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Printing Services and Graphic Design
1.6. Printing Services and Graphic Design
Document Production
UConn's Design and Document Production Center and Mail Services is a print vendor internal to UConn, which means that soliciting a quote is not necessary. You can submit your files online at DPC's Online Order Form.
The Design and Document Production Center and Mail Services are here to help with your printing, designing, and mailing needs.
Printing
The center accepts either digital files or hard copies for scanning. They can normally get most jobs finished in 2-3 working days. If you need a price estimate, just email the details to dpc@uconn.edu.
Document Production can print one proof (sorry, posters or anything over 12 x 18, not included) at no charge. Proofing can be done by staff here on campus or you may come and personally proof it yourself.
Document Production also has free delivery on campus, provided by Central Stores.
Graphic Design
Within the Document Production staff is a very knowledgeable graphic designer who can design your University document or poster for free. They also have mail piece design and mail processing experts that can guide you in the creation of a mail piece for the most cost effective postage price. This gives them the ability to print, insert (or) address, and mail documents all in one location.
Mailing
Envelope Printing is another service document production offers. They can create a variety of different sized envelopes with return address and/or variable data, outgoing addresses, and department specific Business Reply Mail (BRM). Standard #10 University envelopes need to be purchased through the University's vendor Alpha Graphics.
No purchase order is needed and jobs can be paid with a KFS account number, cash, or check. Document Production does NOT accept credit cards.
No receiving report is needed.
Questions? Call document production at 860-486-2022, email dpc@uconn.edu, or visit the Design and Document Production Center website.
External Vendors
Some print projects require printing services from external vendors. University Purchasing is requiring that when using an external printer to produce materials, you must request three quotes from qualified vendors and select the lowest quote. It is suggested that the quotes come from vendors of a similar category. All vendors must be given identical printer specifications.
Vendor Categories
Purchasing has categorized printing vendors as follows:
Category I
- Publications in Category I may be one, two, or three color produced electronically either from disks, CD's or DVD's.
- Publications delivered to vendors will be Macintosh and/or PC compatible.
- Vendors must have on-site capability to convert disks and will be responsible for capturing all keystrokes, fonts and formatting commands.
- Screening, halftones, reverses and traps may be required and may be provided camera-ready by the client or generated by the vendor.
- Collating, folding, saddle stitching or perfect binding may be required.
- Examples of publications for this category are
Category II
- Publications in Category II include all specifications from Category I.
- Category II jobs may be higher volume and/or require printing multiple issues or repeat orders.
- 4-color process printing may be required, therefore bidder must have on-site capability to print 4-colors in one pass through press.
- Publications may be submitted electronically, on disks, CD's or DVD's.
- Use of vendor's on-site desktop publishing equipment may be required.
- Examples of publications for this category are
- Samples submitted by bidders for this category must show 4-color process (if applicable), halftones, screens, trapping and solid print reproduction.
Category III
- Publications in Category III include all specifications from Categories I and II.
- Additionally, pre-press work such as creating varnish files, image manipulation and retouching, color correcting, converting RGB to CYMK.
- Ink specifications may be for up to seven colors plus coatings and may require as many as five colors printing in one pass through the press.
- Examples for this category are
- recruitment publications,
- annual reports,
- complex program booklets including those which may require multiple crossovers, duo or tri-tone, foil stamping, embossing, special coatings, specialty folding or related finishing work.
- Ability to handle large, multiple piece mailings.
- Vendor must be able to produce high-resolution proofs that show the exact page layout and color match as specified as layout is originally produced.
Category IV - Digital Printing
- Publications in this category may be up to four-color process plus coating(s).
- Examples of this category are
- recruitment publications,
- postcards using variable data printing.
- Samples submitted in this category must be of varying sizes and show 4-color, halftones, screens, trapping, bleeds and variable data printing. Samples must also represent color registration, saturation, resolution, clarity and be free of imperfections. Samples must represent a variety of stocks, text and cover weight, as well as gloss, satin and uncoated.
Vendor List by Category
A list of approved qualified print vendors by category are available through the School's Office of Communications or by contacting University Purchasing. To request this list from the School's Office of Communications, send an email to communications@business.uconn.edu.
Technical Specifications
All request for quotes for a project must include identifical specifications. Suggested specifications include:
- Project title
- Quantity
- Contact name
- Contact email
- Format
e.g., "Hand-held folded/binded program. Full color cover, black/white text."
- Size: Open Flat
e.g., 11"x8.5"
- Size: Folded Finished
e.g., 5.5"x8.5"
- Pages
Quantity of pages. Indicate "Self Cover" if there will not be a separate cover stock used for the project and the Pages number indicates all pages for the project. Indicate "Plus Cover" if there is a cover file of different stock that is added on to the requested number of page.
- Paper Stock
Indicate color, weight, gloss, finishing
- Ink
e.g., grayscale, 4-color process, spot color, etc.
- Composition
e.g. "Offset printing requested. Files provided: Packaged InDesign files, high res PDF, high res PDF with printers marks, IDML file. Vendor will be responsible for checking accuracy of all traps and assigning trap values if necessary. Vendor must do pre-flight on disk within 48 hours of receipt, to ensure that all files are on disk and appropriate commands have been designated in files."
- Halftones/Screens/Separations (if applicable)
- Proofs
e.g., High-res PDFs, or delivered printed proofs
- Press Work
e.g., includes bleeds or other special press considerations
- Folding/Bindery
e.g., "Fold, collate, stitch, and trim to 5.5x 8.5."
- Packing
e.g., "Bulk pack in cartons, weight of cartons not to exceed forty (40) pounds each. Cartons are to be clearly marked with the quantity in each."
- Delivery (Date, Contact, and Location)
- Vendor note:
"VENDORS PLEASE NOTE: Specifications for Printing Job. Please do not deviate from specifications. (If paper stock is unavailable, quote an acceptable alternative)"
- Purchase Order Note:
PURCHASE ORDERS
Purchase orders will be issued for an amount which exceeds your quotation by up to fifteen percent (15%). This is done to authorize author's alterations valued up to ten percent (10% of the original quote and up to an additional five percent (5%) for overruns. To comply with policy, invoices must be itemized to reflect 1) the job as quoted, 2) authorized author's alterations (not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the total quoted amount) and, 3) overruns (not to exceed percentage stated on the purchase order). Invoice amounts in excess of that authorized on the face of this purchase order will not be honored without prior written permission from the University of Connecticut Purchasing Department.
- University Ownership Note:
UNIVERSITY OWNERSHIP
All film (including prep and stripped, final film) negatives, dyes, plates mechanicals, and/or computer media generated by the Contractor, that relate to this contract, shall become the property of the University of Connecticut. Mechanicals, computer media and/or negatives furnished by the University to the Contractor must be returned in acceptable condition with the final delivery of each printing. Failure to return these materials may delay payment of Contractor's invoice or result in a penalty assessment which may be deducted from the Contractor's invoice.
The Office of Communications has a Word Document with the Commercial Printing Request form. If you'd like to request this form or if you need assistance filling out technical specifications for printers, please contact Marie LeBlanc at mleblanc@business.uconn.edu.
Common Questions
Do I have to go to an external printer?
No, you can use the UConn Document Production Center (DPC). DPC is a print vendor internal to UConn, which means that soliciting a quote is not necessary. An added benefit of using DPC is that you do not need a purchase order - just your KFS number. You can submit job requests online at DPC's Online Order Form.
At what point should I request quotes?
When you know the final quantity and printing specifications of your project, you should start identifying vendors and requesting quotes. You cannot request a quote without the final uniform printing specifications, but you do not need to wait until the design is finalized. When putting together a timeline for printing, you need to allot for the time it takes to receive the quotes, process the quotes, and the time between submitting the files to the printer and delivery.
What happens if I don't supply identical specifications to the external print vendor, or the specifications change after I sent them to the vendors or after they've submitted a quote?
You must resubmit the specifications to the vendors and request a quote based on the new identical specifications. If a vendor has already submitted a quote, they will need to submit a new quote based on the final identical specifications.
I don't know how to fill out the specifications sheet; can you help me?
Certainly! To request assistance, please email communications@business.uconn.edu.