Franklin University Print Services Spreads Out

Sometimes you have to fight to expand your in-plant. Other times you just have to be in the right place at the right time. The latter was the case at Franklin University Print Services.

“The facilities department was looking for a different type of office space,” says Robert Donahue, director of purchasing at the Columbus, Ohio, university. “The location that they had before was right across the hall from my existing space.”

Donahue and his staff thought carefully about how they could use the space in the most beneficial way to create a smoother workflow. The original facility had gotten very cramped since it opened as a brand new in-plant in 2012.

“[It was] difficult to maneuver around,” Donahue says. “We started ... with just two presses, an envelope press and a cutter. And now we’ve got that plus a UV coater, a creaser/folder, a Memjet technology printer and a bigger, guillotine-type cutter.”

Thanks to the additional space, the in-plant was able to spread out, smooth its workflow and clear up obstacles. The additional space has also provided the opportunity to add more services, such as UV coating.

This came about after Franklin University purchased Urbana University in nearby Urbana, Ohio, about a year ago. The NCAA, Division II university started requesting media guides that needed coating or laminating. So Print Services added a Duplo Ultra 100 Pro UV coater.

The in-plant is also in the process of bringing dye-sublimation printing online. It purchased an Epson ­SureColor T3270 and will start printing items like mugs, shirts and coasters. Franklin also hopes to add a second digital color printer to ease the currently overworked Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000 color printer.

From left: Matt Roper, Taylor Hartung and Tom Weiser show off Franklin University Printing Services’ new Morgana Auto­Fold Pro and AutoCreaser Pro 33, which, along with a new Neopost AS-950C color inkjet printer, are the latest pieces of equipment to arrive at this one-year-old in-plant.

Donahue says it took nearly four months to complete the move. The in-plant finally relocated into the new area in mid-June, almost doubling its original size by going from 1,000 square feet to approximately 2,000.

“Overall, because of the procurement of Urbana University plus growth internally, I’m running about 100 percent ahead of where I was this time last year, as far as volume and savings for the university,” Donahue says. The way the CFO sees it, he says, “I’m not a cost center at all.”