IPMA Bronze Award
Winning Brochure
(click for full image)

Oregon State University’s Printing and Mailing Service has won an IPMA (International In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association) Bronze Award for our very own OSU Printing and Mailing Services Booklet.

The piece was designed, printed and bound right here by our own team members at the OSU Printing and Mailing Service’s Cascade Hall Production Facility.

The IPMA is a professional organization comprised of corporate publishing and distribution professionals. IPMA is the only professional association dedicated exclusively to the specific needs of in-house professionals, who provide graphic design, copy, print, mail and distribution services to their organization.

For more information contact Printing and Mailing Services by emailing us at digital.printing@oregonstate.edu or simply giving us a call at 541-737-4941, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.

.

• Location, size and required number of tabs
• Weight of your mailer
• Paper thickness
• Fold orientation
• Staple inclusion

Here is a link to a great video that helps to explain things:
WATCH VIDEO HERE

If you have any questions about these new regulations, or how they may apply to your upcoming mailing projects, please call our mailing specialists at 541-737-4941. They are more than happy to help you.

During the month of August, Printing and Mailing Services is offering eight (8) free full-color printed postcards from your digital images! Simply go to our Design Online web page (CLICK HERE), log in and choose the August Promotion special.

Using our Design Online system, it is easy to upload your eight images and transform them into beautiful postcards. After you submit the order, we will print your free postcards and call you when they are ready!

When you come in to pick up your order, simply let us know that you saw the August Promotion Special. This offer is good for one order only of eight (8) printed postcards, placed during the month of August. You must have a valid OSU ID to take advantage of this special offer.

As a certified MDP, Megan is available to assist customers in resolving potential problems related to barcode quality and placement, mailpiece dimensions and overall mailing quality, in addition to other issues. Guidance from the mailing specialists at Printing and Mailing Services helps steer customers down the correct path of developing mailpieces that will be accepted by the USPS and be as cost effective as possible.

The USPS MDP program gives participants in-depth knowledge of how to design letter-size and flat-size mailpieces that can easily be processed on the USPS high-speed automation equipment. In addition, their skills help maximize cost effectiveness and reducing processing delays. The curriculum includes postal addressing standards, class of mail and processing categories, Intelligent Mail barcoding formats and print specifications and designing automation letters and reply mail.

“As a certified Mailpiece Design Professional, Megan is able to assist our customers in leveraging every opportunity to better manage their mailing projects,” says John McMillen, Customer Service Manager of Printing and Mailing Services. “Our investment in this training for team members ensures that the OSU community is receiving the information, guidance and assistance they need, especially in regards to specific mailpiece characteristics and acceptable standards. We take pride in our customer support and look to help our associates become experts and a resource on campus in critical elements such as this.”

For more information, contact Printing and Mailing Services at 541-737-4941, drop them an email to digital.printing@oregonstate.edu or simply stop by the office at 100 Cascade Hall.

###

Established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.

Commenting on his organization’s commitment to FSC Certification Mr. Grossman-Naples stated, “We are very pleased to be taking this step toward providing our customers with such a dynamic and credible certification scheme. FSC Certification is the gold standard of programs designed to promote total transparency in the use of sustainable materials and their processing within the paper and printing industries. This program will blend well with the many other outstanding efforts and programs that promote sustainability within Oregon State University”.

• Choose from a variety of styles
• No special software needed
• Proof your project in “real” time
• Order 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week
• Custom printed cards include blank envelopes
• Ready in 2-3 business days

The Holiday Season is once again upon us! Share stories and laughter with the people you care about by sending them a personalized holiday card from Printing and Mailing!

Choose your special card from a variety of styles and themes that have been designed just for you. Leave the inside blank and write you own personal message, or type in custom text to be printed inside your completed holiday cards. It is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3!

Once you have designed your perfect card and added your own personal touch, your cards will be printed and ready for you to pick up and send out to friends and family all around the world.

Click here to learn more!

Beginning early next year, it will cost just a penny more to mail letters to any location in the United States, the first price change for First-Class Mail stamps (Forever stamps) in more than two and a half years. The new 45-cent price for Forever stamps is among price changes filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission today.

Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 22, 2012, include:

• Letters (1 oz.) – 1-cent increase to 45 cents
• Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents
• Postcards – 3-cent increase to 32 cents
• Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) – 5-cent increase to 85 cents.
• Letters to other international destinations – 7-cent increase to $1.05

Prices also will change for other mailing services, including Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services. For more information about how this may affect your next mailing project, contact our Mailing Specialists at 541.737.4941 who be happy to assist you!

There was never any doubt that the manager of Printing and Document Services at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, a pressman for 25 years, takes great pride in the work produced by the print/mail shop comprised of four full-time employees and one part-time. Penn College, an affiliate of Penn State, has over 6000 students.

“The college expects nothing short of quality,” he emphasizes. “My first expectation from my employees is quality work in a timely manner.  If a worker concentrates on quality, production speed will take care of itself.” Penn College, like so many businesses, is always looking for ways to cut costs. “Many of the jobs that were being sent to outside printers are now staying in-house.” If you can provide the same quality internally, there’s no reason to look for outside printing avenues.

The in-house operation is unique in that the college offers a Graphic Communications Degree.  The shop personnel utilize the same equipment as the students. Fischer says it’s a win/win. “Education benefits because of the experience of the in-plant personnel and the college benefits because it doesn’t need to duplicate equipment. It’s the shop’s responsibility to develop and share the best printing practices possible so that students can take those skills into the workforce.

The hybrid offset/digital shop equipped with a two-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 52; two-color AB Dick,   19 by 25 one-color Ryobi, as well as a Kodak Nexpress and Digimaster, produces everything from brochures, letterhead and postcards to tickets, posters and calendars. The Digimaster produces all of the faculty requests for tests, syllabuses, manuals and other documents needed for instruction. The shop also has the capability to provide die-cutting, embossing, perfect binding, tape binding, laminating and of course normal finishing services.

One of their most notable time savers has been the creation of an on-line submission form.  After testing a variety of third-party vendor systems, they ultimately settled on a homegrown system. “It was the most cost effective and gave us the most flexibility for our changing campus.  It also allows us to control what type of platform the form resides on.  This allows us to keep updated with changing OS systems instead of waiting on new drivers or vendor updates.”

They are also beginning to explore the use of QR Codes. “We have found that not all QR codes are created equally,” he shares. “While testing, we found different readers translate the data differently.”  That’s something in-plants need to know and consider.

Over the years Fischer has grown to realize the importance of having good, quality-minded employees. “I treat my employees like I would like to be treated –professionally, respectfully and with as much flexibility as possible.”

He also emphasizes, “Have fun!” Yes, it’s possible to focus on quality and still have fun on the job. “You are at work a large portion of your life, so you should look forward to going to your job!”

- – In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association