New Outlook, New Equipment For Gustavus Adolphus College

After nearly two decades with one equipment vendor, Brad Johnson felt it was time for a change and a fresh start. So back in May, the director of Printing Services at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn., shed the label of being a “Xerox shop” when he purchased two high-speed Canon printers: a monochrome imagePRESS 1110P and a color imageRUNNER C5185.
“Coming off what was one of our best sales years in the last decade for our in-plant, it seemed to be the most opportune time to make the change,” Johnson explains.

Actually, the in-plant had already forged a relationship with Canon when it replaced 17 outdated multi-function devices with new Canon imageRUNNER models last year. But these two new units are its first high-production devices from Canon. The imagePRESS 1110P prints 110 pages per minute (ppm) with true 1,200x1,200-dpi output. The imageRUNNER C5185 outputs 51 ppm in both color and black and white. Johnson reports that the transition from Xerox to Canon was seamless, and contract negotiations were a breeze.

“The service we receive is outstanding, and the sales, marketing and service staff are responsive in a positive way,” Johnson says. “Our local Canon dealer even had support and involvement from Canon USA and Canon reps in Japan to assist with the requisition of the imagePRESS 1110P.”

Receiving timely service responses was a key for the in-plant, which is located in what Johnson calls a “gray area” outside of major metro areas and far from larger businesses in surrounding counties. The in-plant had some service problems in the past, Johnson notes, but he feels confident about this new relationship with Canon.

“Our service problems seem to be solved,” he declares.

The in-plant, with three full-time and 12 part-time employees, now has staples included in its click contract, which Johnson feels is a huge advantage. The shop is using its new equipment to print course packs, brochures, annual reports, fund-raising literature, posters and marketing pieces for recruiting purposes.

Johnson points out that Gustavus Adolphus College’s imagePRESS 1110P was the first to be installed in the upper Midwest and in the state of Minnesota when it was put into service in July.

“We are fortunate enough in this tough economy to have been in the position to make the change,” Johnson concludes.