UA to phase out printing unit, cut 16 jobs

Officials say operation has been losing money for years, will end in July 2016

Sixteen jobs will be eliminated in 2016 after the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville phases out offset printing provided by its Print-Mail-Copy Solutions business unit.

UA officials said in a statement that offset printing operations have been losing money for years, despite taking in about $1.4 million in yearly revenue. The services will end July 1, 2016, with the cuts expected to result in savings of several hundred thousand dollars per year, according to the university. A mix of in-house services and outside vendors will be used to meet campus demands for printing brochures, newsletters, postcards and other items.

"While most people don't want to hear their position is being phased out, our plan is to give ample advance notice to the 16 affected employees, giving them approximately two years to make an orderly transition to other employment or to plan for retirement," said Tim O'Donnell, interim vice chancellor for finance and administration, in a statement. He added that UA "will work with those who wish to remain with the university to find a position that fits their qualifications."

Offset printing -- which involves ink transfer from a plate to a rubber cylinder then onto paper -- is only part of what is known on campus as PMC Solutions, which provides graphic design services, mail delivery on-campus and a full-service post office, as well as photocopying services and digital printing. The planned cuts will result in about a 40 percent reduction in jobs, with PMC Solutions now supporting 39 positions, according to UA.

In a shrinking market for print during the growth of online communications, the offset printing service has struggled to compete with larger print operations that have "superior economics of scale," David Martinson, UA's associate vice chancellor for business affairs, said in a statement.

"We simply don't have the business volume to run our press multiple shifts, which is the industry standard in order to be profitable. In fact, many printing operations in the private sector and on college campuses across the nation have been forced to make similar changes, discontinuing offset printing as a campus service," Martinson said.

Projections from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics described an anticipated 5 percent decrease in demand for technical print workers from 2012-22.

UA's statement described taking steps beginning in 2009 to shore up the bottom line for offset printing, in part by encouraging the campus to use the service and by improving printing efficiency. The offset printing service relied on campus print jobs for about 52 percent of its revenue, with external clients including state agencies and other public universities.

In UA's budget, offset printing was considered a stand-alone operation, expected to produce enough revenue to cover costs.

"Eliminating this function from the portfolio of services we provide will result in projected savings of several hundred thousand dollars per year and is essential to our mission of supporting teaching, research and service in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible," O'Donnell said in a statement.

Equipment will be sold as surplus, with some reinvestment in other printing services to be offered by PMC Solutions, according to UA.

NW News on 07/23/2014

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