Printing options for alum newsletter

[modorney]

My home chapter (Rensselaer) and my nearby chapter (Berkeley) are both interested in an alum newsletter. Like others have learned, a print newsletter is more effective with older alumni. And we have noticed some really well done four and six page newsletters from other chapters. These are one sheet of paper (not individual sheets stapled), folded for mailing. We're looking at about 500 copies, and printing companies we have found online charge about 40 to 50 cents a page.

Our volume is right on the bubble as far as "printing" (actual printing press) versus some kind of copying or laser print technology. And we are right on the bubble as far as having a few alums sticker and fold them (a few hours one evening.) Not so many as to require a commercial company prep and mail.

One question is, "Has any one found a local Kinko's or other copy store that will print/Xerox/copy a large format - 11 by 25.5 inch - sheet for a reasonable price? (11 by 17 is common and many copiers handle this, but the six page sheet is a challenge)

Okidata used to make a wide format printer - C8800 - that would print 11 by 25.5 (actually up to 11 by 47) for about 9 cents a side, depending on colors. That would put the cost per sheet about 20 cents. The downside is that this printer costs around 2 grand. Also, Konica and Xerox make large format (11 inch wide banner) printers for 2 to 4 grand.

My second question is has anyone used one of these printers? As a side note, the banner printing capability would be handy for the undergrad chapter - rush ads, philanthropy promotions, etc. Also, would 8.5 inch wide banners would make an acceptable three-fold newsletter? Anyone tried this?

cheers,
Mike O

[Scully]

Hi Mike, I haven’t had any experience with personal printers can handle anything over 18” wide, but besides Kinko’s, have you called around to any local area print shops or graphics/imaging places? It would probably be worth looking into a commercial printer. I would call around and ask for quotes. We do run high volumes of literature at my job, but for short runs we usually have them print digital. If your job is 4/colors or less they can gang your run with another customer. They would also be able to score and fold your order. This should save you some time and money.

Also, you can create a trifold if you turn the 8.5” x 11” paper landscape. I create brochures that size all of the time. Good luck.

[Kevin]

If you haven't already checked, see if an alumnus would be willing to let you use his multifunction machine. Check first with your lawyer-alumni as many small to midsize firms have pretty cheap color printing costs (5-10 cents per page on their copier leases).

Or better yet, see if any of your alumni have access to a corporate print shop. Those places typically have HUGE funds allocated for misprints and stuff that goes right into the trash. Allocating one of their machines for a small job would probably go completely unnoticed.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Kevin

If you haven't already checked, see if an alumnus would be willing to let you use his multifunction machine. Check first with your lawyer-alumni as many small to midsize firms have pretty cheap color printing costs (5-10 cents per page on their copier leases).

Heck, even my small nonprofit can handle a print job that size -- our lease covers way more than we need in a year, as we still send our more important jobs to a printer.

[modorney]

Say, thanks for the tips. I had forgotten most copiers are on a lease, and most places have extra copies on their lease. Something to chase down with our alums. We had talked about doing a story on "Doctors of Acacia", Professors of Acacia", and we can do one on Lawyers, too. My chapter (Rensselaer - a techie school) has a lot of patent and intellectual capital lawyers.

There's a huge challenge toward saving time and money. On the one hand, having a bunch of alums together for a folding and sorting party is a good brotherhood event. But, scheduling a good nite with everyone free is tough. It's always good to have a commercial source for this, when nobody is available.

Here's the basic paradigm:

1. It has to be paper (so it can be carried and read at leisure).
2. It has to come out many times a year.
3. It has to be mostly news and info.
4. You can ask for money, but only after a few issues, and in a "small voice".
5. It has to look "classy"
6. Most of your alums interested in this will be scattered around the country.
7. Your national may help, but they are probably busy already.
8. Put in some life skills, career planning, etc., to get your educational foundation on board.
9. If you can get non-profit permits, etc., that's good, but learn to walk before you run. Just get something classy out, then work on saving costs.
10. Three sheets (six pages) is a "magic number" for postage (weight).
11. Frequency of impressions is important. If you have more news, do more issues. If less, do four pages. Time the issues to fall in between your national magazine.
12. Be consistent, keep it alive, this takes a long time to build up, but, after a few years, you will have about half your alumni contributing something.
13. Give back. Adopt a new colony and help them get their newsletter off the ground. Four pages, four times a year helps them get off on the right foot.
14. Get to know other greek editors and newsletter teams, especially ones near you. Swap issues and ideas.