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Print Shop Pro® is a fully automated web-to-print management system designed exclusively for in-plant print shops and copy centers. You're invited to our webinar to learn more.

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“For the price and all of the features included in the base program, PSP was the best option for us.”
John Wesseling, Print Shop Director

Founded as Cincinnati College in the early 1800’s, today University of Cincinnati (UC) is one of the most prestigious public research universities in the world and has been named among the “Top-tier Best National Universities” by U.S. News & World Report. The university has been recognized by campus planners and architects as one of the most distinguished campus settings in the world.

With an economic impact of over $3.5 billion per year and enrollment of more than 44,000 students, UC is the largest single employer in greater Cincinnati.

UC has been credited with defeating polio, inventing Benadryl, creating the first YAG laser to treat brain tumors and creating the very first cooperative education program blending coursework on campus and outside work at a partner firm, giving students over one year of relevant work experience by the time they graduate.

Many UC programs are nationally ranked, including musical theater, neurology, science, law and aerospace engineering (Astronaut Neil Armstrong was a professor of this program until his passing).

UC Hosts American College and University Printers (ACUP) Plant Tour

UC has been a Print Shop Pro® (PSP) user since 2012. In 2018, UC hosted the annual ACUP conference for higher ed in-plants. The Print Shop Director, John Wesseling, sits on the board as VP of ACUP and welcomed peer in-plants to tour his expansive print operation. We had the pleasure of meeting with John following ACUP to learn more about his operation.

A Family Environment

John has been with UC for more than 43 years! John shared, “I have either attended or worked at UC since 1972.” John oversees a robust printing operation for UC with the support of two Print Managers, Karen Kappen and Mike Burke. John’s team manages printing for all schools including 100% of the printing for Cincinnati State.
The Print Services department is spread over three on-campus copy centers and is run by a staff of 15 print operators and one Graphic Designer. The two shop Managers who support John are also long time UC employees. Mike has been with UC for 32 years and Karen is the new comer and has been with UC for 12 years. “We’re a big happy dysfunctional family,” John joked. “The average tenure of our staff is about 22 years.”
When asked about the biggest change he has seen his shop undergo, John commented, “A big shift for us was transitioning from solvent based ink to latex ink. With latex our images appear sharper and it’s inexpensive so it saves our shop money.”

UC Welcomes World Choir Games Participants

We also asked John his favorite types of print jobs. He shared, “We hosted the World Choir Games in 2012 and it was the first time the event was held in the US. We had participants from 64 countries attend and many were non-English speakers. Our department got really creative and we printed large street wraps on a Substrate press with a laminate and no adhesive and laid them in the streets and around campus. Many of our guests could not ask for directions or speak English, but they could follow the music notes on the ground to dorms and use them to find their way around campus.”

Street wrap at World Choir Games.

Another fun job was when UC welcomed in a new President. “We created fun welcome signs and banners with the same materials and created window clings to welcome the incoming President”, said John.

Deployed vs. Hosted Print Management Solution
This year UC is transitioning from PSP Deployed to PSP Hosted. They are making this change to free up internal network resources and IT staff. edu will host and maintain the software and ensure UC is always on the latest version. “We’re excited about this change. Everyone at edu has been incredibly helpful and great to work with.”

 

Choosing the Right Print Management Solution

When asked why he selected PSP as the print management system for UC John shared, “A lot of it came down to budget and what we were willing to pay for a full blown system versus a non-full blown system. PSP came in at about 1/3 of the cost of competitive products… and we looked at a lot. For the price and all of the features included in the base program, PSP was the best option for us.” John went on to add “I also liked the fact that edu doesn’t nickel and dime customers and how willing they are to make the system meet the needs of their customers. When we signed on it was important to me that we had a system that could handle billing for our fleet. You didn’t have that back in 2012. Your development team along with Mike (edu President) sat down with me and developed a module for UC that could handle all of the billing for our fleet of copiers and that module (Fleet Billing Module) is now available to all customers. And, we didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get it.”

Pumpboys and Dinettes, UC Community Theatre Play

Outside of running a major print operation, John loves music and theatre. He sits on the Board of the UC Community Theatre Program, has starred in several musicals and also played in a Rock and Roll Band.

Rock on John! edu is proud to have UC as a long term PSP User and we look forward to meeting the needs of your amazing team in Print Services for years to come.

by Leeann Raymond,
Vice President of Sales and Operations, edu Business Solutions

Learn More

You’re invited to our webinar to learn more.