Cost-effective In-plant Prevents Outsourcing
A new Heidelberg Digimaster 9110 and a dedicated staff have helped Case Western Reserve University refine course pack production.
When Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, outsourced its offset press work and bookstore operations, it considered outsourcing all printing services at the same time.
That might have happened, too, had Lisa Gerlach, printing services manager, not been able to demonstrate that her department achieves lower per copy costs than outside providers—while simultaneously providing outstanding service.
Gerlach's staff focuses on creating a professional image for the university, while maintaining low costs for students. When the staff processes copyright clearances for course packs, for example, the cost of a periodical article or book chapter is sometimes higher than usual. In some cases, a single article might raise the price of the course pack by $10 to $20.
"When this happens, my staff calls the professor so that he or she can decide whether including the content is appropriate," Gerlach says. "I don't think an outside company is going to take the time to think about student expenses, but we do."
Gerlach adds that selecting equipment that is both flexible and affordable is also essential to maintaining a competitive in-house operation. A case in point is the recently installed Heidelberg Digimaster 9110 imaging system. This printing solution, which also includes several third-party software programs, combines image quality with the ability to enhance scanned images and compile course packs and other materials from a variety of sources.
"The image quality from this printing system is exceptional," Gerlach notes. "That's extremely important, especially when you are producing course packs that represent our university and its curriculum."
Though this system is also marketed by Canon and IBM, the university selected Danka Office Imaging because of its ability to integrate software that met the staff's specific needs.
"Danka has integrated several software packages into our solution so that we can more efficiently design pages from scanned input, compile large documents and manage complex workflows," Gerlach reports. "In one case, they worked with a software company to design a program that provides enhanced performance for book scanning—which was one of our requests."
The printing system produces a variety of materials, including flyers, alumni mailings, course packs and other educational materials.
Course Pack Challenges
Course packs are by far the most challenging assignment because they usually involve chapters from up to five different textbooks, dozens of articles from newspapers or magazines, and the professor's notes on selected topics.
Gerlach's staff scans all the hard copy sources and enhances the image quality.
"Sometimes we get originals that have been folded or damaged, or we have to use sub-optimal copies because originals are not available," she says. "The software Danka has integrated into this solution allows us to greatly improve the appearance in just a few keystrokes."
The staff also reconfigures text and graphics to create an attractive layout.
"We redesign pages by cropping out advertisements or other unwanted copy, and enlarging images as needed to fill the allotted space. We are also able to crop out black areas around the edges of scanned book pages and perform other electronic 'cut and paste' operations," she notes.
Scanned images are integrated with digital documents to create a master file, and a proof print is generated. While the proof is being reviewed by the professor, the staff secures all required copyright clearances and processes payments to the publishers.
Justifying Digital Publishing
Gerlach justified the university's investment in a new digital publishing system because of its high-volume capacity and flexibility.
"We keep our equipment for a long time in order to maintain low operating expenses," she says. "So when we were evaluating digital publishing systems, we were interested in an open platform that could be upgraded with new hardware and software capabilities in the future. Danka has already enhanced the software several times to add new capabilities we requested."
The university has two satellite copy centers and a central facility, which is located in the library. Business operations and bindery are housed together in an administrative building.
Printing Services performs an expansive menu of black-and-white and color copying and printing services with its two high-volume printing systems, two copiers and a color laser copier. In addition to educational materials, the department regularly produces newsletters, mailings with labels and response cards, carbonless forms, flyers, pamphlets, posters, programs and tickets.
It offers document design and electronic storage, as well as comprehensive finishing options that include collating, stapling, GBC spiral or perfect binding, perforating, saddle stitching, folding and shrink wrapping. All offset press work and large-format color work is outsourced, but the staff of 11 handles most other tasks. The central reproduction center operates two shifts, and all facilities together generate more than 1 million impressions a month.
Future Consolidation Plans
"When the university completes construction of its new management school, which will be adjacent to the law school, we plan to combine these two copy centers and use the 9110 unit as our primary printing system," Gerlach explains.
Gerlach selected the 9110 system for several reasons. "It offers much higher image quality, its open architecture platform is more flexible for future hardware and software upgrades, the software is much easier to use, and it is less expensive than our Xerox system."
While cost is certainly a primary factor, Gerlach reports that quality remains the top consideration for all materials.
"We want every document, whether it's internal or external, to reflect a professional image for the university."
by Robette Brooks
Robette Brooks has authored more than 300 articles about the printing and graphic arts industry in the last 15 years. She is based in Denver, Colorado. You can contact her at:
rbrooks@ccspr.com
