to our senior administrators how wonderful things can be when these two areas are working together as one team. We were invited into the process from the very beginning and it made all the difference.”

When everything was said and done, Magee ultimately took the most pride in the College Press’s involvement.

“We have a great staff—super employees who would do anything for the college,” he praises. “They gave and gave, and they did it all with a smile and a very glad heart. I feel very fortunate to have such a great team,” he reflects. “I genuinely feel like we could take on anything and come out on top. You may be saying ‘Yes we can’ to the person in front of you and under your breath be thinking, ‘How on earth is this going to happen?’ But with the right people, it all works out.” IPG