Kellogg Community College's Print Shop in Battle Creek, Michigan, is seeing a glimpse of what might signal brighter days ahead on the economic front.

 

"A positive to all the downsizing (in the media) is that we are upsizing by adding a full-time staff member," explains June Lewis, Duplication-Distribution Center Operator. That may signal the anticipation of a lot more business considering Kellogg has been a one-person shop with just one or two student helpers since Lewis took over the helm seven and a half years ago.

 

After a two-year process of rebuilding the reputation of the department, Lewis believes she has finally been able to restore confidence in the shop's capabilities. "We now have the equipment to handle the volume, plus a lot more is still out there to be brought in. We just needed the man hours to operate the equipment to produce the volume."

 

"We were working with older equipment that was outdated and operating in very manual unaccountable way," she explains. The first step in the turnaround was to create a department mission statement that tied in with the college's mission statement.

 

The mission of the Duplication-Distribution Center is to provide accessible,high quality education to the students of Kellogg Community College through

faculty and staff. The Duplication-Distribution Center is dedicated to continue to be a valuable and reliable in-house source for professional printing and

mailing services assistance.

 

"We then brought the department up to date with current technology in the fall of 2007 and were given responsibility for managing the college's copier fleet. Today the in-plant's equipment includes an Oce` Varioprint 6160 with inline high capacity stacker, finisher and BLM 200 bookletmaker with square-fold capabilities and CS620 (rebranded Konica-Minolta color machine) with a basic inline bookletmaker, as well as Avanti print management software.

 

Lewis has seen a growing demand for scanning services, creating electronic PDF files and custom course packs. "We added CD/DVD burning/imprinting in 2008 to give faculty another option for getting materials out to their students." They are currently exploring the possibility of adding even more services such as wide-format, an envelope printer, and variable data.

 

"I finally convinced our director and vice president that we needed to add a staff member so that we can run more efficiently and offer better service and turnaround time to the college," she explains. "We have come a long way and made many improvements. Finding little ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies within our area and determining if these changes create a cost savings for other areas is a big plus in our favor."

 

Although she is still developing a long-term strategy, Lewis anticipates doing even more on-demand printing of course packs for their bookstore, as well as the on-demand printing of other items typically ordered in large quantities and warehoused. "We continually evaluate what we offer and which services will best replace outdated services. We are also in the beginning stages of a building renovation that will give us a new space to arrange equipment for improved production workflow and time savings."

 

In addition to managing printing and the college's copier fleet, Lewis also oversees the mail center. "We provide for the pickup of outbound U.S. mail and ready it for a local vendor to process it daily at the presort first-class rate, saving the college postage costs. We handle approximately 165,000 pieces/year in regular mail, plus another 50,000 pieces/year in bulk mailings.

 

"Be proactive with your administration about the value of your department to the organization," advises Lewis. "Do your research and be prepared to defend your department with good facts and information. Show that you're proactive in looking at ways to keep costs low, not just for your department, but for the whole organization."