Ted Bailey: A Printer from the Start

Ted Bailey’s dedication to printing began at an early age. During his high school years in Ontario, Calif., Bailey, now manager of printing and graphic services at Boise State University, worked for a commercial printer, along with his brother, doing miscellaneous bindery work. After taking some graphic arts classes, he was hooked.

So, the brothers bought a Multilith press from a bank’s in-plant and set up shop in a bedroom at their parents’ house. While their income initially went toward parties and gas money, Ted was getting serious about printing.

“I decided I wanted to make a career of it, so I applied to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo,” he reflects. There, he studied printing and graduated with a graphic communication major.

Bailey went to work for KP Corp. in San Diego in 1976. He started in estimating, then transitioned to sales and later become the general manager. He worked there for 16 years.

In 1992, looking for a smaller community in which they could enjoy the outdoors, Bailey and his family moved to Idaho. In Boise, Bailey took a position as a production manager for a commercial printer, then went to work for a trade color separation house for about six years.

The lure of the outdoors is strong in Idaho, so it 1999, Bailey and his wife took a break from their careers to work in Yellowstone National Park.

“It was a wonderful experience, and I do not regret taking the break,” he says.

In 2001 he applied for an opening as the in-plant manager at Boise State University and got the job.

“The shop was pretty stable when I came on board, but it needed a lot of marketing efforts to renew itself,” reflects Bailey. “The majority of customers were frustrated that there wasn’t a good customer service manager.”

He worked with the staff to get them to pay better attention to details, meet deadlines and stress quality control. It worked, and service improved.

To keep his staff motivated to continue pleasing customers, Bailey uses a bit of bribery. “I buy a lot of doughnuts,” he laughs. “I try to reward them on an ongoing basis. Anytime we get positive notes from customers, I buy pastries.”

Over the years, Bailey has implemented some big changes, such as adding a Xerox iGen3 and migrating from offset to digital. He has also implemented multi-channel communication services, and handles e-mail blasts, personalized URLs and Web site design and maintenance. Bailey has also established continuous process control measures and instituted a recycling program.

Bailey’s in-plant operates on a 1.5 million budget with 12 full-time and four part-time employees plus about six students. They are scattered throughout the main print production facility, the satellite copy center, sign shop and Web/graphic design department. The main 5,000-square-foot in-plant operates the iGen3, a Xerox 4112 black-and-white digital printer and a two-color Heidelberg Quickmaster. Over the next year, the shop will be moving to accommodate a new classroom building.

Seeking New Business

Bailey’s biggest challenge is one the industry constantly faces: a shrinking demand for print.

“Finding other revenue streams to maintain our sustainability and profitability is an ongoing challenge,” he explains. “You read about in-plants closing. We don’t want to be one of those statistics.”

But Bailey is very happy with how the in-plant has been able to adapt. “Just the fact that we’re still here is a success, and I mean that very genuinely and seriously,” he says. He also prides himself on how self-sustaining the in-plant is and how hard it works to maintain sound finances for the university.

In his spare time, Bailey has a couple of acres at home that need constant attention. He and his family also enjoy fishing, hunting, backpacking and bike riding throughout the Idaho countryside. Bailey is an avid reader, who can be found reading copies of William F. Buckley and Clive Cussler novels. He also spends time with his wife of 39 years, Sharon, who was his high school sweetheart. They have two children, both of whom are grown and have their own careers, but not in printing. “I didn’t encourage them to come into the printing industry. I let them decide what they wanted to do,” he says.

As far as his own career, Bailey is exactly where he wants to be. “I chose printing in high school and have never regretted it,” he says. “And, from the time I graduated college, I always wanted to be involved in an in-plant operation.” IPG