The Competition Within

Why send jobs to the in-plant when a desktop printer or hallway copier can take care of them? That’s what many of your customers are thinking—and doing. It’s up to you to change their bad, wasteful habits. Here are some suggestions from fellow managers. To see even more, check out our e-news story on this topic.

Educate Them

What we do is point out to all our departments with short presentations during departmental meetings how expensive the cost per copy is for a desktop versus our cheaper cost per copy with our in-plant equipment.

We also stress the labor issue: that the department can spend their labor pool doing other important tasks and leave the work to us so they gain additional opportunities with time and labor, which should be of benefit to our organization.

Mike Chapman, Print Manager, Communication Services, Habitat for Humanity Intl., Americus, Ga.

Restrict Copy Quantities

Here are a couple of things we do to control the use of low-volume copiers:

1. To use one of the satellite copiers you need an access code. There is a posted copy limit of 50 copies per item. Any jobs that require more than 50 copies are to be taken to the Reprographics Department for processing. Monthly copy volumes and number of times used are monitored on the satellite copiers. If it appears a user is going over the copy limit, they are counseled twice. The third time they lose their satellite copier privileges and their access code is removed from the copier.

2. The purchase of any specialty papers (i.e., colored, preprinted) must go through the Reprographics department. This not only allows us to monitor who’s purchasing these specialty papers but also what the intended end use is. This also allows us to amalgamate paper purchases for volume discounts.

Allen Palovik, Supervisor, Reprographics, Knott’s Berry Farm
Buena Park, Calif.

Cop Combat

Lecturing doesn’t work after the lease is signed. Telling them about the expense, time lost and questionable branding only elicits a yawn and a knowing wink. Walk-up junkies rationalize immediate gratification against sound reasoning. Plus, it is almost impossible to break the lease without eating the cost.

A preemptive warning can help. Advise clients to look before they lease. Heighten awareness of the services you can offer before a copier agreement is even considered. Telling is good, but showing is better. Ask doubters to just try one job with your in-plant, and then dazzle them with your expertise. Make recommendations. Become an extension of their department. Get the volume projects that are a nusance to the client and a great fit for the in-plant.

I had a prospective off-site client that was reticent to use our services because of the critical time frames and high financial risk. I finally convinced him to try us by simultaneously using his process and our services. This eliminated the risk and gave us an opportunity to shine. I met with him later and he was amazed that “the yellow really came out yellow and the copies were night and day.”

You won’t win all the work, but only what you should.

Mike Renn, Assistant Vice President, Corporate Services, Mellon Financial, Philadelphia

Hit Them in the Wallet

We encourage in-plant usage by putting a two-cent price differential on our walk-up units over the in-plant equipment. This won’t stop someone from printing something at their desktop, but it’s been my experience that these desktop printers are too slow (or the customer is too impatient) to send serious volumes through.

Linda Balsamo, Manager,
Printing & Mail Services, Walgreen Co., Deerfield, Ill.

Add Web File Submission

I believe the only realistic way to combat this loss of work is by offering your customers a simple Web-based file submission path to your high-volume digital printers. Our experience has been no one on campus wants to download drivers and learn complicated processes with multiple steps in order to send their Word file (for example) to us for output.

By keeping the file transmission process simple and offering very timely delivery of the finished product, you can get at least the higher volume jobs back in your shop, which are the jobs most of us want anyway.

You can also help to secure this business by reminding your campus customers that you offer a variety of paper stocks, quality color output and multiple bindery options. Plus you can digitally store their job for additional runs as needed.

And last, usually your high-volume printing price will be less expensive than output on their office printers, a fact we all need to try and remind administration about as often as possible.

Rick Wise, Director, Printing Services, University of Missouri-Columbia

Make it Easier for Them

Convenience and control is obviously their motivation to do it themselves; cost apparently isn’t an issue. Having said that, the problem seems, at least to me, easily answered with service and by putting some control in their hands. No one chooses to do something themselves that they could pass off to someone else on a dependable basis.

First, I’d consider a standard cost sheet allowing them to know their prices up front. I know that I said cost wasn’t an issue but knowing cost contributes immensely to a feeling of control.

Then I’d take a good look at myself through their eyes and examine my current systems of service. How easy is it for them to place their order? What about getting their materials, copy, etc? Is there a good pick-up system in place for immediate response? Does my turnaround time meet their needs? Do I deliver ahead of time? Hopefully I could make tangible visible changes which I could tout, then do all I could to take that business back, one job at a time. But be ready to perform at 125 percent. Failing now could be a slow painful death.

Ronald D. Orehowsky, Vice President, Publishing
Support Services Div. Manager, LRP Publications, Horsham, Pa.

Partner with Supply Chain Professionals

The solution we all need to look to is partnering with your supply chain professionals within your organizations. They’re usually the first ones contacted regarding the acquisition of a new piece of equipment, and making them aware of the true benefits of the in-plant will go a long way to stemming the tide of MFPs invading and ravaging your print volumes from within.

As the executive manager of office services to OPGI in Toronto, I made sure I was part of the committee to review the proposed MFP fleet that would replace analog copiers and some digital printers. As part of the team I could offer my experience with production equipment and at the same time, influence how these units would be deployed throughout the organization.

By the end of 2008, we’ll likely have in excess of 1,800 satellite MFP units in our Ontario sites/facilities which will not impact my in-plant’s print volumes significantly enough to be a competitive concern.

Wayne Guiney, Executive Manager of Office Services, OPGI, Toronto

Take Responsibility...For Copiers

My spin on this question is that if I cannot attract them here through great service and lower costs, then I’ll get the volume on the other end (at the printer/copier). I am responsible for our enterprise print program as well as the printing, so all the revenue from the campus copiers and printers comes to me to as well.

Douglas G. Miller, Director of Print Solutions, Grand Rapids
Community College, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Monitor Supplies

My personal gut feeling is that Department of Education personnel could very well be attempting to do more “production” type printing on their own office copiers or laser printers as compared to years past. I do not have any actual hard figures to back this feeling up, but base it on the increasing “panic” phone calls I get when their printers or copiers “blow up” from the extra job load and they want us to save them by running their jobs.

I think most offices within the DOE are smart enough to figure out what jobs should be done with us here at DOE Repro and what they can run on their own. The departmental managers also keep pretty tight controls on supplies, toner cartridges and paper stock purchases and usually question when large jobs were not sent to Repro.

The usual excuse I hear is that they were only trying to do us a favor because they know we are always really busy and they didn’t want to bother us on their “rush” job. Of course their rush job becomes our rush job when their machines go down.

The only proactive thing we do is to occasionally send out department-wide memos encouraging everybody to send their “big” jobs to us.

Jason Seto, Reprographic Specialist II, Hawaii State Department of Education, Honolulu

Meet with Them

When we find out that someone is running high-volume work on their copiers, we try to set up a meeting with them (not to reprimand them in any way), just to show them that offset is more suited to these long runs. We compare copier costs to offset costs, and also compare job quality. We definitely have our work cut out for us, because we have only made a small dent in a very large problem.

Joyce K. Mahaffey, Director, Printing & Publications, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.