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
UI recycled paper use keeps going up
Electronic communication for the next millennium
Laundry manager joins HR board
Spring meetings in full swing
ITS offers PageMaker training
General Stores classes continue

Central Mail System
International mail rules simple but necessary
DEO listserv in effect
U.S.P.S. offers new service: Global Priority Mail
Great addressing guidelines for great service

Laundry Service
Hands-off washroom chemistry
Laundry's moving day quickly approaches

Materials Management
Use gas cylinder operation's fax for timely delivery
Equipment Rental Pool information added to MM web site
Space for rent at old General Stores building
Character Counts: Meet Jay Plank

Printing Department
Freelance design contract now in development
Act now for fy '98 purchases of printing and office copiers
DocuTech = print on demand
Deliver to whom?

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Business Services directory

Order Xerox 8-1/2"x11" recycled paper from General Stores. The stock number is 58875; the stock number for 8-1/2"x11" recycled 3-hole punch is 58885.

Will electronics change our jobs? Count the ways. Electronic communication today includes e-mail, fax, voice mail, Internet, and microwave. Each of these has affected our everyday business life in phenomenal ways.

Every day we receive and send faxes for immediate results. E-mail allows us to send and receive messages, share information, or conduct surveys, whether or not participants are near a phone. Voice mail still uses the "old" technology invented by A.G. Bell, but with a new twist. You don't have to be there when it rings. The Internet is the new king of information dissemination. Microwave allows us to communicate worldwide and into space without reliance on an umbilical wire.

An e-mail listserv today links compatriots in a common cause, allowing information management to become a shared experience. Lists related to your profession are a venue for the proliferation of ideas, knowledge, and discussion. Hobbies and special interest groups have added to the sharing of information with our fellows.

Thirty-five years ago a seer told me the day would come when you could go into a grocery store with no money or checks and buy all the groceries you need with a plastic card. He forgot to tell us the nine-key adding machine we used would be replaced by a calculator running off the energy of light rays. He didn't mention that we'd be able to carry a telephone in our pockets. He didn't say a word about being able to have more computing power on your desk at home than existed in the entire world at the time.

Technological innovations are happening at an amazing rate today, and we can't afford to ignore it. I carry more computing power in my watch than existed at the time of my birth. You may have more computing power in your office than was on the moon landing craft. We can shop on the Internet, pay bills, enjoy live entertainment, search some of the world's finest libraries for information, keep track of new and proposed legislation, and even play electronic games.

Consumers today are rapidly accepting the new technology. More than 42 million homes have nonbusiness related computers. Shipments for home PCs increase by more than 2 million units annually.

Do you have a computer in your home? Did you have one ten years ago? If you live with children the question isn't "Can we get one?" but rather, "When are we going to get one?"

More than 90 percent of utilities and more than 80 percent of insurance companies will accept payments electronically by the year 2000. The convenience of not having to deposit a paycheck or write checks for recurring bills, and of ordering supplies by fax, phone, or computer is commonplace for us today. The UI pays many bills and deposits payroll to our choice of banks electronically and will continue to make such advances as they become attainable.

Ever heard of the paperless office? Will there one day be paperless mail? The use of paper as a key medium for reading and communicating will continue over the coming 10 to 20 years, according to the Electronic Document Systems Foundation. Ten years? Perhaps. I'm not sure I agree with 20. Books on tape and CD, virtual libraries, up-to-the-minute news at your fingertips, e-mail, fax to cell phones -- all paperless and easily consumable -- are reality rather than myth.

Last year the U.S. Postal Service delivered more than 190 billion pieces of mail, or more than 600 million pieces per day. That's a 4 percent increase over fiscal year '96. First-Class mail increased by 1 percent.

This year all classes of mail have shown increased volume. Expectations are similar for the near future, but First-Class mail has had a less than 1 percent increase so far this year. An omen?

A recent mail industry survey showed the majority of its respondents preferred First-Class mail more than overnight delivery, fax, and e-mail. The surveys were delivered and returned by mail, not electronically!

The future environment for business operations will demand continual improvements in efficiency, shortening of process time, and maximization of the opportunities presented by electronics. Someone will need to provide the skills and expertise in these technologies that, in partnership with our customers, enable rapid and coherent implementation of integrated business systems.

How far into the future is the virtual university? Or are we there?
Lou Eichler
The preceding article is from an address Eichler made to a recent meeting of the National Postal Forum. He has been invited to present it at at Brown University in June.

The board will work with UI Associate Vice President and Director of Human Resources Robert Foldesi to provide input on a broad range of human resource subjects, such as incentive and reward programs; classification of positions; bonuses; and performance-based pay. "We hope to bring our collective experience to the board and serve as a meaningful resource for Mr. Foldesi," says Gray.

Foldesi says the board is designed to provide information and perceptions from the customer's perspective, and that he hopes to identify major opportunities for improvement through the group. It also serves as a sounding board for new ideas and initiatives. Questions such as "Will it work? Is it needed? Why doesn't it work? Where do we need to be going?" will be addressed. "It is a means of developing partnerships with major operational units of the University so we can share information, knowledge and resources," he says.

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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 customs forms.

If customs regulations are not followed and documentation is not exact, the item will be impounded. The addressee must make arrangements for clearance and for the payment of whatever duties are required for the release of the item. The same customs rules apply whether mail is sent by the U.S. Postal Service or other couriers. For letter-size items, use the special TyvekTM red-and-blue border envelopes. They will enhance service and help Mail Service separate them from domestic mail.

The last line of any foreign address should only be the name of the recipient's country, spelled out, in capital letters, and in English.
Lou Eichler

Anyone may subscribe to the list. Send a message to the listserv at dddeo-memo-request@list.uiowa.edu with the words "subscribe" and "end" as the body of the message. Leave the subject line blank and turn off signature features if your software uses a signature.

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Then, in the 1970s, an innovative change in washroom chemistry dramatically changed all this. The development of concentrated liquid chemicals brought liquid chemical injection technology to the washroom.

Forty peristaltic pumps and lots of plastic tubing comprise the Laundry Service liquid chemical injection system. The pumps force fluid through the tubes by producing waves of contraction along the tubing. Every washer has a pump for each chemical. This prevents cross contamination. Computer-controlled microprocessors measure and mix liquid chemicals with water, then pump the precise amount for the wash formula. Raw chemicals don't come in contact with fabric, and multiple wash formulas can be accommodated.

Textile Care Corp. specialist Ladd Zimmerman maintains the accuracy of the liquid injection system by calibrating it every other month. He ensures that the exact amount of chemical called for by the formula is injected by testing and adjusting the parts per million to a measured volume of water. The test, called titration, gives a baseline to compare whether the amount of chemical used is producing aseptically clean linen. Washroom chemicals work in conjunction with each other. Making a very small change can have a huge impact on the finished product.

Laundry Service has used liquid chemical injection since 1990. This hands-off system reaps major benefits: Now, employees needn't handle caustic wash compounds, cumbersome safety equipment has been discarded, and washline productivity has improved by 15 to 20 percent. This is a triple play any manager likes to see.
Jo Anne Worley

Groundbreaking took place last summer on July 30. From then until mid-November, when the steel beams were set, a third of the building process took place -- and it doesn't even show! Water lines, sewer lines, a pit for the water reclamation system, and electrical lines were laid before the foundation was poured. In early December, the support structure was erected and exterior walls and siding were installed. In January, when roofing was installed, you could tell something was happening.

Completion of the interior is moving rapidly. The interior walls are up, lights are on, and new equipment is arriving weekly. We look forward to our target moving date of July 1 as we enter the final building stage.
Jo Anne Worley

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Other departments have shown interest in the remaining space. There may be additional storage space available in the warehouse. As this is a leased building, space will be offered for rent by the square foot or by the pallet. Contact Gary Anderson, 353-2917, if you would like more information about this opportunity.

Occasionally, Jay sees his 19-year-old son Jason while making deliveries to the hospital. He has done very well for himself working on the phone system there, Jay says, and is highly regarded by his employers. "He's an awesome kid. He's a worker," says Jay.

"The Rocky Mountains are my second love, next to my son," Jay says. He often camps in the Colorado Rockies and has traveled in Montana, Wyoming, and Canada as well. While he enjoys camping just for the scenery, Jay hunts as often as he can. "I love to hunt," he says. He enjoys the challenge and discipline of it: to get in shape for fall elk hunting, he practices target shooting with a bow and runs four to five nights a week.

Jay bow hunts elk in the Rockies regularly; he's shot four of them. He considers elk the hardest animal to hunt, but also hunts deer and turkey, and has hunted bear. He uses a shotgun for some hunting and has used a black-powder rifle, but prefers bow hunting. He and three friends are planning a summer trip to Alaska. A bush plane will drop them off, then they will spend nine days hunting and fishing in the wilderness.

An important time for Jay was when he was in the army, in Vietnam. "It makes me feel pretty good that I went over there," he says. "I met a lot of good friends when I was in the service. I think about them all the time."

Jay was awarded a bonze star for carrying a wounded soldier a quarter mile through exploding shrapnel to safety, helping save his life. "It was like a black rain," says Jay. Nonetheless, "I feel like I didn't really do anything," he says. "It wasn't that much." Students who work with him at General Stores thought otherwise. He brought the medal in to show it to them, and, he says, "They thought it was awesome."

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Until the contract is ready, customers should send a requisition and an invoice, with the design costs itemized, to the Printing Department before the work is performed. The Printing Department will decide if the job will be printed in house or opened for bids from outside vendors.

The legislation that governs printing by state agencies supports this policy. The need for it arose from problems with electronic files and cost overruns on recent printing orders.

Only work performed as of 4:00 p.m. June 30 will be charged in this fiscal year. The balance of charges for any job in progress will be made when the job is completed and closed. State printing order jobs will be billed in the present fiscal year if we receive the orders at the Printing Department by 4:00 p.m. June 30.

If you want to purchase an office copier from your current budget, contact the Printing Department immediately to start the process.

The printers produce black-copy booklets, flyers, posters, flat copies, and custom course packs. Consider using one...

for rush orders, jobs with halftones, and items you will personalize, reprint, or update often;
for confidential documents;
when storage space is scarce;
when you wish to combine multiple parts into one document;
when you need better quality or higher volume than is possible with your office copier;
and for large documents you download from the web.

Send electronic files or hard copy. We can use both, and we can combine the two into one digital file. You can send files through the department's web site; ftp; or on a floppy or ZIP disk.

Use a blue requisition for payment; send it to the location at which the order will be produced (IMU or BLB Copy Center, or CBSB). Continuous orders, cash, and charges to student and staff IDs also are accepted at the Copy Centers. The cost is the same as that of comparable printing and copy center work.

You may use any paper color, in weights from 20-lb bond to 65-lb cover. Paper that is slick, glossy, or preprinted with laser printing causes problems, but paper that is preprinted on an offset press is fine. Pages such as color copies can be inserted on line.

Finished items range from 5-1/2"x8-1/2" to 11"x17". On-line bindings available at the Copy Centers are tape, saddle, side, and corner stitch; custom trimming and binding can be done off line. Binding for items produced on the Printing Department DocuTech takes place off line.

The DocuTech system cannot produce jobs that require close registration or process color and is not practical for short runs. Contact either the IMU or Boyd Law Copy Center, Marge Kline, Francis Fang, or your Printing Department customer service representative for more information or for help downloading printer drivers and sending files.

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