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
Business Services staff members recognized with Improving Our Workplace Awards
DEO listserv available to campus community
Staff attend spring, summer meetings
Classes, training available for our customers

Central Mail System
Unsolicited mail--what to do
Help make sure your mail gets where it's supposed to go
Mail Service supervisor Roger Janssen retires

Laundry Service
Let us know of staff changes for best uniform service
Here's what we need from you, to do what we do
Character Counts: Meet Judy Glaspie

Materials Management
General Stores' cylinder service: It's a gas, gas, gas
Good turnout for office supply fair
Check Web for General Stores, Corporate Express current prices
Call us for MIGS and SIGS training

Printing Department
Direct-to-plate process in use
Proofreaders can polish up your publications
Try online addressing for campus mailings

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Business Services directory

  Hot off the Press

Online ordering through SIGS will not be possible until the calendars are received and added to the General Stores inventory. If you have questions about the distribution of the calendars, contact General Stores, 384-3900.

  Business Services staff members recognized with Improving Our Workplace Awards

Printing Department bindery operator Jim Connor received an IOWA award for establishing a recycling program for the department. He set up bins in the bindery and the staff break room for collecting plastics and non-deposit aluminum. He says he came up with the idea one day last fall. "It all started when I had been walking ditches and picking up trash while walking my dog. There was a blowing sack that I saw, and I filled it with trash," says Connor. "Then when I came to work I noticed a lot of things that could be recycled. I was overwhelmed with all of it, and it just kind of snowballed."

Connor works on the project on his own time. "When I take the stuff from home to the recycling center, I take the stuff from work, too," he says. He began the project on his own, but now receives help from others. "At first it was just for me, and then it turned out it was for everyone," he says.

General Stores' Open Book Management Team was honored for implementing the practice of including employees in the department's financial planning. Its members--Gary Anderson, Margaret Brorby, Bill Burch, Merlene Hruby, Deb Parizek, Steve Poggenpohl, Judy Rockafellow, Lee Vasquez, and Dan Wyjack--meet monthly to discuss the current income and expense statement. The meetings are devoted to sharing the financial statements and explaining how they work and why they are important to operating a business. They also give people a chance to see how one person's actions affect another's, how each internal area depends on the others, and what impact they all have on the company as a whole, according to Vasquez, a Business Services program consultant.

"The meetings keep you informed on your financial situation and how you run your operation," says Poggenpohl, who manages Stores' gas cylinder service. "For the last couple of years everyone has been able to put in their input about the budget for the upcoming year. That helps. The budget used to be a big mysterious thing."

Laundry manager Dave Gray and Vasquez were recognized for their work with a University Hospitals team to determine the linen needs for the hospital.

The Printing Department's Pretty Committee received an award for volunteering time to plan, plant, and tend the flower beds in front of the Mossman Business Services Building. This includes choosing flowers, tilling soil, mulching, watering, weeding, and cleaning out the beds at the end of the season, and it all takes place outside of work hours. Those recognized were Rose Cash, Linda S. Fisher, Marge Kline, Sharlene Reihman, and former employee John Gilbert.

"We're like the grounds committee. We've done a lot of planting, some permanent and some annuals," says Cash, a clerk in accounting. "A lot of the work we do ourselves, but for some of the more grueling stuff we call the Physical Plant." Their initial intent was to beautify the area for an open house. "We all signed up for the committee for the Open House in 1995," says Cash. "We did the planting outside and the decorating inside. Afterwards, we decided to stick with it."

Their efforts have become essential to the Printing Department's overall appearance. "We try to keep things maintained outside," says Reihman, a press operator. "If there is an event going on we try to make everything look presentable." There are benefits for the committee members as well. "I'm learning a lot from the others on the committee," says Reihman. "Seeing things grow and come to life and having everything looking nice makes it worth the work."

"My favorite part is designing the flowers and working with the people," says Cash. "You can see your creation grow over time. They've done pretty well this year, as long as the weather cooperates."

Also recognized was Business Services systems analyst Francis Fang, who worked with a UI Employment Service team to transfer the merit position application process from paper based to the Web. This project ultimately streamlined the process and reduced the amount of paper flow.

WorkLife represents a coalition of services that includes the Dual Career Network, Faculty and Staff Services, Family Services, Staff Development, and the UI Wellness Program. The award program was originally suggested by Staff Council as a way to reward those who have distinguished themselves through their creative or innovative response to work challenges or who have implemented a cost-saving or efficiency-producing idea. The awards recognize outstanding contributions staff members have made to improve quality in the workplace.
Virginia Leupold

  DEO listserv available to campus community

  Staff attend spring, summer meetings

Printing Department manager Lin Hartman attended the International Publishing Management Association's annual conference. It was held in San Antonio this year. Highlights included sessions on increasing one's leadership effectiveness and using the Internet to respond to outsourcing threats. During the conference, Hartman accepted an award for the printing and design of Poligram, a newsletter published by Political Science.

Francis Fang, Business Services systems analyst, attended Print 2000 in Minneapolis, where he looked into new services and technologies, one of which was Adobe Webbuy. "It's a way to sell an electronic (PDF) document to a customer over the Web. Each user would have to go buy the license to open the document if it is not on the licensed media," says Fang. "This is a new technology, and it looks interesting."

  Classes, training available for our customers

General Stores and online ordering: Staff development class provides information about the General Stores operation; includes MIGS and SIGS training. Contact Judy Rockafellow, General Stores.

Mailing: On-site presentations tailored to fit each department's needs. Contact Lou Eichler, Central Mail.

MIGS and SIGS: Training for using these online ordering systems for General Stores orders. Instructions also are on the Web at www.uiowa.edu/~fusmm/stores/migs/migs.html and www.uiowa.edu/~fusmm/stores/sigs/sigs.html. Contact Judy Rockafellow, General Stores.

Printing Plus: Staff development class provides comprehensive look at the Printing Department, its services, and how to work effectively with the department. Contact Jenean Arnold, Printing Department.

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  Unsolicited mail--what to do

If you like receiving all this extraneous marketing mail, you now know how to keep it coming. This segment of the mail stream is the fastest growing part of the mail business for the U.S. Postal Service and is expected to exceed 100 billion pieces in fiscal year 2002. Today, at $14.8 billion, it amounts to nearly 25 percent of the total revenue for the Postal Service.

Bulk mail used to be called Third Class Mail and is currently referred to as Standard A Mail. The Postal Service is talking about renaming it Marketing Mail with the new rate case that will take effect early in 2001.

If you feel you're getting more than your fair share of this mail and want to cut back, there is a way to accomplish a reduction in volume. The two organizations listed below are not related and deal exclusively with mail either to a residence or to a business address. Send them your name and address and ask to be removed from mailing lists, and in a few months you should see some results. Not all mailers subscribe to these service organizations, so some may require direct contact to be taken off the list.
Lou Eichler

To have your name removed from mailing lists, contact:

American Business Information
Attn: Operation Database Maintenance
PO Box 27347
Omaha, NE 68127-0347
(for business mailing lists)

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 9008
Farmingdale NY 11735-9008
(for personal mail to your home address)

  Help make sure your mail gets where it's supposed to go

Misdirected mail occurs when an incorrect address is put on a mailing or when mail is addressed to people no longer at that location. "We have dead people get mail for years," says Central Mail clerk Patrick McDonald. "There are two simple ways to avoid misdeliveries," says McDonald. "One: use good, complete addresses, and two: keep mailing lists current."

A big part of avoiding misdirected mail is letting others know of your own address changes. "Accounts Payable deserves a big rah-rah because they just moved to a new building and we are already receiving mail for them with the correct address on the majority of the mailings," he says.

Some common mistakes appear on mail received via the U. S. Postal Service, McDonald says. "We get a lot of misdeliveries from the post office, which we generally correct. We don't throw them back or anything," he says. "Sometimes the mailing will be addressed to 'Idaho City, Iowa' or the envelope will simply read 'University, Iowa.'"

McDonald says that misdeliveries are not a big problem for Central Mail. "We handle tens of thousands of mailings a day; misdeliveries are really a small percentage of what we go through," he says. However, communication with Central Mail is key when receiving misdirected mail, he says. "We would like to hear from people if there is some consistent error. We would like to know about it."

Virginia Leupold

Remember to place your return address on
ALL OUTGOING MAIL!

  Mail Service supervisor Roger Janssen retires

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  Let us know of staff changes for best uniform service

Terminations
Our garment rental charges accrue weekly for all uniforms assigned to a customer. If you have an employee who terminates but his or her uniforms are not returned, your department is billed as though the employee is still wearing them, and those unused garments cannot be assigned to anyone else. To avoid unnecessary costs, let us know about terminations and return all uniform garments to us as soon as possible.

Transfers
Every uniform garment at Laundry Service receives a label onto which is printed a bar code and an employee's name, department, and work location for easy identification. When a person transfers from one location to another, the label on each of his or her garments must be changed to identify this new location. Supervisors should notify Laundry Service one week before an employee changes his or her campus work location. Send us a location transfer card (Laundry Service's own version of a "gold card") to do this. Then send all of the employee's uniforms in for a label change.
Jo Anne Worley

  Here's what we need from you, to do what we do

* Bag items to be laundered. Mark and securely attach a Laundry checklist with your department's name and location to the bag.

* Have the soiled linens at the pickup location before the scheduled pickup time.

* Call if you expect a change in the usual routine.

* Call when you have laundry that requires special care.

  Character Counts: Meet Judy Glaspie

In Honduras, you are either rich or poor, says Judy, and she was tired of being poor. Beans and rice were the only food affordable; one chicken cost the equivalent of $10.

In 1989, motivated by stories from visiting relatives of abundance in the United States, Judy left Honduras. Her four children stayed with supportive relatives while Judy headed for the United States. Fifteen days later, after riding 2,600 miles by bus through three countries, Judy arrived in Tijuana, Mexico.

Entering the United States wasn't so easy, Judy says. With the help of a half-sister in Iowa, she gained permission to work and moved here. "Getting 'the papers' was hard," says Judy, as she rolls her eyes and throws her arms in the air, "but worth the effort." A hard worker, she cleaned homes and detasseled corn.

Judy and her husband, Bob, moved the children to their new home in West Liberty in 1991. She began working at the UI Laundry Service three years later. She is now a production worker, folding and ironing clean linens.

In 1995 Judy became a U.S. citizen. "Life got much better here," she says. Sons Henry and Alvin have made her a proud grandma four times. Both have good jobs. A 2000 high-school graduate, daughter Flavia plans on becoming a flight attendant. Daughter Kelly wants to go to dental school after she graduates next year. Judy laughingly says her hobby is working, but she loves babysitting her grandchildren, volunteering at church, and Latino dancing.

Judy says she enjoys the work and her schedule at the Laundry. It gives her more time at home. What she enjoys best, though, is her coworkers. Known for her bright smile and good spirits, Judy is a favorite with them, too.
Jo Anne Worley

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  General Stores' cylinder service: It's a gas, gas, gas

Steve Poggenpohl, the "gas man" who manages the service, and driver Randy Yedlik spend most of each day making deliveries. "The amount we deliver varies from day to day. I'd say we deliver about 386 cylinders per week, which is close to 75 a day," says Poggenpohl. "Our biggest user is the hospital, with oxygen. One patient can go through a tank a day."

Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are the next most requested gases, says Poggenpohl. "Most of the research labs use some type of gas," he says. "The mechanics and maintenance areas also use a lot."

Although Poggenpohl and Yedlik are often out of the office on deliveries, they each have a cell phone in case someone urgently needs to reach them. Occasionally, there are weekend calls. "Gary Anderson [department manager] points customers my way if there is an emergency on the weekend. Emergencies happen about three times a year, which is not very often," says Poggenpohl. "Usually the hospital either runs low or gets a huge influx of patients. But they keep a backup supply like we keep a backup supply."

Replacement pressure regulators and special mixtures of gases are also available from the cylinder service. "We do carry a lot of gases on hand, but sometimes we have to special order and it takes about three weeks," says Poggenpohl.

You may place orders via mail, e-mail, fax, or telephone. "We'll take orders in whatever way is easiest for the customer," he says. "On this end we can save them money. Some other gas companies are faster but more expensive."

Contact Poggenpohl to order gas cylinders. If you use e-mail, be sure to include the same information that goes on a requisition form: your name, phone number, department name, MFK number, and delivery information.
Virginia Leupold

  Good turnout for office supply fair

  Check Web for General Stores, Corporate Express current prices

  Call us for MIGS and SIGS training

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  Direct-to-plate process in use

The AB Dick Digital Platemaster, which "looks like a big Weber grill," according to prepress supervisor Chris Swart, saves materials costs by eliminating the need for film and using polyester instead of metal plates. It produces a better finished product, because the image on the plate is first generation rather than one step removed from the original, he says. The platemaker also eliminates manual film assembly, shifting the task to computer based, instead.

Basic printing jobs--those with just type, line art, and some screen tints--have been produced using the platemaker. "No trapping yet," says Swart. "It's been working real well for us so far."

  Proofreaders can polish up your publications

In the past, Fisher and her cohorts proofread every document the department printed. Desktop publishing has changed that. When customers order documents typeset or edited, proofreading is included at no extra cost, but material that comes in camera ready or electronically loses the benefit of that extra pair of eyes.

"We proofread material that our typesetters set," says Fisher. "If the input is electronic, then all we're checking is to be sure that the output looks the way it should. We don't actually proofread."

Sometimes, serious errors are noticed--a typographical error in a headline, a paragraph ending in midsentence, or a mistake that could be embarrassing to a department or the University. "In this case, we contact the customer representative, who uses her judgment as to whether to call the customer or to go ahead and print the document," she says.

Those who produce documents using desktop publishing are welcome to use the department's proofreading service. "We can proofread on request," says supervisor Sandie Herwig. "Scheduling is necessary; a customer who wants proofreading needs to allow time for it in their copy preparation schedule."

In addition to a command of the English language and usage according to the Chicago Manual of Style, the proofreaders' perspective includes a thorough knowledge of the University and its history. They keep up on correct spellings of faculty, staff, department, program, and building names; accurate addresses; important University dates; changes in building designations and locations; the UI Nondiscrimination Statement wording and usage; terminology particular to University disciplines, including medicine; and Postal Service addressing rules relative to the UI.

One benefit of having your material proofread, says Herwig, is that "It can prevent embarrassing mistakes. Another set of eyes is often a very good idea." Having someone go over a document with a light edit can be useful, and, depending on the length of the document, does not necessarily take long," she says.

And a tip from copy editor Joan Stearns: "Don't rely on spell check. It is not adequate and cannot replace a proofreader."

"Essentially, what we are trying to do is protect and enhance the image of the University. Rarely does a document come through our room that we couldn't improve--we don't see perfect documents," says Fisher.

  Try online addressing for campus mailings

To use the service, submit a data file containing your mailing list along with your document file to Document Services, at the IMU or the Boyd Law document center. The addresses must be sorted according to building order for campus deliveries. The most common programs the document centers work with for addressing are Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, and Macintosh FoxPro. "The source doesn't matter as long as we can access the data," says Tim Blake, information specialist for Document Services.

Human Resources staff can provide assistance with where to find addresses for those who do not maintain their own mailing lists and wish to target a specific population within the UI database. Contact Blake at the IMU Document Center for assistance with sending files or for more information.

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