Retail Store A Hit in Vermont
THE UNIVERSITY of Vermont Print & Mail Center has gone underground. More specifically, the 22-employee in-plant opened a retail center on the lower level of the new Dudley Davis Student Center last fall. Called Underground Copy, it has been slowly building business, with gross monthly revenues averaging more than $10,000.
“The students like the convenience; they like the array of service offerings,” says Rick Carlson, director of the UVM Print & Mail Center, in Burlington, Vt.
Those offerings include design workstations, self-service copiers, photo kiosks, wide-format printing, tape and coil binding, mailbox rental and, of course, mailing and shipping.
“At least 50 percent of our business is U.S.-postal related,” notes Carlson. This includes UPS and DHL.
Student Demand
Underground Copy had its genesis in a survey conducted three years ago. Students were asked which services they would like to see in their new student center.
“Having a mailing/copy center was number three on the list,” says Carlson.
He submitted layout plans for the 760-square-foot retail center to the architects, and the Print & Mail Center invested about $150,000 to make it a reality. It joined a host of other stores and restaurants in the 180,000-square-foot student center.
“It’s almost like a mini mall,” Carlson says. Underground Copy is situated next to a tunnel students use to cross under the street.
“It’s been very convenient because its on a pathway to their classes,” he says.
The store is run by two full-time employees and some part-time student workers. It has two walk-up Canons—a 5055 and a 4080—with another 4080 behind the counter. Students can use any of three computers to pull up their documents and print them (for 7 cents per simplex black-and-white copy—cheaper than the library copiers, Carlson says).
Design workstations are available, loaded with Adobe Creative Suite 3 software. Projects can be tape or coil bound, usually while the student waits, Carlson says. For larger items, like banners, posters and art projects, the store has a 36˝ HP printer. When larger prints are needed, jobs are sent to the in-plant, just 500 yards away, and printed on its 42˝ printer. Similarly, longer-run printing jobs not suited to the Canons are done in the in-plant.
The self-service Kodak G4 photo kiosk in Underground Copy has been very popular, Carlson says. But nothing is as popular as mailing and shipping. Unfortunately, Carlson laments, this is not a big money maker since he can’t mark up postage. This alone makes the retail store concept difficult for an in-plant to maintain without university help.
“In building this, I had to ask for some state general funds because half of my staff’s time is doing postage-related activities,” he says. “An in-plant could not swallow this whole on their own without some central assistance from the institution.”
Underground Copy has tried to capitalize on the popularity of its mailing service with special promotions, like the wrap, pack and ship promotion in December. Staff wrapped gifts, boxed them and shipped them, with fees based on the box size.
“It went over very well,” Carlson says.
In May, Underground Copy will hold “Ship It Home Days.”
“We will actually go mobile and set up a tent...over by our main residential campus,” he says, complete with scales and packaging materials. Students can ship things back to their folks without having to haul them to the center of campus.
Financial challenges aside, Carlson feels Underground Copy is viewed as a success because of its popularity.
“Even if it isn’t financially super profitable, they’re not going to let it go away because the kids expect it,” he notes.
As do the professors. One psychology professor who uses the store twice a week for copying and mailing says, “I can stop in and make copies for class and get something to eat upstairs all at once. That’s less errands I have to run later.”
Plus UVM’s president and CFO are both frequently seen mailing and shipping their own personal items at the store.
“It’s good to have those people on your side,” Carlson says. IPG
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
