Deans Of Duplication

Though college and university in-plants take on many different sizes, shapes and functions, the same basic issues affect them all.

Visit any two college or university in-plants and you're apt to encounter two remarkably different operations.

If you're in Seattle, walk into the University of Washington's vast in-plant, and you'll see big offset presses, high-speed digital printers and sophisticated mailing equipment all cranking away.

Stop into Philadelphia's Temple University, on the other hand, and you won't see any offset presses at all, just copiers.

Saunter down to Austin and you'll find two unaffiliated in-plants at the University of Texas: UT Copy Services and UT Printing.

Facilities also differ widely. Some in-plants have been stuffed into spare rooms, their growth inhibited by immovable walls. Others have managed to obtain whole buildings for their own use. Still others have opened satellite copy centers all over campus.

Despite their differing sizes, shapes and functions, though, college/university in-plants handle many similar issues: course packs, copyright permission, competing with off-campus quick printers and university politics, to name just a few.

In-plants also play an important role in attracting new students and donors, since the quality of their printed work reflects on the quality of their schools.

Most college in-plants have noticed a big increase in the demand for color printing over the past few years. This has sparked a need for updated equipment, and many in-plants say that obtaining funding for this equipment has become their biggest struggle.

"I've been trying for a number of years just to get a true two-color in here," remarks John Bowser of Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. Justifying the cost of new equipment, he says, is a tough task. The viability of offset at the university has been challenged, and may be challenged again, he says.

A year ago his department took over mainframe printing, and a networked Xerox DocuTech 6180 with a DigiPath front end was brought on board. It was soon followed by a DocuColor 40. Some in the university thought the machines could help replace offset, but so far offset is holding its own. The in-plant is currently preparing to move into newly remodeled quarters where both printing and copying will be combined. Currently they are on two separate floors.

Lots Of New Gear

Other universities have found ways to get approval for new gear. At the University of Delaware, Rodney Brown was able to get the O.K. for $244,000 in new equipment last year after a consultant inspected his shop, approved what he was doing and recommended that the university upgrade some equipment.

"They had to hear it from somebody else," says Brown, manager of Graphic Communications. Among other things, the in-plant added three color copiers last year, putting one in its main facility and one in each of its two satellite copy centers. The shop also installed a two-color Ryobi 3302H, a Konica 7060 digital copier and a Perfecta 76 paper cutter. The Logic Covalent Shop System was upgraded too. Next on the shopping list, Brown says, is a new folder.

Despite successes like this, some in-plants have decided that the battle to keep up with technology is no longer worth fighting. At Cal Poly University, Pomona, Manager Ron Hill reached that conclusion a few years ago. He decided that it made more sense to strategically outsource certain jobs than to buy new equipment and print them in-house.

Though departments used to send work directly to printers, four years ago Hill took control of all printing. Now he decides whether to print a job in-house or send it out, and he shops around for the best prices, something departments didn't bother to do in the past. In this way he maximizes the university's savings.

"We've got the best of two worlds," he says. "We do just about all the printing on campus, and we don't have to really depend upon the university to come up with large amounts of money to buy equipment which is already available off campus."

Bringing In New Business

Still, new capabilities can bring in new business. Scores of schools have struck gold by adding wide-format ink-jet printers. For example, the University of Maryland recently installed a Hewlett-Packard wide-format printer.

"Everybody wants to use it," declares Steve Rothman, director of creative media and communications services. Faculty members print posters for use at conferences, and banners are printed for marketing purposes (see article on wide-format, page 30).

"It's another service that we provide and a cost savings that just gives us more permanence," he explains.

Rothman's in-plant is actually one of three reproduction operations on campus. His main customer is the college of agriculture and natural resources, but there is also another offset facility that serves the whole university and a separate copy operation. The three operations often handle overflow work for one another.

Though most of Rothman's in-plant comprises offset equipment, he would like to get a mid-range digital copier for low-volume jobs. He's also hoping to upgrade his mailing and imagesetting equipment. Because he oversees everything from design to warehousing and mailing, Rothman says he has greater control over making sure pieces are designed for optimum printing and mailing.

Just as Rothman's in-plant is mostly offset, others are all toner-based. At the University of Denver, Gina Harris runs a seven-employee operation that handles copying and mailing. The in-plant recently added a Xerox DocuTech to replace its aging 5090. The DocuTech is being networked due to requests from the university community.

"Networking should also free up some time to offer other services, like design and typesetting, to the departments," notes Harris. The in-plant also wants to offer free pickup and delivery.

Like many college/university in-plants, Harris' operation uses its DocuTech to print course packs for students. Though storage capacity for these jobs is at a minimum right now, Harris expects to get extra storage space on the university's mainframe.

Course Pack Concerns

Because so many university in-plants produce course packs, most of them are also involved in the scanning and storing of data, as well as in the securing of copyright permission.

For scanning, many in-plants use Xerox DigiPath software to clean up scans before printing. One such in-plant is the University of Waikato, in Hamilton, New Zealand, where four DigiPath systems are distributed to different copy centers. Material is scanned and cleaned up at these centers, then sent back to the central print area for printing.

Unique at the university is an "online shopping mall" that allows students to purchase course packs via the Web. After browsing a catalog of course packs, students enter their account number and select what they need. The system checks to see if they have enough money, then it sends an electronic order to the print room.

"We grab the file from our digital library and print it on demand," explains Wayne Riggall, of the Information and Technology Services Division. "The customer can also choose how they want it delivered."

A terminal on campus lets students add money into their accounts. Riggall hopes that soon they will be able to do this directly from the Web.

Course Packs On Demand

At Miami University, in Ohio, the in-plant prints only 60 percent of the books requested and stores the data on either Xerox extended storage or on additional optical and RAID storage systems. When the book store reorders a certain course pack, the in-plant calls it up, prints it and has it in the book store in 24 hours.

The University of Delaware handles things differently. An outside organization, affiliated with the bookstore, coordinates copyright clearance of all course pack material, then it scans and cleans the copy, outputs a quality hard copy and sends this to the in-plant for duplicating. Rodney Brown says he is working on getting the in-plant networked so that course packs can be sent to the shop over the wire.

Though Brown's in-plant does not have to handle the copyright permission process, other schools are immersed in it. The University of Washington employs three people in its copyright permissions center. Coordinator Jen Wildrick says they use both the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) and their own database of publishers when seeking permission. She reports that lately an increasing number of publishers have contracted with CCC and stopped dealing directly with the in-plant.

In the past some in-plants have noted their faculty's resistance to complying with copyright permission procedures, but Wildrick feels that professors are finally catching on.

"Overall, professors are pretty cooperative," she says. "A lot of them are authors too."

To help faculty comply, the in-plant's permissions center sends out e-mails and brochures reminding them of deadlines.

Bob Neubauer can be contacted at: bneubauer@napco.com.

One Smart Card

Many college/university in-plants are in charge of walk-up copiers at their schools. Since many of these are coin operated, this leaves the in-plants with the rather burdensome task of collecting all those coins and hauling them to the bank.

To simplify this task, Northern Michigan University, in Marquette, Mich., has been using a debit card system on some of its copiers and laser printers. Students insert the cards, make copies and money is deducted from their accounts. They can load money into the card using a separate machine on campus.

"The goal was to try to set it up so that students could use it anywhere around campus," explains John Keating, manager of printing and mail services. This includes the cafeteria, he says.

Each month, instead of collecting a load of coins, Keating brings his laptop computer to each card reader and downloads the data. Then he runs out reports and sends them to the bank, which credits his account.

Keating admits that some of his goals haven't been realized. At times the computer and card reader don't interface very well, and the software doesn't always work right, but he's pleased with the positive aspects. The card readers, though, are not cheap, he adds. Each one costs about $900.

Situated on Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula, about three and a half hours from Green Bay, Wis., Keating's in-plant has been forced to become technically proficient, since technicians are not always nearby. Preventative maintenance is crucial.

The university may soon require students to have laptops, Keating says. He's watching this development to determine what kind of needs it may create.

Answers Online

If you manage a college or university in-plant, you can join a network of managers created to share information. Called Hardcopy, this free listserve enables you to e-mail questions or suggestions to 385 college/university in-plant managers simultaneously. To join, e-mail your name, title, department, name of your school and your e-mail address (make sure it's exactly the same as the address that appears in the header of your outgoing mail) to:

racham01@gwise.

by Bob Neubauer