Above and Beyond

The streets of New York make up the campus of New York University.

Al DiMauro of NYU

And at NYU’s copy center, the residents of New York — be it the university community or the public — are the customers.

Al DiMauro says whether a job comes from a student group ordering a stack of flyers or a Greenwich Village restaurateur in need of new menus, his team treats each job with care.

“Regardless if it’s outside work or in-house work the customer is top priority,” says DiMauro, the university’s director of Reprographics, Logistics and Distribution Services. “Our management team and our line staff know that we do what’s needed to go above and beyond.”

It’s no small task. New York University boasts more than 57,000 students. On top of that, the 60-year-old DiMauro oversees the university’s Mail Services operation, a vast system that processes and delivers more than 25,000 pieces of mail every day, equivalent to that of a small city.

That part of the job could be overwhelming to many. But DiMauro has extra expertise in that area: six years of experience with the U.S. Postal Service, providing print and mail services to large industry clients including some of New York City’s major financial institutions.

He points to a job he got years earlier during his junior year in high school — processing stationery and other supplies in Western Electric’s warehouse distribution center — as his first taste of the industry. The gig, heavy on manual labor, helped him get in shape. (“A lot better shape than what I’m in now,” he says with a laugh.) But it also, as he was promoted, gave him his first experience in management.

“I started to enjoy the challenges,” he says. “Especially meeting different timelines, delivery deadlines.”

He worked there while attending St. John’s University in New York City, taking classes during the day and pulling graveyard shifts at night. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in management, then spent two years working in the print and mail department for the New York State Hospital System.

After that came the job with the postal service, followed by 21 years as the administrator of in-house print and distribution services at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In 2007, the institute moved its operations to North Carolina, keeping only executive-level staff in New York.

Native New Yorker

“My wife and I were born and raised in Brooklyn,” DiMauro says, in an accent that proves it. “So obviously we weren’t ready to make that kind of a move.”

It did not take long for him to find a new post. He finished one job on a Friday and started at NYU on Monday.

That was in 2007. And since, DiMauro has seen his shop change, most visibly in the merger of the print and mail operations — formerly in separate buildings six blocks apart — into one location. The opportunity presented itself when the building next to the mail center became available.

“I went to my boss and asked them for the opportunity to look into it,” he says. “They did a cost study and feasibility study, and it made sense.”

The new space, a two-story building at LaGuardia Place and West 3rd Street, opened in 2010. The merger has allowed the operations to be more productive with fewer employees. A staff of 45 when DiMauro started has now shrunk to 30, gradually and through attrition. Ten people work on the print side full time, though staff from the mail operation pitch in when extra hands are needed.

“Operationally it was a win-win across the board,” he says of the move.

From that one location, DiMauro now oversees a $3.6 million operation, $1.6 million of that on the print side. His shop is all digital, with the machines leased under a 60-month agreement negotiated by the school’s procurement department.

DiMauro says he moved away from having offset presses in-house as he saw the demand for offset decline and the need for quick turnaround jobs grow. The shift coincided with the consolidation of the print and mail operations in 2010. When offset printing is needed, DiMauro says he contracts with one of several commercial print shops that offer the school “very competitive pricing.”

About 5% of the print revenue comes from outside the university community. While it’s a small portion DiMauro says he welcomes any chance to bring in new revenue.

In-house, his team supports the university’s staff, faculty and students, with jobs ranging from brochures to large books. One of the most expansive jobs came when the university partnered with the New York City Board of Education on an admissions program. The shop produced all of the advertisement and promotional materials — about three million impressions.

Vinyl Cutting

The in-plant also does less traditional jobs, including vinyl cutting on a SummaCut D140. DiMauro says the machine can cut figures or letters used on windows or adhesives that can be attached to walls or vehicles. When the university had its vehicles repainted, DiMauro’s staff was able to print the decals in house, saving money for the university, which previously has paid for expensive truck lettering.

Outside of work, DiMauro spends many of his evenings and weekends coaching youth and high school hockey, something he has done for 20 years — and with success. The last three years his team at Xavier High School has won the city championship, competing against New York’s other Catholic high schools.

DiMauro says his goal is not just to teach his players the skills of the sport but to impress upon them values like responsibility and respect.

“I always look to raise the bar and meet and exceed it,” he says. “And that’s with whatever I do, whether it’s work or coaching.”