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MUSC INK

Off-campus printers watch university life roll off the presses

by Dawn Brazell 
Special to The Catalyst

The presses on Arco Lane have seen a lot of university life come through their rollers. D.W. 

Powell glances at the walls around him that showcase some of the events. The Cooper River Bridge runs. Medical symposiums. Annual fund drives.

Powell, assistant printing manager, has worked with the university for 23 years, the last 10 at the 10,000 square-foot North Charleston site. He does what he always has done—participate in the ebb and flow of university life by printing its symposium brochures, fund drive booklets, awards banquet programs, Children's Hospital books, commencement booklets and the like.

“We do a little bit of everything. We still see the life of the university, just from a distance.”

The university print shop has had to grow to keep pace with the university, said William P. (Pat) Clute, manager of printing services. Clute came on board in 1968 when there were just three employees. The going pay was $2.54 an hour to run a press. Then the print shop was doing about 1 million to 2 million impressions, 8-1/2 by 11 sheets with one color ink, a year. Now there are 37 full-time employees working at three different sites, with the print shop handling 67 million impressions a year.

Clute's office in Colcock Hall houses the quick copy shop. It's open from 7 a.m. to midnight, with employees handling 2 million to 3 million copies a month. The third location that merged with printing services last July houses the graphics and imaging division at 501 Harborview Office Tower.

Clute says the university's print shop is bigger than most local commercial printers and can handle a wide array of projects including books, posters, business cards, booklets, brochures, letterheads, folders, laminations, framing and matting. He has four skilled graphic artists, with that division also handling photography and digital imaging.

Given the changes in the university and in printing, he hasn't gotten bored in his 31 years here, he said. He's been amazed at how much the printing operations have grown, especially in the last eight years.

“With the equipment, we have everything now. The cutters are computerized. The presses are computerized. The copiers are all digital.”

New equipment added in the past five years include: a Rosback collator/stitcher/trimmer, which is a book-making machine; a Heidelberg 20x28 Speedmaster two-color press; and two small-format, two-color presses with envelope feeders. They also have upgraded their color copier, which now does 40 copies a minute and is networked within the university; have a computerized 36-inch paper cutter; have a device that electronically takes slides used for teaching purposes 24 hours a day; and have two delivery trucks that run eight hours a day. 

The next goal is to get a computerized management system to monitor all phases of their operations and an image setter, which is an output device for film from discs.

But despite all the changes, the staff turnover is low with the division boasting many longtime employees like himself and Powell. They've enjoyed adapting to the changes and capturing campus life, he said.

“We're excited about the university growing, and we're excited to try to meet the needs. That's what we're here for. We are a service department. That's what our main mission is—to support the medical university. I enjoy helping people.”