New Facility Strengthens Service at Historic University

The Printing and Mail Services operation at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff recently completed a long-awaited relocation to a new facility on campus that brings a host of impressive upgrades. Not only is it more centrally located, it’s larger than the old facility, opening up the opportunity for upgraded equipment, two things Barbara Mazique is excited about.

“These improvements collectively empower us to meet the increasing demands of printing and mail services more efficiently, fostering a more productive and customer-centric operational environment,” says Mazique, director of Printing and Mail Services.

Credit: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Now located at the center of campus, the new facility is 1,000 sq. ft. larger than the previous operation, bringing the in-plant up to a total of 4,500 sq. ft. Mazique was able to custom-design the shop to ensure the work flows through the operation efficiently. It also allowed her to bring print and mail into the same location, instead of having them in two separate buildings as was done previously.

“They had me running back and forth,” Mazique laughs. “I never expected we would get new space, but the old one didn’t have room to combine both. And it was old.”

The move was planned, but Mazique says it happened a little quicker than expected. When she got back from the Christmas break, the heat in the old building wasn’t working, but it was already on in the new one, so she was given the green light to move the equipment. Previously, machines were located in different rooms, wherever there was space; the new equipment layout enables a more efficient workflow.

Barbara Mazique (left) shows Paulena Redwood how to impose a file for printing on the Konica Minolta AccurioPress C6085. In the background, staff prepare to run business cards on the second C6085.

“We were also able to put in additional worktables,” she says, “which is awesome. And we can control our own heat and AC, which will be great, since we used to lose a lot of envelopes” due to humidity or temperature changes.

But perhaps the biggest change is the additional 300 sq. ft in the lobby that houses the new Pitney Bowes locker system. Mazique is thrilled with this addition.

“We never had smart lockers before,” she says, “but now we can offer students access 24/7. They won’t have to come in during operational hours. Students used to have to pick up mail between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and that’s class time, so it was difficult to fit it into their schedule. Having the lockers will make it very convenient — they can get their mail if we’re open or not.”

And that is a big deal. With a team of four full-timers and two work-study students, the in-plant processes around 125 packages of student mail per day, in addition to incoming letter mail, although that volume is slowly dwindling. Making the system work better for both her staff and community will make a huge difference going forward, she says.

An Unusual Path

An in-plant employee for 25 years now, Mazique has overseen the print operation for the past six years, and its mail operation for the past three. Her path into printing, however, wasn’t the most conventional.

“In a twist of fate, my journey into printing began during my night shifts as a custodial worker in the same building as Printing Services,” she notes. “Eager to assist, I volunteered my after-hours support to the printing staff, ensuring their print jobs were completed efficiently, allowing them to head home. That unexpected role as a volunteer sparked my interest in printing, leading me to explore and eventually embrace it as a part of my professional path. Sometimes, opportunities unfold in the most unexpected places.”

She credits her mother, as well as Willett Totten, director of technical services, and her current boss, Carla Martin, vice chancellor of the Division of Finance and Administration, as having a huge impact on this career change, and her ongoing success.

Fortunately, she says that neither her gender nor race have been a stumbling block for her, laughing, “I’m real opinionated too. I don’t mind using my words.”

While she hasn’t had any formal training, she does attend industry conferences, and says she can always find people who are willing to answer her questions and offer advice and their experience on how to get things done. “I’ve found that if you’re not afraid to carry a conversation when you sit down, you will start to run into people who are excited about meeting new people and want to hear about your experiences,” she says.

A Proud HBCU

Located about 40 minutes south of Little Rock, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is one of about 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the U.S., and is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year — an accomplishment that fills Mazique with pride.

Margaret Hall, the school’s director of Title III and development, says being designated an HBCU is a big deal because “we are one of over 100 schools that were established for the education of African Americans before 1964 — the oldest is Cheyney University, established in 1837.” Other notable historically Black colleges include Howard University and Florida A&M University, she notes, both schools that have impressive histories of their own, and she is proud to be counted among them.

Spending the Budget Wisely

Because the in-plant is entirely state-funded, it’s vital for Mazique and her team to make the most of every dollar spent. The operation has an annual operating budget of $375,000 for both print and mail, so Mazique must keep a close eye on money. Right now, there are no new equipment purchases on the horizon, she notes, but she is planning to hire two more people in the coming months to expand the shop’s services.

The shop’s current equipment mix includes several machines added over the past year, such as a Xanté En/Press, which joined an older Xanté Impressia for envelope printing. The in-plant also added an Epson SureColor P7570 last year, which joined its HP PageWide XL 5000 for printing wide-format work, such as information or presentation posters. The bulk of the in-plant’s work is printed on a pair of Konica Minolta AccurioPress C6085 color presses and an AccurioPress 6120 monochrome printer. Together, they produce projects such as stationery, manuals, tickets, and brochures. The mail operation runs a Pitney Bowes SendPro P/Connect+ 2000 mailing system.

To enable online ordering, the in-plant uses Print Shop Pro Web-to-print software from edu Business Solutions, which Mazique says has been “life-changing.”

“We were doing everything manually, but over the pandemic it really showed the need for a system like this,” she says. While the in-plant has been running the software for about eight years now, it truly proved its worth during the pandemic. “Regardless of where anyone was, people could submit print requests — they didn’t have to come into the physical location. And I can do reports in minutes instead of the days it used to take. When I first looked, I didn’t know if I could justify the expense. I had to make room in the budget to get it. But now everyone loves it.”

While Mazique notes that, in general, she tries to “stick to what we can accomplish,” and what the in-plant is good at, she strives to be the best resource for her university that she can be, and is always keeping her eye out for what’s new so she can advise the university if they ask about it.

“What sets our in-plant apart from others is our unparalleled understanding of the exact needs of our customers,” she notes. “By having an in-depth knowledge of the specific requirements and preferences of our university community, we are able to tailor our services to meet these needs with precision and excellence. This customer-centric approach distinguishes us, ensuring that every print and mail service we provide is not just a transaction, but a customized solution crafted to exceed expectations.”