Student Services

Southern University and A&M College Upgrades Mailing and Printing Ops

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 11/15/21

Southern University and A&M College has modernized its mail and printing operations, to notify recipients when mail has arrived for them and to expand in-house printing services. The Louisiana institution, which has 7,000 students and 1,500 staff and faculty members, worked with Ricoh USA on the initiatives.

A new campus mail center has replaced key-operated mailboxes with "high-density mailboxes." Students verify their identity with a tap of their ID badge. The mail center now also provides quotes for shipping via FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, to help users compare prices. The facility also sells packaging and mailing materials on site, reducing the need for people to go off campus to buy them.

On the print side, previously, the university had sent much of its high-end print work, including recruiting, flyers and business cards, out of house for completion. The institution was hoping to reduce costs, gain faster turnaround and enhance print quality by bringing that work on campus. The university has implemented three kinds of printers from Ricoh — the Pro C71100SX, RICOH Pro 8110Se black and white cutsheet printer, and Pro L4130 wide format color latex printer — enabling the school to begin printing pandemic-related health and safety signage in-house, along with recruitment materials, window clings, flyers, saddle-stitch booklets, classroom packets, exams, business cards, graduation banners, signage, calendars, event passes and announcement cards.

Both operations are being run by Ricoh.

"Ricoh had a full-blown plan for new equipment, remodeling the print and mail center, and providing additional services. That was a huge selling point for us," said Benjamin Pugh, vice chancellor for Finance and Administration at the university, in a case study about the implementation.