2008 Annual Report
UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA
ANNUAL REPORT
Fiscal Year 2008 (July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008)
Department of Publications and Printing
Department Head: Sally Roberts
1. Departmental Mission/Vision Statement (url only, required) http://www.westga.edu/pubprint/2008.html
2. Departmental Statement of Goals, Process to Assess These Goals, and Assessment Results (url only, required) http://www.westga.edu/pubprint/2008.html
3. Give an Example of How your Department Used the Assessment of Goals and Outcomes to Change/Improve a Process (required)
Under Goal #2 (Provide equipment necessary to efficiently meet the University's printing needs), the assessment process requires that the department identify and acquire upgrades necessary to meet production demands. In F08, the unit continued an ongoing assessment of offset press equipment to determine at what point an offset press upgrade would be most cost effective. By March it was apparent that the 10-year-old Omni Adast press was failing at an increasingly rapid pace and repair costs were becoming a prohibitive. A used Komori press was located and purchased on a five-year plan, installed at the end of the fiscal year, and was expected to fast-track the unit’s remaining transition from cost center to profit center. Also, the popular sign and banner making equipment was enhanced with new software to offer more options, and additional staff was trained in its use to meet demand.
4. General Statement of Department Condition (required)
Overview: Equipment is in excellent shape, better than any previous year. A six-unit 2001-model Komori printing press was installed in June. The smaller Ryobi two-unit press purchased new in F03 has been well maintained and remains in excellent shape. Because of its superior image registration, the Ryobi press can print smaller 4-color jobs, continuing to speed production and take some of the load from the larger press. The Ryobi press is fully owned by the university. The Komori is on a 5-year financing plan but is expected to be pay off early. All other equipment except digital quick-copy is owned by the university. Digital equipment is leased due to fast-changing technology. All supporting equipment, the electronic paper cutter, hole punch, shrink wrap machine, folders, imagesetter and plate processor, were purchased new within the past 10 years and are well maintained.
Student Assistants, usually four per semester, continue to provide essential help to meet increasing production demands.
Financially, the department continues to be in a strong position. The costs contained by printing in-house at a fraction of commercial rates make the operation highly cost effective. In addition, the department has increased from 28% self-sufficient in the early 1990s, to a position of 85% self sufficiency in F08. While transitioning to profit-center status, the shop continues its commitment to providing low-cost convenience to university faculty, staff, and students.
Needs: Equipment is in top shape but salaries, once solidly in the mid-range of comparable printing plants, have fallen behind. Compensations must be adjusted back into industry mid-range. Staff size has not increased in 20 years. Conversion of some part-time labor to full-time will be required soon to maintain deadline efficiency.
5. Departmental Achievements
Seven publications designed and printed by P&P won Print Excellence Awards in the state trade association’s annual Printing Industry Association of Georgia competition. A prestigious Best of Category Award went to the Just the Facts mini-publication printed for the Office of Institutional
Research. Awards of Excellence were announced for four other UWG publications and two outside printing projects.
The Georgia Highlands College student literary magazine, Red Kimono, and also a book project of the Bowdon Historical Society entitled Georgia’s Confederate Sons, by historian and retired teacher David Wiggins, were named winners. The university accepts limited printing for government, non-profits, schools and other Board of Regents entities.
Other university publications recognized for print excellence were a first-time full-color Special Needs Access Map printed for Student Development’s Office of Disability Services, two promotional mailers printed for the Theatre Department, and a Discover Music poster for the Townsend Center. These awards follow last year’s first state-level Top Gold Award for most innovative use of paper, an unusual waterfall-designed centennial-year publication.
Staff with hands-on responsibility for the F08 winning work were Production Supervisor Eddie Rogers, Senior Offset Pressmen Keith Harris and Carlos Olvera, designers Debby Holcombe and Teresa Pyron, and quick-copy supervisor Kevin LeCroy.
The PIAG Print Excellence Awards competition is the Georgia printing industry’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious graphic arts awards program. Winning entries were selected from 1,135 entries submitted by 59 print and graphic arts companies.
6. Staff Productivity
Production demands continue to be met with the same eight staff positions allocated to the department since the 1980s. By comparison, this same staff that produced 5.1 million impressions in 1994 produced nearly 7 million this year. It is significant that the earlier jobs were largely one and two-color work, while the current workload is largely far more complex and time-consuming four-color process work. Technology, better equipment, and a high level of staff training and expertise have made possible the increased workload while maintaining the same size staff. Work loads are reaching the outer limits that can be absorbed by existing staff.
7. Student Achievements
Staff continued to work closely with students in producing a number of projects that teach printing concepts. The student staff of the Eclectic literary magazine, a publication of the English Department, works closely with P&P to produce and print their annual publication here, as does the staff of the Georgia Highlands College literary publication. The Student Government Association, numerous fraternities and sororities, residence hall councils, and other student groups also work with staff to produce their print projects. Other students who benefit from the in-house print operation are Student Assistants (SAs) who learn about the printing business while in our employee. Student participants in the Federal Work Study Program (FWSP) and the Student Research Assistance Program (SRAP) have worked with special projects within the department. An FWSP position was created in F08 to research the data needed to produce the first Special Needs Access Map detailing wheel chair accessible routes through campus, handicapped accessible classroom and campus facilities, and existing needs in this area. The map project won an award and will continue in F09. Also, several student employees have gone on to obtain jobs after graduation using knowledge gained while working here.
8. Other Awards, Distinctions, and Achievements
An important distinction of the department’s work is the convenience, economy, speed and accuracy it provides to meet the university community’s many printing needs. However, its greatest contribution remains the tremendous cost savings afforded the university community by on-campus production services ranging from concept, design, offset printing, quick copy duplication, and finishing/bindery services.
Since the early ’90s, records have been maintained to reflect the financial health of the department, quantifying services provided by each segment of the shop. Annual job counts number in the thousands, and annual printing impressions in the millions. The current year’s department productivity and financial information is publicly posted in the P&P conference room and in the director’s office.
