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.

IN THIS ISSUE
Hot Off the Press
New Laundry facility planned
Several sources available for General Stores product info
Printing Department distributes customer survey

TypeStrikes

General news
Sign up for our mailing list
Departments consolidate, form Purchasing and Business Services
Business Services department delivers
Laundry shows style
Conferences keep staff current

Central Mail System
Flight security means new paperwork for international mail
U.S.P.S. revises courtesy reply regulations
Character Counts: Meet John Ekwall

Laundry Service
Easy to order, easy to use
People-powered Laundry serviced the UI in 1800s

Materials Management
On-line order system ready soon
Recycle toner cartridges through General Stores
University Surplus a big recycler
UI office supplier determined by competetive bidding
Sign on for GS mailing list

Printing Department
U-PACS made easy with DocuTech
The Gold Form, and other good information for UI staff
Nondiscrimination statement revised
Humidification system installed

We are . . .

Business Services directory

Core items: The Office Supply Program (core-item) Catalog lists those items that formed the basis of the bid for the University's office supply contract. Contact Gary Anderson, 353-2917, to request a copy of the catalog.

BT products catalog and Pricer: The University's contracted office supplier provides an illustrated catalog of its items. The pricer gives the actual cost to the University of the items in this catalog and is updated quarterly. Call Ty Netolicky, 353-2918, for a copy of the catalog and pricer.

SIGS: This is an on-line listing of the current items in stock at General Stores. Call Judy Carmichael, 353-2906, for information about using this system.

In-stock items: General Stores continues to stock many items. A catalog featuring these in-stock items will be available soon.

They are an important source of feedback for the department. The last series of surveys were used extensively in evaluating services and in gaining administrative and Regents' support during the departmental review and relocation efforts that consumed much of the past three years.

The organizational plan involves collocating Printing, Mailing, Publications Orders, and Stores in the newly designated Consolidated Business Services Building on South Riverside Drive. This collocation project should be completed in 1997, after appropriate modifications to the building are accomplished.

The management team for the new department includes staff from both Purchasing and Business Services. Gary Anderson, who has been appointed as materials manager for the University, will lead the combined Stores operations along with Surplus and Dispatch. Lin Hartman, Dave Gray, and Lou Eichler continue as leaders of their respective operations in Printing, Laundry, and Mailing. These individuals, working with Dennis Gritsch and Jerry Williams in Purchasing, form the management team.

The team is currently working on an organizational vision, plus strategic and staff development plans. Its goals include enhancing and improving the delivery of services to the department's diverse customer base throughout the University.

For many, it's not clear what Central Mail, Laundry, Materials Management, and Printing have in common. In addition to a commitment to customer service and a charge to help keep the University running, each in its own way, it's this: they all deliver. "It goes back to the mail service study in 1991," says Central Mail manager Lou Eichler. "One of the task force's recommendations was to improve the service vehicle traffic." Various departments' vehicle routes were "constantly crossing paths and duplicating efforts. It was a matter of 'We're either just ahead of your driver or right behind him, every step of the way,'" he says.

Hence the consolidation. Now that it's done, other efficiencies are planned. The different areas will share administrative functions such as accounting, personnel, computer support, and communications.

The move reflects the structure of similar departments at other universities. "It's logical to have us next door to Mailing. At Iowa State and at a lot of Big Ten schools, printing and mailing are under the same management," says Printing Department manager Lin Hartman. "Mailing was always one of our biggest delivery points, if not the biggest," he adds.

Although the Stores operations, as part of Materials Management, have not yet moved to CBSB, manager Gary Anderson says that when they do, it will be valuable to have the departments located in the same facility. "We can consolidate vehicles, use cross-training, and have similar functions in one facility," he says. The simplest example of that might be in the use of some papers, he explains. Stores will receive them and send them to Printing, which will take them to Mailing, which will deliver them.

In this picture, the departments themselves become steps in the process. The consolidation of Business Services recognizes that.

What it was is called FUSion, the catchword for Finance and University Services' Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program. This particular event, on October 3, was a Facilities Services celebration of its CQI efforts and included tours, speakers, food, music, and balloons.

Back to the style show.

Building Services staff need new uniforms - the current ones were selected ten years ago. Laundry Service provides uniforms. They got together and, in keeping with CQI principles, decided that those who wear the uniforms should help select them. So Laundry Service assistant manager Jerry Miller and his staff created a style show in the manner of some Miller had seen at professional meetings. They assembled and displayed an assortment of 52 garments, which Building Services staff were asked to vote on as part of the FUSion activities.

Miller and Karen Lorence of Laundry Service have been advising a Building Services team this fall on the selection of new uniforms. This is the first time this group of staff has helped with selection. It's no small task, either. The 428 employees will need nearly 7,500 garments that are selected on the basis of several factors.

Laundry, which will purchase the uniforms and rent them to Building Services, makes recommendations on the durability of the garments, says Miller. The garments must "look good, wear well, not be expensive to process, have a low charge rate for the user, and satisfy the employees as to feeling good about their uniforms," he says.

These factors and the results of the style show voting will comprise the proposal to be used in the final selection of the new uniforms. When you see them around campus, remember that they represent something else that's new - staff members themselves had a voice in selecting them.

Printing Department management staff have participated in a number of meetings recently, including a Print-on-Demand conference in New York City; a seminar in Springfield, Missouri, called The Great Game of Business, which develops financial awareness; and the Big Ten Printing Managers' Conference in Minneapolis.

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A detailed list of contents, the declared value, and the sender's name and address will be required on the form. All documentation must be signed by the sender. Items reaching the mail center without the proper form will be returned to the customer. Outgoing mail pieces should always have a legitimate University return address.

Parcels weighing less than four pounds and not needing insurance should display the small green form #2976. Insuring your package forces it into the parcel-post category, thereby requiring use of the three-part form #2976-A.

Any airmail package weighing more than four pounds also falls into the parcel-post category and will need form #2976-A. Only one of these two forms is necessary per package and again, only for items that weigh 16 ounces or more. Contact Patty or Dave at Central Mail, 384-3805 or 384-3804, for a supply of the forms.
Patty Anson

Correctly addressed mail means a quicker response from your customers because it speeds up the computerized sorting process at the post office. Contact your Mail Service representative to make sure your mail piece complies and to best determine your options if you have a significant inventory on hand.
Patty Anson

John has been with the University for 27 years, all of them within the Physical Plant until the recent reorganization that consolidated the mail services. He started as a delivery driver for Campus Mail 18 years ago and has been supervisor for the past ten years.

John grew up in Iowa City and now resides in West Liberty with his wife, Nancy, who has been teaching in that school system for 25 years. Johnny, their son, is currently a sophomore here at Iowa and works as the delivery and set-up person for the Rental Pool. Daughter Anne also worked for the Physical Plant while attending UI and now lives in West Liberty with her husband.

When not in the mail center, John enjoys being the public address announcer for the home football games of the West Liberty High School Comets. John has participated in a West Liberty bowling league for the past 20 years and also enjoys fishing for catfish along the Cedar River in his leisure time. He claims to have snagged a 23-pounder a few years ago. Like most local folks, John also supports the Iowa Hawkeyes by attending home football games.

John says the most rewarding aspect of his job has been the contact with customers, a clientele that includes the entire campus. He particularly has enjoyed our new facility and working with our new neighbors, the folks at the Printing Department.
Patty Anson

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Ordering laundry service
Contact the Laundry Service at 335-5045 and explain the type of service you need. After that has been determined, send a University requisition stating the following:
-Your department's official name - no abbreviations.
-Your department's MFK number. All departments use 6225 for the institutional account number.
-A description of the services you need and the starting date. Include a stop date if this is important.
-Include the name, title, and phone number of a person in your department who can be contacted by Laundry Service if necessary.

Making a change in service
Make all service change requests in writing using a University requisition form. We can honor verbal requests but must receive a requisition within 48 hours of the request.

Clearly state any change or termination of service. Include all applicable information - building location, room number, loading dock area to be used, and time and frequency of service. Include your department's MFK number, the name of a contact person, and a phone number.

If you have questions
Call the Laundry to request forms used exclusively by Laundry Service. These include checklists, special attention tags, mending tags, and uniform delivery location change cards. Also call to ask about lost-and-found items, rate information, or for any service inquiry.

About our rates
Laundry Service pays for its operational overhead through revenue generated. Our goal is to provide a broad spectrum of laundry and linen service on campus, with quality and at competitive charge rates. Our charge rates continue to be below the national average for similar services. We take pride in this and attribute it in part to the cooperative attitude of our customers.

Laundry service at The University of Iowa existed before the turn of the century. It was provided by workers hired as part of a basic service organization that included grass mowing, maintaining heat and equipment in buildings, and preparing meals for students, faculty, and administrators.

One can imagine how the laundry activities must have looked in the 1890s. Washboards, wooden washtubs, rinsing tubs, and clotheslines were the norm.

The forerunner to our modern-day washing machine was invented in the 1890s and was constructed of wooden boards shaped like a large whiskey barrel. The machine was powered by physical labor and involved the hand cranking of a large sprocket attached to the exterior of the washtub.

Machines in the early 1900s were powered by steam or huge electric motors. A newly developed hand wringer, called an Extractor, came into widespread use during this time. This hand-cranked machine accelerated the drying process of textiles by removing as much as 50 percent of the water left in the fabric after washing. Clotheslines were still used to dry the textiles after washing and water extraction.
Dave Gray

Next: Technology brings drying indoors, and a new ironing machine leaves unexpected, lasting impressions.

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MIGS should be available to departments that have ITS access by the end of the year, although staff in General Stores will test it sooner. If you haven't already signed up to use this new system, do so by contacting Judy Carmichael at 353-2906.

When General Stores began recycling toner cartridges, it implemented an incentive program in which a $5 surcharge was added over the sales price of each cartridge. Cartridges were tagged to signal that the surcharge had been added. When the cartridge was returned for recycling, the department returning it would receive $5 credit.

The incentive program was cancelled to reduce paperwork, so new toner cartridges no longer carry recycle tags. They can and should still be recycled, though. Simply mark them "recycle" and give them to your General Stores driver. Old cartridges that are tagged may still be returned for a $5 credit.

Currently, Surplus is returning 60 percent of the sale price back to the selling department for items that sell for more than $25. This percentage is negotiable for higher priced items.

Faculty and staff looking for surplus items for departmental use may contact supervisor Joe Hennager, 335-5001, to make appointments for showings at any time during the work week. Surplus is open to the public on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is located at 700 South Clinton St.

Many vendors, including local ones, have an opportunity to bid. The UI Purchasing department awarded the current contract in the fall of 1995 to BT Office Products after bids were taken. The BT program, which includes pricing and customer service support, was deemed the most advantageous to the University. The Iowa Department of General Services and the City of Cedar Rapids also buy office supplies under the same terms.

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Lecture notes, practice exams, case studies, lab manuals, graphs, study guides, and other original materials can now be sent through the internet to Copy Center 7 in the IMU where the Printing Department's new DocuTech technology can convert those materials into bound copies.

This new technology does not affect copyright law or the University policy that forbids professors from selling classroom materials directly to their students. Professors should continue to work with the University Book Store's U*PACS representative, Eileen Barfknecht, who will obtain the necessary reprint permissions and make sure that their U*PAC is ready and shelved with other course materials for the first day of classes. Barfknecht can be contacted by e-mail (above), phone at 335-3410, Campus Mail at BF 233 IMU, or through the Book Store's web site.

Professors need not send all of the materials for their U*PAC through the internet. Copy Center 7 can scan hard copies of journal reprints, book chapters, and photographs, and then merge them with text sent through the internet. Professors who would like to make full or partial use of the DocuTech service can download the necessary drivers and software from the Printing Department's website.

If you need help, call Francis Fang at the Printing Department, 384-3726, or Tim Blake at Copy Center 7, 335-2699. "It's really pretty easy," says Blake. "A lot of people are using the service already. They don't have to leave their offices to send the materials, and once they have done it we archive their file and can easily add or delete material as needed in the future. This process is not only easier, it also allows us to offer much better quality, especially for photos and halftones."

Professors can also use the software to request specific features such as 3-hole paper, card stock, chapter starts, and single- or double-sided pages.
Ned Stuckey-French

All About the Mail: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. This class covers the full range of services and information you need to work effectively with the Central Mail System. Topics include addressing standards; bulk and nonprofit mail; international, business, and courtesy reply mail; and Campus Mail.

Electronic Output Assurance: It's up to you explains the Printing Department's "gold form," a critical information tool for sending electronic files for output. The class content includes what the form means, why it is important, and how to use it correctly.

Check the staff development web site or call the office, 335-2687, for information about registering for the classes.

Customers who use electronic publishing to produce their publications find that a host of new responsibilities go along with the job. One of them is to include the correct nondiscrimination statement on certain publications.

Federal regulations require the inclusion of the statement in all departmental publications such as brochures, pamphlets, manuals, and guidebooks that describe or invite participation in programs at the University.

The Printing Department monitors the use of the nondiscrimination statement on publications typeset there, but does not do so on publications that come in camera ready. Call the Office of Affirmative Action, 335-0705, if you have questions about the use of the statement.

The University of Iowa Nondiscrimination Statement
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment or in its educational programs and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preference. The University also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to University facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Coordinator of Title IX, Section 504, and the ADA in the Office of Affirmative Action, 319/335-0705 (voice) or 319/335-0697 (text), 202 Jessup Hall, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242-1316.

Last year, 10- to 15-percent humidity levels were common, even with multiple humidifiers running. Low humidity can, and did, result in static electricity that attracted dust to film and cameras; paper spoilage due to problems in feeding through the equipment; and inconsistencies in registration due to expansion and contraction of the paper.

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