Into Print, The University of Iowa Business Services' quarterly newsletter, aims to educate, inform, and entertain its readers, with a goal of fostering positive communication between the department, its staff, and its clients.

TypeStrikes

General news
New look: Why change is good
Quality Report--Open book management: The bottom line
Gutenberg's timeless gift
We did it! General Stores' distribution of recycled paper reaches 80%
Classes, training for our customers
We deliver--to where you tell us: Use correct delivery address for best service
Wall calendar update

Central Mail System
Use same job number for Mail, Printing, ITS orders for better communication
International mail notes
U.S.P.S. update: Postage rates going up?
Meetings: Business Services staff network, develop skills

Laundry Service
Laundry installs new garment-tracking software

Materials Management
New vendor, new contract
UIHC study shows office supplies cost less at General Stores
Phone books available from General Stores
General Stores now stocks yellow 10 BaseT patch cords
Hot Tip

Printing Department
Publisher? Perish the thought.
Software we support

We are . . .

Business Services directory

To: Mary Jane Beach, November 19, 1998

"I just finished reading Into Print from cover to cover and want to congratulate you and your entire team for the creative and innovative solutions to University problems. Your organization ranks as one of the most entrepreneurial units of the University."

"I still believe that," says Ed Moldt, director of the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at the UI College of Business. "When I see what you're accomplishing and how you're honoring that in your newsletter, that's entrepreneurship at its finest."

Well then, if we're entrepreneurs, what is one?

The term traditionally connotes risk taking but is evolving, says Moldt. In Canada it refers specifically to contractors. Today, and in this country, it has a much broader scope. Creativity and innovation are key words in defining it, and it refers to the practice of looking at "all kinds of things that can be done...simplifying and easing the pain of doing what has to be done," he says.

Moldt says he has observed in Business Services "a tremendous amount of creative and innovative thinking about the roles and functions of what may have been thought of as dull, about different ways of doing things and a willingness to try them. There's something in the air there, in the leadership, that encourages that, not the status quo."

Why is this good?

"Businesses, and your operation is a business, have to improve what they do, keep thinking about a newer, different, better way of doing things," he says. "There's always someone looking to do what you do. If you want to stay in business, you have to get better and better. You look at the gaps and say, 'I could fill that gap.' Otherwise, somebody would come along and replace you."

How do we keep it going?

Celebrate creativity and innovation regularly and when it happens, Moldt says. Have sessions that include staff from different areas in the department so they can exchange ideas. "Honor those who are making the department that way." Recognize that "it's not just luck that brought it about, but here's where it came from," he says.

So, in the spirit of entrepreneurship, we present you with a new look to our newsletter. The change is based on the philosophy that a periodical should be refreshed from time to time; this is the fourth design for Into Print as it enters its 12th year.

We lightened the look while keeping the same organization. We eliminated the large areas of solid ink coverage, which create printing challenges, and the rules that butt up to the baseline of type, which had drawn complaints. But we are keeping our focus, expressed in the masthead above, and we are keeping the most fun part-a little attitude--which helps make this newsletter a pleasure to produce!

What have we gained? In terms of employee morale, it has been a tremendous boost. This cannot really be measured, but I know there has been a great change in attitudes toward job performance, customer service, and respect for each other. We now have employees who feel valued for their knowledge and ideas, which, in turn, makes them feel good about themselves.

In terms of the organization, we have made great strides. It has enabled us to do a better job of tracking our numbers. In comparing our sales in a particular month to sales for the same month two years previous, we were down approximately five percent, but our gross margin on these sales was almost the same.

One thing we discovered in our revenue stream was that some of our markups were out of line. This led to higher sales but less gross margin. We eliminated some of these items and, even with the slight drop in sales, our margins are the same. We also made a decision several years ago to reduce our on-site inventory. In this same two-year period it was reduced almost 35 percent!

Through retirements and attrition, we have reduced our staff by approximately 15 percent. And we have been able to reduce the number of temporary and student employees by approximately 25 percent. The end result is that we are doing a little less in sales with the same gross margin and doing it with less inventory and fewer employees, which translates to more for the bottom line!
Lee Vasquez

Vasquez, a Business Services program consultant, implemented open book management, the practice of including employees in financial planning, at General Stores. This article was first published in College Services Administration, the journal of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services. Next: "By the numbers"-teaching the basics of the department's finances.

We don't know much about him. He was a medieval goldsmith, born around 1398, a troublemaker of some sort, a pronounced flop as a businessman. But 100 world leaders, artists, and scientists have voted that semi-mythical figure, Johann Gutenberg, the man of the millennium.

By using a wine press to squash moveable type soaked in linseed oil and soot onto a sheet of paper, he ignited a revolution in communications and human relationships that still transforms the world.

Think about it: Before the printing press came along, books were handmade items, extremely expensive and hard to come by. The transmission of knowledge was painfully slow and pretty much controlled by the cultural institutions that had the wealth to make and buy books.

The press changed all that. Books could be manufactured much more cheaply and in far greater volume. Ideas were disseminated rapidly and widely-and since knowledge is power, political clout was disseminated, too. The respect accorded science and reason grew exponentially. People went mad for exploration and experimentation, and for news and opinion.

It is heartening that the importance of print was understood by those who took the poll. Computers are excellent tools for sorting information and disseminating it rapidly, but the power and beauty of print on paper are, to my mind, undiminished even in this age of dots and bits.

There is something deeply pleasing in holding a real book, turning the cream-colored pages, reading the dark print, feeling instantly how much of the book has been plumbed, and how much there is to go. Unlike electronic tools, books are objects to be held, touched, admired, and collected in reverence for what they contain.

I like the way print works on the mind, stirring thoughts gracefully, prodding the imagination, using the beauty of words. A reader brings his or her own experiences and insight to the page, carrying on an inner conversation with the writer. Because a reader has time to pause and reflect, he or she can embrace a great amount of information.

I am convinced people will need newspapers and books more than ever as electronics increasingly dominate their lives. The reader of silent print has access to reason, to thought, to depth-and to truth, which ultimately is even more powerful than prejudice and fear.

The more mundane virtues of print are obvious: No batteries required. A newspaper can be dropped from a great height without shattering into a hundred pieces. It is unaffected by extremes of temperature-one can carry it in the frozen cold or leave it in a hot car without serious damage.

Printed material is extremely portable. It can be used anywhere, bus to bathroom. Access is virtually instant: One can jump to the score of last night's game in seconds. A newspaper does not seize up or "crash." A book does not give off busy signals when one tries to read it. Its pages do not disappear if it happens to touch a magnet. And print on paper is easy on the eyes.

What a gift to humankind. Gutenberg, who used his metalworking training to design moveable type and, in the words of the Encylopedia Britannica, perfect "the blend of lead, antimony and tin used by type foundries up to the present century," is a most worthy choice for man of the millennium.
Edward Achorn

The preceding article was originally published by The Providence Journal. Excerpts are reprinted with permission.

In May 1997 our first data showed only 22 percent of our orders were for recycled paper. The first Into Print article about this was in November/December that year, and our first progress graph showed recycled paper orders had reached 40 percent in March/April 1998.

General Stores set the 80-percent goal to help meet a quota established by the State Legislature more than 10 years ago. The law mandated that the Regents' institutions increase their recycled paper use beginning January 1, 1989, with a target of 90-percent usage by January 1, 2000. Although the final figures are not yet available, we expect that goal to be reached.

But don't stop here! By continuing to use recycled paper we are able to save valuable natural resources and reduce landfill space. Please continue to order Xerox-brand recycled paper from General Stores. The stock numbers are #58875 (8.5x11) and #58885 (8.5x11, 3-hole punch).

Thanks to everyone for making this project a success.
Gary Anderson

The Printing Department offers on-site assistance for those who want to use the DocuTech publishing system. Contact Tim Blake, 335-2944, at the IMU Document Center to arrange this. Also, the department will repeat its new staff development class, "Printing Plus," in the spring.

General Stores plans to offer a class this spring that includes MIGS and SIGS training. If you need training before then, we do make house calls! Or you can find instructions for using both systems on the Web at www.uiowa.edu/~fusmm/stores/migs/migs.html and www.uiowa.edu/~fusmm/stores/sigs/sigs.html. Contact Judy Rockafellow, 384-3906, with questions.

Look for dates and times for the classes in Into Print and Staff Development announcements.

Depending on which UI requisition you use, there will be space designated for the name and address of a requester, an expediter, or an end user. You may want an order delivered to any one of these or to another address altogether. The only way we know which one to use is if you tell us.

Include the name and address of the person to whom the order should be delivered in the body of the requisition for all Printing and General Stores orders.

The job number to use is assigned at the beginning of the myriad processes that culminate in final distribution; it is the five-digit number that appears in the upper-right corner of your Printing Department production ticket. Everyone who orders material from Printing receives a copy of the ticket as confirmation of the order.

At Central Mail, our quality-assurance methods to ensure proper disposition of customers' jobs include keeping a copy of the ticket with the request for mail services until the job has been processed for mailing.

The ticket briefly describes the job and identifies the sending department in addition to containing the job number. Mail staff will use this job number to identify orders and communicate with customers when Printing, ITS, and Mail Service are involved. Identifying each project with the same number throughout the process should reduce the potential for missed opportunities to contact your constituents.

Please send us a copy of your Printing Department job ticket for materials to be mailed, and reference the job number on requisitions to ITS and Mail Service. This will help streamline the flow of information for all parties and ultimately benefit you, the mailer.
Lou Eichler

Customs
Some countries have restrictions on items that can be sent through their mail systems. It is important that mailers contact Mail Services to determine the proper classification and documentation required when sending items other than books and papers. Items seeming commonplace to us may be offensive to our international neighbors.

A customs form is required on every international mail package weighing 16 ounces or more. The customs document must be filled out and signed by the person responsible for the package. Call the Mail Center if you need these forms.

If customs regulations are not followed and documentation is not exact, the item will be impounded by customs until the addressee makes arrangements for clearance and the payment of any duties required for the release of the item.

Global Priority mail
Global Priority mail service is a less expensive alternative to other international express carriers. Not all countries accept Global Priority mail. Call the Mail Center for details and free, flat-rate envelopes of various sizes.
Lou Eichler

Dave Gray, Laundry, attended OSHA training in Cedar Rapids. Topics covered included personal protective equipment, hazard communication, and material handling.

Garment Tracker is a new software installed late last year at the Laundry. It tells the staff at a glance what items are moving through the facility, where they are at any given time, and what needs to be delivered, to whom, and when.

This is important stuff when you are trying to keep track of 25,000 garments for 1,700 people. "The process of getting them in, getting them washed, and getting them all back out to the right people is quite a challenge," says Don Nablo, of Great Plains Solutions, the company which developed and installed the software. "Everybody has their own size, and they wouldn't want to wear someone else's clothes even if they are washed!"

The existing system had started to show some problems related to Y2K. It was discovered that some information in the system would not carry over into the new year. That, and the need for more flexibility in purchasing hardware, contributed to the decision to install a new system.

John Marmet and Jerry Miller, also of Great Plains Solutions, had written the original software used at the Laundry and so began working on the new one. "We took what worked well and incorporated those things into our system," says Marmet. One element was the use of bar codes to identify garments. The Laundry pioneered this technology in the 1980s, and the new software was designed to use the existing codes and create new ones when needed. Another, says Marmet, was "the process, the workflow."

Improvements include using a Windows environment. This allows more information to be on the screen at one time and makes the system easier to use. Because it operates on PCs, it also gives more flexibility in hardware purchases.

"Our goal was to make it very, very usable and user friendly, so people could use it effectively. We tried to keep it as simple as possible but do all the things necessary to operate a business," says Miller.

For the Laundry's customers, the software has meant an uninterrupted flow of garments and products across the new year. And a continuing benefit is that the laundry staff has quicker access to information, so the customer has quicker answers to questions. The software even has the potential for customers to access information and generate reports on inventory they use. For the Laundry itself, the advantages include ease of use; a low acquisition cost because the software is installed in one location and then made accessible to users from their own computers, which can be older models; low administrative costs; a low ownership cost because the PC environment offers more choices for hardware; and it is a complete management system, from item entry to routing to invoicing.

Laundry supervisor Monica Fuhrmeister says she uses the new system "Constantly. Just about everything we do in this area involves it." She says staff use it to check items in and out; it alerts them to any special attention a garment needs, such as mending; it tells them if a customer is moving to a different building; and it prints reports for deliveries that include when, where, how many, and to whom items should be delivered. Given all the adjustments involved in changing the system, she says, "it's working very well."

Other measures of success are the deliveries and the billings. "It needs to not affect the customer," says Nablo. "There's a need to assure that the product is getting delivered and the billing is right. This was our first install here, so we have been taking a lot of time to make sure it works effectively."

In the past, General Stores would use its $1.5 million in buying power to establish its own contracts. But this year, the consortium was able to use the more than $25 million in buying power of the Big Ten schools in negotiations. "While our last contract was among the best in the Big Ten, the new Consortium agreement will help the University realize further savings, with the promise of increased levels of customer service, Internet integration, and other value-added opportunities," says Long.

A contract proposal was presented to the country's largest office supply vendors. After the bids were evaluated, the Big Ten Consortium contract was awarded to Corporate Express. As many of you are aware, BT Office Products has merged with and is now a part of Corporate Express. Because of the merger and the new contract, there have been several changes.

• We have distributed the 1999 Corporate Express catalogs. Please use this version until you receive the 2000 catalog this spring.
• Our pricing has changed to reflect the new contract.
• Stock numbers have changed.
• Our online ordering system, MIGS, has been upgraded to accommodate the new pricing and new numbers.

Call 384-3900 or e-mail gary-anderson@uiowa.edu to request a 1999 Corporate Express catalog. If you would like to be on our General Stores listserv for e-mail updates, send an e-mail message to general-stores-request@uiowa.edu. Leave the subject matter blank. In the body of the message, type "subscribe."
Gary Anderson

This was demonstrated in a recent presentation to the University of Iowa Health Center Performance and Value Management Committee by Brenda Schropp, of UIHC Audit Services, in which she outlined a pricing study she conducted on various office products. In the study she compared invoice prices for products purchased locally, using the University procurement card, with General Stores' prices for the same products. The General Stores prices averaged more than 20 percent less than the prices of products purchased off campus.

Schropp identified these advantages of purchasing office supplies from General Stores: A lower price for the same item; access to more than 13,000 items through the world's largest office supply company; 24-hour turnaround time; no delivery fee; online ordering; and reduced paper flow.

Contact Gary Anderson or Judy Rockafellow for more information about ordering from General Stores.

Editor's note: Another advantage of ordering from Stores is that you'll never find sales tax added to your order!

A limited number of U.S. West phone books are also available. To order them, complete a General Stores requisition for phone books only. State the quantity you want and the correct delivery address. An MFK account number is not required, because there is no charge.

Fax your orders to General Stores at 384-3918 or send them via Campus Mail to General Stores, MBSB. Please recycle old phone books by putting them in boxes placed next to your paper recycling containers.

If you use Publisher, you may think the fonts and colors look fine when you print a document on your office or home printer. You're probably right, but your printer is neither an imagesetter nor an offset press, both standard equipment for printing.

"It's great if you're sitting at home with your printer right next to you, because it's a closed environment. The minute you bring us a disk, it's not a closed environment," says Chris Swart, who checks all the incoming electronic files to be printed.

"We have trouble with fonts not flowing right from machine to machine," he says of Publisher. In other words, the text in a document may not end up where you placed it, because differences in spacing can cause the text to occupy more room when it is printed on an imagesetter than when it is printed on a desktop printer. This can cause problems ranging from finding related text and graphics nowhere near one another to having extra, unplanned pages in a publication.

The other primary problem, color, arises because desktop printers use a process unrelated to that used for offset printing. For offset, colors are separated so that only one color at a time is printed on a page. Publisher does not have the capability to create such separations.

The new version of Publisher addresses some of these issues, but the Printing Department is not assured the update will work with the department's existing systems, says Swart.

Before making a commitment to support it, he says, the software must meet the same standards as those the department already supports: When files pass from your system to ours the fonts must stay the same, colors must separate, and, if colors touch, they must trap correctly in the trapping programs the department uses.

 

Software we support

The Printing Department supports the current versions of the following software programs and generally one version older than the current one. The list is updated as the software is updated. Contact the department's computer consultant, 384-3724, when using the older versions.

Current	Previous
Pagemaker 6.52	6.0*
Freehand 8.0	7.0*
Illustrator 8.01	7.x*
Photoshop 5.5	5.0
Word 2000 (PC)*	'97 (PC)*
Word '98 (Mac)*	none
Quark 4.03*	3.32*
Powerpoint 2000 (PC)*	'97 (PC)*
Powerpoint '98 (Mac)*	none

*Call before using these programs to work on Printing Department orders.

We are . . .