The University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba has upgraded the digital arm of its printing facilities with the installation of a second Océ VarioPrint 6160 perfecting press and adoption of the Océ PrinterFace suite of print management software.
Two Océ VarioPrint 6160s, two VarioPrint 2110s and a Canon imagePRESS C7000VP produce the digital print requirements at USQ alongside a comprehensive offset printing capability. Océ PRISMAprepare software services all digital prepress arrangements.
The University has also completed the first phase of its rollout of PrinterFace software, designed to connect students and staff to the print room, allowing a comprehensive print on demand (POD) capability. PrinterFace is a print ordering and print centre management system designed by Océ and Pirion Systems with a large installed base of universities and TAFE colleges, so features and capabilities are common to many educational institutions.
It allows users to easily create a print job, customise printing and finishing options, receive instant, accurate quotes, examine proofs, and track job progress. It is completely customisable, so that the application fits into the site rather than forcing the user to adapt to the application.
Acting Printing Services Manager at USQ, Sue Hills, says the web-based system has proven highly adaptable in providing print on demand services for students who are now able to place print orders, either on site at the POD centre or online for later collection. Students can select orders from a catalogue based on their studies or place random print orders and even personal jobs. Printing can be in black and white or colour and students can even order folding and plasticoil or saddle stitch binding if required.
"It's fast and simple; jobs are queued in the student's online mailbox until paid for, then simply printed out while they wait," says Sue Hills. "It has met all our expectations in the preliminary stage and we are confident it will prove equally adaptable and robust as we expand its capabilities.
"The next stage is to extend it to staff to allow desktop ordering throughout the university. We have already begun this by enabling staff to create and print their own business cards to the University template. "PrinterFace allows us to generate reports on any information entered by users during the ordering process. On the production side, reporting can also be used to track the performance of our production processes and provide us with an overall picture of the current orders we are working on.
"Products of any type can be added to a catalogue. If a product is produced on demand then orders for it can automatically be added from the catalogue to the production workflow, streamlining workflow and turnaround times.
"It's a typically efficient Océ system. We have been an Océ customer since 2004. After trying other digital systems we selected the second VarioPrint 6160 on the basis of its productivity and Océ reliability and service.
"Océ digital printers are true high production printers. They are robust, solid machines built to withstand the daily grind of a high production workplace without constant paper jams. We are now producing more than 1.5 million impressions per month and need a fleet of printers which can deliver this kind of outcome with a minimum of downtime.
"We also get excellent service from Océ. On the rare occasions when a problem arises they fix it within hours."
University of Southern Queensland is a major print player in Toowoomba with a customer portfolio of external Government departments.
"In addition to our digital printing facilities we can also print up to A3 4-colour offset and have a wide range of finishing services including folding, stitching, cellosheening, tunnel wrapping and bookbinding," Sue Hills says. "More than 95 per cent of our printing requirements are now done in-house."