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
Time to register for Mailing, Printing fall classes
Staff committee work benefits entire UI community

Central Mail System
Central Mail Web site provides the latest in mail information
USPS address guidelines

Laundry Service
Deliver me
Laundry begins uniform rental, bar code tracking in 1980s

Materials Management
Some '97 phone books available
Need something we don't have at Stores?
EDI process begins, further streamlines General Stores orders
Departments cooperate to maximize space
Recycle toner cartridges
Character Counts: Meet Judy Rockafellow

Printing Department
Try this: print Web documents on DocuTech
Printing Department to send staff to printing trade show
New DisplayMaker prices set
Start holiday card plans-really!

We are . . .

Business Services directory

All About the Mail, September 16, covers a wide range of topics and includes information about addressing standards; bulk and nonprofit mail; international, business, and courtesy reply mail; and Campus Mail.
Introduction to the Printing Department, September 23, gives an overview of the department and its operations. It includes explanations of the printing process, the copy center operations, and a tour of the printing plant.
Print on Demand: Introduction to the DocuTech, October 21, describes the capabilities of the department's on-line DocuTech publishing system. Creating PostScript files, electronic file transfer, and ordering copying and finishing services electronically will be discussed.
Color Work, October 23, provides information that should be helpful in reducing output costs and problems for those who are using electronic publishing to produce color items.

For information about registration or class schedules, check the Staff Development web site. For information about content, contact Jenean Arnold at the Printing Department or Lou Eichler at Central Mail.

NAMS: one BIG database
The UI Name and Address Management System (NAMS) team guides the management and use of the centralized database that contains name and address information about everyone who has or has had interaction with The University of Iowa. This includes students, faculty, staff, alumni, suppliers, and all accounts receivable.

Central Mail System manager Lou Eichler, who has been a member of the team since its inception two years ago, says one aim of the NAMS team is to ensure the appropriate use of the database. Much of the information is confidential and anyone who requests access to it must show a legitimate reason for doing so. "We want to maintain the integrity of the system, the confidentiality of the data," says Eichler. The team also promotes the use of the system, trains users, sets priorities for improvements, and creates documentation.

NAMS is linked to what are called feeder systems, such as the University of Iowa Miscellaneous Charge (UIMC) used by many units. The feeder systems use NAMS data when information is accessed and add to the database, or "feed" it, when new data is entered.

Every UI business or service department, from accounts payable to financial aid to parking, uses NAMS. The annual University directory (herd book) information comes directly from this database.

The team is an ongoing group that meets weekly. In addition to Eichler, representatives from admissions, ITS, payroll, and the registrar's office comprise the team.

Waste Management subcommittee works on environmental policies
Gary Anderson, Materials Management manager, serves on the University's Waste Management subcommittee. The subcommittee reports to the Environmental Policy committee.

The Waste Management subcommittee's charge is to determine that University-generated waste conforms to federal, state, and local regulatory requirements; advise the Environmental Policy committee on issues; and recommend waste management policies, programs, and procedures. The Environmental subcommittee and the Occupational Health and Safety subcommittee also report to the Environmental Policy committee.

[Top of page]

This online Mail Service Guide begins with What's New and Frequently Asked Questions. You will have access to all the following information through the table of contents.

Mail Center-General Information gives location, phone, and hours information about the Central Mail System and the UIHC mail and shipping operations.

Internal or Interoffice Mail covers addressing, enclosures, envelopes, and mailing list maintenance for effective use of Campus Mail.

U.S. Postal Service Mail is a lengthy section that covers addressing, enclosures, envelopes, mail service request forms, mail classes, special services, Business Reply Mail, large mailings, and personal mail.

Alternative Delivery Services Available will inform you about courier services available; addressing; envelopes; packaging and courier selection; delivery, pickup and cutoff times; and how to measure a parcel.

Mailer's Services Available tells about folding, envelope stuffing, sealing, packaging at UIHC, collating and assembly, computer addressing, and bulk mail and presort discounts.

Reference is one section you may use over and over. It includes a complete listing of US Postal Service accepted abbreviations of state and possession names, abbreviations for street designators (street suffixes), directional abbreviations, and secondary address unit indicators. ZIP code lookup and parcel and express vendor package tracing information round out the reference section. The ZIP code portion contains UI addresses as listed in the National Data Base, a ZIP code lookup for all US addresses, and a lookup mechanism for the postal codes of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. We'll add more countries as information becomes known. The last part of the section will aid you in tracing parcel and express shipments from USPS Express Mail, Federal Express, Airborne Express, UPS, DHL, and RPS, and contains a link to Canada Mail Poste.

We hope this information will help you when problems or difficult choices arise in your daily need to send or receive goods or information in a timely manner. Our web site is your web site!
Lou Eichler

USPS address guidelines

FORMAT
Always use
* Correct delivery address
* Return address
* Typed or machine-printed copy
* Clear, sharp type
* Upper-case letters
* Uniform left margin
* High-contrast colors
* Floor, suite, and apartment numbers
* City, state, and ZIP or ZIP+4 code, in that order, on the last line
* One or two spaces between words and between state abbreviation and ZIP code
* Standard two-letter state abbreviations
* Recipient's country, spelled out in English, on last line of international mailpieces
Do not
* Use punctuation
* Allow characters to touch or overlap

PLACEMENT
Be sure that
* No return address information overlaps the address area
* Logos and slogans are placed high on the mailpiece and away from the address area
* Bar code read area is clear of all printing
* Delivery location (not office or suite number) appears on the line immediately above city, state, and ZIP code line
* Delivery address is located fully within the address area
* Complete address is always visible through window envelopes, even if the item moves about
* Address and place labels for parcels, packages, or large envelopes are addressed guidelines and applied parallel to the bottom (long) edge of the item
Lou Eichler

[Top of page]

The laconic sense of humor shown by Darwin Jones, Dave Kelley, and Duane Lampson is a cover-up. Throwing one-liners as they load and unload linen, they form a lively and highly competent team. They work four daily routes and rotate drivers every two weeks.

Route one, UIHC/Westlawn, gets five deliveries of clean linen and five pickups of soiled linen each day. High-volume loads are the norm here, and a related hazard is running over one's foot with a steel linen cart.

Route two, dorms and some classroom buildings, requires numerous stops and is more time-consuming. Productivity is hindered when linens aren't ready for pickup or a driveway is blocked. The delivery team, with direction from its supervisor, adjusts delivery to stay on schedule with minimal change.

Routes three (uniforms) and four (dust control) are the most physically demanding and are combined for efficiency. The team gives unparalleled service as the men hand carry large deliveries to several locations in each building.

When asked what are the best and the worst parts of the job, Jones, Kelley, and Lampson are true to form. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. When pressed for answers, they are unanimous. Extreme weather--hot or cold--and customer complaints are their least favorite. The best parts of the job are lunch (they do like to eat) and the sense of camaraderie they feel in working as a team. All three have a strong work ethic and value doing their job well. The Laundry Service is proud to have them as its delivery team.
Jo Anne Worley

It was during the 1980s that the basic services offered by the Laundry expanded to include the renting of work uniforms and other garments to campus units. More garment processing was required as the University's growth and expansion led to the employment of more people.

The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics was growing to meet market demands for health care services. This created a demand for even a larger volume of business productivity at the Laundry, and the processing challenges were compounded by an ever-increasing research and academic growth in departments on campus. This growth factor caused Laundry management to reevaluate and adjust production processes and time factors involved in producing goods and services.

One result of the reevaluation was an increase in full-time staff and the creation of more student employment opportunities. By the end of the 1980s, student employees represented 40 percent of the production hours worked at the Laundry.

The decade of the 1980s was a creative period for the Laundry, but also a very challenging period from a management and employment perspective. The use of computer technology was becoming more prevalent in the industry. Information management systems were very basic at this time but their value as a management tool was gleaning more support in the industry.

The managers at the UI Laundry quickly embraced computer technology and in 1987 began the development of the Professional Laundry Information Management System (PLIMS), a bar code tracking software system used to keep track of the financial information and processing activities of uniforms leased to University departments.

PLIMS was originally designed to operate on the IBM System 36 mid-range computer system and has since been rewritten to operate on the IBM AS/400 computer system. The UI Laundry was the first in the country in both the commercial and institutional sectors to successfully develop and use this technology. PLIMS is a copyrighted system owned by The University of Iowa.
Dave Gray

Next: Increased customer expectations and privatization questions drive Laundry operations.

[Top of page]

"We are very excited about this opportunity to consolidate our shipping, receiving, storage, and distribution functions into one location," says George Herbert, manager of the book store. Previously, the book store received and shipped at the Union, while using the General Stores Building, Hospital Ramp 3, and facilities at Oakdale for storage, he says. "Everyone at General Stores has been very understanding and helpful throughout our move and transition. They have demonstrated how interdepartmental partnerships can really work and be beneficial," adds Herbert.

Judy spends much of her time working on the MIGS ordering system, organizing it with the help of ITS and educating customers 0n how to use it. She expects this to continue as General Stores goes a step further in online ordering, with EDI and its direct access to the BT Products database. Other aspects of Judy's job include acting as a liaison between BT Products and the University when there are credit or billing problems, doing payroll for the three stores operations, and issuing vouchers for utilities.

Judy likes General Stores' location because it is close to her home, but says she is looking forward to moving to the Consolidated Business Services Building and working with everyone there. It will be her second move with the department. "I just keep following General Stores," she says.

An active family life keeps Judy busy outside the office. "We camp, we all like to bowl, we like to play cards, we do a lot of reading. We do a lot of things as a family." She is married to Mike Rockafellow, who works in Materials Management at Mercy Hospital. Her children are Micahla, a sixth-grader at Lucas, Michael, in eighth grade at South East, and Jason, who died in 1990.

The card game euchre is Judy's passion. She and her brother, Al, are partners and play every Saturday afternoon in the winter at the Iowa City American Legion. They usually do well, she says. "We are good. We've never taken first, but we're going to."

[Top of page]

The problem is, the document is 400 pages, will take two hours to print, and the office staff will send you packing if you tie up the printer that long. And the copy center is a good hike up the hill.

No problem. Download it and send it electronically to be printed on the Printing Department's DocuTech publishing system, located at the IMU and Law building copy centers.

It costs only 4 cents per copy (the cost of using an office printer can run as high as 10 cents per copy), and it's fast--135 pages per minute. Location doesn't matter much, because we will deliver the finished copies back to your office if you request it. Here are two ways to send the files.

For Mac users:
Print the document directly to the DocuTech.
Anyone whose computer is connected to the AppleTalk network can do this. All you have to do is send the document to the DocuTech instead of your local printer. This places the document in the queue called DocuTech_Hold.

Call the copy center immediately after you send it to explain what you want done with the order--how many copies, what type of paper and binding, and so on. If you don't call, the staff won't know the job is there and nothing will happen to it.

To gain access to the DocuTech, go to Chooser under the apple icon on your menu bar and select Printing Service from the list titled AppleTalk Zones. The list of printers that appears will include DocuTech_Hold. After you select it, simply print from your application as you would to your local printer.

For Mac or IBM users:
Send the document as a PostScript file.
This is somewhat like sending e-mail with an attachment. First download the necessary printer drivers, PPDs, and job ticket software from the Printing Department's web site. Then save the document as a PostScript file, making sure you have selected the correct output and printer information. Fill out the electronic job ticket and send it, with the PostScript file as an attachment, to the copy center. The job ticket tells the copy center staff how you want it produced.

You also can ftp the PostScript file to the Printing Department. You won't send an electronic job ticket, so you must notify our staff that you've sent the file. Contact Francis Fang at the Printing Department or Tim Blake at Copy Center 7 for more information about sending files to the DocuTech.

Printing Department staff who plan to attend the show have been asked to pay particular attention to equipment pertinent to their areas of operation, says department manager Lin Hartman. "I asked the small press operators to look at small presses to see what might replace the exisiting equipment," he says. "Everyone should look at equipment--prep, prepress, direct-to-plate. If they see anything they really like, we could look at it a little more closely."

Although the supervisory staff has always had a role in equipment purchases, asking for the production staff's input is relatively new for the department, says Hartman. "It's the way we're trying to go as a department, so that everyone can put in their two cents worth and buy into it."

There will be three groups traveling to the show on separate days, to avoid disruption of service to the department's customers.

The printer is networked and prints directly from electronic files. It is primarily used for producing small quantities of posters and other display materials. Call Eileen Wallace, 384-3738, for more information about using the printer, or Francis Fang, 384-3726, if you need help downloading or transmitting files.

You may view sample output from the printer in the display cases in the Hancher Auditorium lobby, along Hancher Drive, and at the south entrance of MacBride Hall; in the Howard R. Jones Commons at N300 Lindquist Center; and in the ground floor hall in Old Capitol.

[Top of page]

We are . . .