As of Jan. 3, LSU Printing Services will no longer be in operation.
The decision was made after a Printing Services review team was formed in February to evaluate the effectiveness and productivity of the outfit, according to Herb Vincent, associate vice chancellor for communications.
“After an evaluation of our business operations, we determined this particular unit wasn’t being as financially productive as it needed to be,” Vincent said.
The decision was made as part of the LSU Plan for Greater Impact on Louisiana — an initiative designed to efficiently plan for the University’s future in light of budget cuts.
“Through the review, the team found that industry changes resulted in less demand for traditional printing and, coupled with other factors, meant an annual loss for several years,” according to a University news release.
The closure was announced in June, and since then, 12 of the 32 employees affected have either retired, resigned or found other jobs, Vincent said, adding that representatives from LSU Office of Human Resource Management have been working with the affected employees to “make the transition as smooth as possible.”
Vincent said a few students were working for printing services, but they will likely be transitioned to another department.
“There is no anticipated job loss for students,” he said.
Printing Services, located on River Road, is a division of Procurement Auxiliary Services and offers binding, digital, offset and wide-format printing.
Vincent said students rarely used the service.
“People from all over campus used Printing Services for things like small binding jobs, annual reports and newsletters,” Vincent said. “But there was very minimal use from students, and the ones that did mainly used it for binding of thesis work.”
By closing Printing Services, other divisions of PAS like University Stores and Copy and Print can be more efficient, Vincent said.
Vincent said all campus departments and colleges will start using off-campus vendors for printing services using state purchasing rules, which will cover expenses up to $5,000.
“We’ve already started distributing a list of approved vendors throughout the University,” he said.
 
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Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]