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
The more things change. . .
Storm causes minor damage
Staff Celebration Day brings us together with customers
Copy Centers' plan progressing
Recycled copy paper use at 49%
Meetings keep skills sharp

Central Mail System
Bulk Mail preparation primer
Postage rates: going up?

Laundry Service
Uniform rental program available for any UI department
Character Counts: Meet Jerry Miller

Materials Management
Intercollegiate survey being developed
General Stores offers individual MIGS training
First-aid kits stocked at General Stores
CBSB: moving closer
Register for General Stores class
GS honors driver Ed Cox

Printing Department
Color it big
Thanks for responding to surveys
Lamination available at PD

We are . . .

Business Services directory

When the flood waters crept in, the first University credit cards for small purchases were being issued, and 40-digit account numbers were beginning to make their appearance. Business Services didn't exist, nor did Materials Management.

Central Mail System had just been established as part of Physical Plant (now Facilities Services). Two of its components--Mail Service (a.k.a. the bulk mail center) and Campus Mail--shared a building over on South Clinton St., but the Publications Order Department was off by itself, at Oakdale.

The Printing Department resided at Graphic Services Building in Coralville, and we were debating whether our customers would take to desktop publishing.

In the years since, the Printing Department bought the Old Thomas and Betts Building, remodeled part of it, and moved there. Next came Central Mail, and General Stores is on its way. Laundry began its own building project at Oakdale.

Business Services was established under the administration of the Business Office, drawing together Central Mail, Laundry, Printing, and the newly organized Materials Management (consisting of General Stores, Surplus, Maintenance Stores, and Dispatch). Later, Oakdale Stores and Equipment Rental (formerly Rental Pool) were added to Materials Management. During one year, Business Services saw a succession of four different directors.

Today, the departments in Business Services are settled or expect to be soon. They share resources, and teams work together to help guide them. The Internet, the web, and digital technology play important roles in daily operations.

The Printing Department provides documents in previously impossible time frames and color products that did not exist five years ago. At Central Mail, computers can automatically catch mistakes in addresses, and an "intelligent" inserter selectively places items into envelopes. General Stores has decreased its warehouse space from 25,000 to 11,000 square feet while increasing its customers' options--from 2,000 in-stock items to 40,000 items available for next-day delivery. There is increased emphasis on customer service and measurement.

Through it all, day after day, the work was done. Business Services staff continued to produce, meet deadlines, and keep their respective sections of the University running.

Campus Mail was slowed somewhat due to downed trees and water damage to mail, but the other Business Services units continued their usual activites the following day.

Winners of the drawing were Kim Blair, Darlene Blake, Ron Bushell, Bryan Frei, Sheryl Gordon, Beth Hochstedler, Mac Hopper, George Klein, LaVerne Larson, Jay Nelson, Jian Q. Shou, and Mark Wenman.

At this time, the team is discussing the priority for departments to be set up to use the DocuTech system. It also has been investigating software that will increase efficiency and some that will facilitate electronic job submission and archiving.

The team sees a probable shift in emphasis for the Copy Centers, from "copy" to "document" services, as well as the establishment of partnerships with departments, meaning the centers will work more closely with departments to determine and provide needed services.

The team is developing its final recommendations, with attention to marketing, technology, diversification, and automation.

Help increase UI's usage even more--our goal is to reach the state mandate of 90 percent overall recycled paper use by 2000. General Stores supplies Xerox brand recycled paper under a long-term Regents' contract that ensures low prices.

Lee Vasquez, Business Services, was elected to the board of directors of the Central Association of College Auxiliary Services at a recent conference hosted by that group in Cedar, Michigan. Topics covered at the conference included purchasing and privatization.

A number of Printing Department staff members were involved in meetings. Carol Iles, Francis Fang, and Patty Rickert attended a Covalent users' group training and update session in Providence, Rhode Island, in June. Covalent is a printing management software. Sandie Herwig attended the annual International Publishing Management Association conference, this year in Norfolk, Virginia, and received four awards on behalf of the Printing Department. A total of 14 customer service, design, prepress, and production staff members attended a seminar in Cedar Rapids that provided advanced training in electronic publishing software and techniques. The seminar was hosted by Cedar Graphics, a Cedar Rapids printing company.

[Top of page]

Mail Service maintains a permit with the USPS, #45, to send regular and nonprofit bulk mail. The permit is available for use by all UI departments. Mail Service delivers Permit 45 mail to the post office and maintains an account to pay the postage due for such mail. Do not deliver your Permit 45 mail to the post office; it must go through Mail Service to have the proper forms signed and submitted. Be sure to send a requisition that has your nine-digit Central Mail System code on it with your bulk mail.

Limitations
A mailing requires a minimum of 200 identical pieces to qualify for bulk rates. Identical means the only difference is the address. Only pieces sent to a U.S. address may be part of a bulk mailing. International mail does not qualify as bulk mail.

Nonprofit mail may not contain any advertising or mention of a promotion for travel, insurance, or credit cards. There are other criteria too lengthy to be covered here, but Mail Service will determine the mail's status when it receives the customer's application to use the permit.

Required elements
An indicia, which is a block of information indicating that postage has been paid, must be printed or imprinted by a meter on each piece. Mail Service can meter your mail if it was printed without an indicia. A return address is required on all pieces using a bulk-mail permit. Correct University return addresses are printed in the green section of the UI Faculty-Staff Directory.

A zip code is required on each address. All pieces must be sorted in ascending zip-code order. Mark each box or tray to indicate its order within the mailing. For instance, write "1 of 5," "2 of 5," and so forth, if you have five boxes of mail.

All letter-size reply cards and envelopes--business reply, courtesy reply, and metered reply mail--enclosed in a bulk mailing must bear a Facing Identification Mark (FIM) and a correct delivery-point bar code for the address to which the reply mail is to be sent. The FIM is a series of vertical marks to the left of the postage block. FIM and bar-code markings are available from the USPS, Printing, or Central Mail.

Endorsements
When mail is undeliverable as addressed (UAA), the Postal Service needs directions, called endorsements, on what to do with that mail. With no endorsement, UAA bulk mail is recycled as waste.

The Address Service Requested endorsement offers forwarding and return service, with the new address or the reason for nondelivery provided. The mail is forwarded at no charge for 12 months after the addressee moves. Thereafter, the mail is returned with the UAA reason attached, and a fee of 2.472 times the cost of mailing is charged.

Forwarding Service Requested offers the same forwarding and return benefits as Address Service Requested, except you will not receive a correction notice during the first 12 months following a move. After that the treatment is the same.

Return Service Requested offers no forwarding. The mail is returned with the UAA reason attached, and the fee charged is equal to First-Class mail rates for the piece. We recommend using this endorsement as the least expensive method of maintaining a clean mailing list.

An endorsement must be printed using no smaller than 8-point type, and it must stand out clearly against its background. Brilliant-colored envelopes and reverse type (white on black or light on dark) are not permitted. There must be a 1/4-inch clear space above, below, and on both sides of the endorsement. The endorsement may be printed below the return address; immediately above the delivery address; to the left of the postage area; or below the postage area.

Size standards
The minimum size for postcards is 3-1/2"x5"; the maximum is 4-1/4"x6". Both must be at least .007" thick. The minimum size for letters is 3-1/2"x5"; the maximum is 6-1/8"x11-1/2". Both postcards and letters must be rectangular, with an aspect ratio (length divided by height) between 1 to 1.3 and 1 to 2.5 to qualify for letter rates.

Items smaller than the minimums are not mailable. Items larger than the maximums are called flats and cost more to mail. The weight limit on a nonprofit letter is 3.3362 ounces; the regular letter-weight limit is 3.3087 ounces. Pieces over the weight limit are mailable at the higher rate for flats.

A single carton or tub of bulk mail can be left with your outgoing campus mail, but call Mail Service to arrange a pick up of more than one carton or tub. Mail Service is located with Central Mail System in the Consolidated Business Services Building, 2222 Old Hwy 218 South.
Lou Eichler

When the Postal Service wants to change rates it must first make a presentation to the Postal Rate Commission. The presentation is printed and filed in the Federal Register, and hearings are held to discuss the implications and impact on users. The commission makes any changes it feels are necessary and forwards the amended request to the Board of Governors, which may accept or deny any or all of the request.

So, when the news media state the cost of postage will increase, don't believe it! A long and involved process must take place before anything is decided. The board was scheduled to meet June 2 and 3 to make a decision on the current rate case, but its chairman was on vacation. A meeting was to have taken place in late June to decide on the current case. Anticipated dates for implementation of any changes are October, 1998, or January, 1999.
Lou Eichler

[Top of page]

Check with us if you are considering uniforms for your department. Here's how we increased service for our biggest customer, Facilities Services Group.

Two years ago the Laundry Service and the FSG uniform team customized a uniform program to the specifications of FSG staff. After eight months and many hours of team discussion, an agreement was reached and then approved by FSG administration. The team's decision to add blue jeans as a work-pant choice proved very popular. Most FSG staff chose the jeans for work pants.

The Laundry Service spent more than $165,000 on garments this fiscal year to start the program. FSG, like all our uniform customers, is charged a flat rate fee for every garment issued to its staff. That fee is applied weekly for all garments issued to each employee. For example, if a person is issued 16 garments but only wears 10 per week, the department is still charged for 16. Each garment has two labels that provide information to help keep track of usage and costs.

The Laundry Service purchases garments from the three largest uniform manufacturers in America at discount rates. The garments purchased are the highest quality available in the world today. Delays in receiving uniforms can occur if manufacturers let their inventory of certain sizes drop or if specialty items are ordered. That means some employees may wait longer to receive their uniforms.

Despite fluctuations in garment supplies or customer needs, the Laundry Service is committed to providing superior quality garments and superior service to our customers.
Dave Gray

Jerry says his biggest challenge at the UI was learning how "the system" operates. When he began working at the Laundry, a majority of its customers received specialized service, so he set an efficiency goal to produce a quality product, in quantity. Another challenge was learning to work with people from other cultures. Coming from a rural Iowa community, the University seemed like a small United Nations to him. In 1981, nearly all 50 Laundry Service student employees were international students.

When talking about additional goals he achieved, Jerry notes improved work flow, production standards, and setting up a uniform rental service. His eyes light up when he tells about developing bar-code tracking software and using computers in the laundry environment to set industry standards. Jerry's forward thinking is also visible at the new laundry facility he helped establish at the Oakdale campus. The state-of-the-art design and computerized operation make it a showplace for progress.

Jerry, a navy veteran with two tours of duty in Vietnam, isn't all work. His play schedule includes sports, especially golf and racquetball. Jerry and Linda, his wife of 23 years, a payroll clerk at Facilities Services, are enthusiastic Hawk fans who attend all home football and basketball games. In his spare time Jerry cheers his three granddaughters on to victory at their school games. He enjoys his full schedule.

But the real surprise is that Jerry can actually cook. All of the Laundry employees can vouch for his unparalleled skill at whole-hog barbecuing. His culinary offering will be a highlight when we celebrate the opening of our new laundry; it will be an event not to be missed!
Jo Anne Worley

[Top of page]

In addition to The University of Iowa, the schools involved in the project are the Universities of Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; and Iowa State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Purdue Universities.

 

College of Law receptionist Craig Spitzer, who began using MIGS this spring, says "It's so much easier. All I enter into the computer is the catalog number, and when I'm finished, I hit enter. It does the work for me-it saves me so much time!"

If you would like to learn to use MIGS, contact Judy Rockafellow, 353-2906, at General Stores. Include your name, phone number, department, building, and room number.

The warehouse and central office areas are complete, and General Stores is in the process of moving inventory to the new location. Work continues on the remodeling of the Equipment Rental area, where walls, windows, and doors are being installed. Look for more information about our progress in future issues of Into Print.
Gary Anderson

[Top of page]

Most DisplayMaker orders have a 24-hour turnaround, but it depends on the size of the piece, the amount of time it takes to process, and the other work at hand.

The DisplayMaker uses only electronic files to produce items. Save files in PostScript format, and send them to us through the Internet; ftp; or on a floppy, ZIP, or JAZ disk. Information about sending files electronically is posted on this web site. Notify the Printing Department color center when you send files.

A blue requisition is necessary for payment. Send it to 139 CBSB. You may use a different one for each job or establish a standing order, or you may use a copy center continuous order number. Send a Printing Department "electronic prepress form" with each order.

Advantages include unlimited color; no tiling and assembling; and small quantities of large, full-color items, providing access to a product that previously has not been feasible. It is not practical for items that will be viewed at close range (less than than four to five feet), reproduced in large quantities, or are made up of multiple pages.

The DisplayMaker uses paper rolls that are 36 inches wide and 100 feet long. The length of a finished piece is limited only by the software you use to create your document. The current selection of media, or substrate, includes clear film, gloss and matte papers, canvas paper, opaque film, and self-adhesive vinyl.

The length of your job determines the cost; items are charged per linear inch (1"x36"). It's easy to economize by placing small items side by side to fill the entire 36-inch width of the paper.

Use the TrueMatch, not PMS, color matching system to designate color in your documents. Any adjustments to color must be made in your graphics software. Trapping is not an issue because all the colors are printed directly onto the substrate at the same time. Files should be saved to print as composites, not separations. Your own color scans can be used. Scan your images at 200 dpi, final size. The output resolution is always 300 dpi.

[Top of page]

We are . . .