The Kinko's Threat

But on the other hand, some Kinko's operations may be going too far. Reports have surfaced of Kinko's branches distributing misleading marketing material, trying to get exclusive contracts for work an in-plant is already handling, and betraying the trust of managers who do send them business.

"We tried outsourcing some jobs to them with the agreement they would not call on our customers," notes Walt Leonard, director of General Services at Sonoma State University, in Rohnert Park, Calif. "Well, they used that information to call on our customers direct, so we do not use them anymore."