Elevating Mesa

OUR CORE business isn't necessarily printing, it's educating students," declares Bill King, Supervisor of Printing and Publishing at Mesa Public Schools. "We ask ourselves, 'How can we shape our operation to mirror the core values of the school district?' "

Yet the in-plant of the largest school district in Arizona is all business when it comes to printing. The shop generates approximately 32 million impressions annually to fulfill the needs of more than 10,000 employees and 65,000 students. It also insources work from non-profit organizations and other school districts.

Ten employees (nine full-time and one part-time) work out of an 8,000-square-foot plant located in a school administration building near downtown Mesa. The in-plant does not have the right of first refusal, but still produces about 90 percent of the district's printing in-house, King says. It outsources only the services that aren't available on site, counting on valued vendor partners.

"We don't do coiling in-house," he explains. "We also send out letterpress work and die-cutting."

In the in-plant, about two-thirds of the work is produced digitally, versus one-third offset. Jobs include NCR forms, business and stationery products, newsletters and budget reports. The department counts on variable data capabilities to generate report cards and progress reports, as well as registration forms.

Using its Ryobi 3200 PCX perfector with a Duplo System 5000, the in-plant also produces saddle-stitched workbooks and other books of up to 19 signatures, typically in runs of 5,000 to 9,000.

"For books, we print on 60-lb. bond, which we feel adds a sense of legitimacy to the product," King notes. "It feels nice and solid coming out of a backpack. Printing should be more than just a throwaway."

The department is passionate about product quality, in regard to both aesthetics and content. A school district's in-plant has to reflect its administration's and educators' high standards, King stresses.

It is unusual for the shop to fail to make the grade, but King recalls one situation that left the department in need of a make-up test.

"When I first joined Printing and Publishing 10 years ago, I found out that a booklet [that had already been printed] contained errors," he relates. "Someone sent me a note that said, 'This isn't rocket science. Why can't you get this right?' "

"That person was absolutely right," King acknowledges. "It was important that we recycle all those misprinted materials, fix the problems and reprint the job." The in-plant wanted to send students the right message.

Eco-friendly Efforts

The department's regard for Mesa students also dovetails with its prioritization of practical, practicable eco-friendly efforts. The shop's initial foray into soy-based ink usage was inspired by concern for student health and safety.

"We were printing tray liners for the district's Food and Nutrition department," King remembers. "We had to use something so that, if students dropped food on the liner, they could still eat it safely."

Soy-based inks proved so successful, that the in-plant decided to use them for everything. As the in-plant continued to change over to greener consumables (inks, along with recycled paper and water-soluble solvents) King had to consider the finances of the transition.

He ascertained that "going green" made sense—and cents.

"Yes, the price point of soy-based inks can be a little higher," King notes. "But, we were getting the kind of mixtures and consistency that we were looking for. And, of course, it's better for the environment."

King believes that overall cost and value typically trump price. "We take the 30,000-foot view," he reinforces. "If a particular ink or paper has a slightly higher price, but offers better longevity and quality, usage cost can actually be lower."

On the other hand, King has found that sometimes, even if an environmental effort is worthy, it can't always be justified financially. For example, while the in-plant is committed to recycled paper—King estimates usage at about 80 percent—the shop isn't pursuing a formal FSC-certification program currently.

"We have to pick our battles," he notes. "Right now, chain-of-custody is just too expensive an undertaking, considering today's economy and the budget challenges the district is facing."

Conscious Partnering

"Even though we may not have all the certifications, we engage in conscious partnering," King continues. When the shop contracted with a linen-services company, King made sure that the vendor was on the same page regarding environmental responsibility.

"We asked how green they are and discovered that they practice water conservation and have a new water filtration system," he relates.

The in-plant also partners with the City of Mesa for recycling paper, cardboard and plastic.

"The city called us a couple of years ago to let us know that they were expanding their recycling program," King remarks. "We've been able to recycle so much that our garbage pickup was reduced from a couple of times a week to once a week."

Very recently, King learned about a company in Phoenix that will pay for recyclable material. He's ambivalent about a possible partnership, musing that "we might make some money by giving this over to a profit center, but how would that help the City of Mesa?

"I'd hate to be one of those guys who knows the price of everything and value of nothing," he quips.

Other eco-friendly efforts are more easily embraced and implemented.

• As part of a district policy, the in-plant has posted "If not in use, please turn off" stickers at every light switch.
• The shop has reduced its warehouse inventory significantly.
• The staff repurposes as much material as possible. They use the paper from butt rolls for packing material, make pads out of waste from parent sheets, and turn carton tops and bottoms into pallet covers.

"It's not a formal campaign, it's just second nature to us," King comments. Similarly, he adds, "we never had a mandate to monitor fuel consumption, but we're good stewards in that respect," he continues. "Mesa is so big now and some of our schools are 20 miles away, so we group deliveries according to location."

An Extremely Clean Operation

The in-plant's employees are also excellent housekeepers. "We've had outside vendors tell us that we have one of the cleanest shops they've ever seen," King boasts. "We have a janitorial crew that does surface cleaning, but we're very careful to pick up and clean up after ourselves.

"Arizona is very dusty, so we even vacuum the dust off the tops of our lamps," he adds. "If you have dust hanging overhead, it gets into everything."

King credits his staff for keeping the in-plant at the head of the class. "I work with a great, extremely loyal group of individuals," he declares. "I've been here for 10 years, and I'm still one of the new guys!"

He's also grateful for the support of district management. "They're very receptive to our ideas," King reports. "They trust us and they know that I'm a pretty frugal guy." And management appreciates that the in-plant helps clients to work smarter. "We'll convince a customer to give up a coated cover, by saying, 'add splash of color and you won't even miss it.' "

Promoting the In-plant's Services

King markets the in-plant through letters, flyers, shop tours, holiday cards, thank-you cards and promotional giveaways, such as scratch pads.

"This year one of my goals is to convince other departments—such as Human Resources or Food and Nutrition—to let us promote our business services through a small banner on their Web sites," he reveals.

These policies, procedures and mindset help make it possible for Mesa Public Schools to help its neighbors and give back to the region. When the shop (which works on a chargeback system) insources work from a smaller, economically disadvantaged school district, it is able to offer discounted pricing.

"I think it's fair," King opines. "It's not my district, but it's still a school district and we're happy to help. If Johnny can't read in Phoenix, that doesn't help me in Mesa."