By Kara Boerio
Youngstown State University offers a Printing Service office for students, university departments and businesses. It’s located in the Salata Complex and provides various services.
The staff works closely with Graphics Services in Kilcawley, which creates printing for student-related events, and Creative Services in Tod Hall, which designs recruitment publications and other events on campus. The staff prints large quantities and full-color or black-and-white copies.
Melissa Schoenfeld, the print supervisor, said the shop recently received two inquiries from students running for student government, and she assisted them with their campaign material.
“We can print postcards, brochures, letterhead, business cards, envelopes [and] we do table tents for events, notecards and forms,” Schoenfeld said. “We also print tests, syllabus, syllabi, invitations and mailings.”
She said much of what they print is for admissions, and Penguin Preview Day is a significant time of the year for them.
“We have equipment that will collate, staple, stitch and face trim programs,” she said.
The equipment is efficient, Schoenfeld said, and reduces the number of working hours it would typically take to do the job.
“That will process a sheet of cardstock that [the] business cards are printed on, and with a touch of a button, it takes that and cuts it all down to the individual cards,” she said.
Upon pickup, students and businesses will need to make a payment. They accept checks, credit cards and cash payments.
Chris Duckworth, the print assistant, runs the print jobs and said a student was recently pleased with his senior composition recital booklet.
“I’m proud of this one because he was so happy with it, and it made me feel good,” he said.
Anna Pascarella, manager of print and delivery services, said they rarely see students face-to-face for services as students usually contact them via email.
“We would welcome an opportunity to answer their questions and see exactly what they want [to be] printed,” she said.
Students will fill out the charge form with all the specifications and provide the artwork, allowing Printing Services to notify the student if they can run the job.
When students returned to campus, activity picked up in the shop, allowing it to prepare for jobs they hadn’t seen due to COVID-19.
“We have some [jobs] we only do once a year,” Pascarella said. “The English Festival is one of them.”
The office typically has a few students working 10-15 hours a week in the shop. The students help with packaging and taking the finished products to Delivery Services. The printed items are then delivered to departments across campus.
“We always have students down here, and we’ll always have them,” she said.
Pascarella wants students to build their customer-service skills by learning how to plan, answering the phone and greeting customers professionally.
“The students have been a great asset,” she said.
Printing Services is fortunate to have stayed in business, Pascarella said, because other colleges had to close their print shops due to COVID-19. In addition, the administrative assistant position was eliminated due to budget cuts, leaving the current staff to absorb the workload.
Pascarella said she is proud of her staff, as they take pride in the work that goes out of the shop.
Printing Services is open from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday For questions, contact printing services at printingservices@ysu.edu
