More than just printing

Uniprint Production Technician (ID Cards) Ben Robinson (right) and Customer Service Assistant Jacinta Dunn at the Uniprint Central Library branch front desk.

What do ID cards, course notes, theses, and graduation certificates all have in common?

If you're an Otago tauira or kaimahi, the answer lies in the who rather than the what. The team behind these, and a range of other printing solutions, is Uniprint.

Uniprint General Manager (Acting) Martin Jones says there's not many students or staff members on campus who haven't interacted with Uniprint, whether they know it or not.

"When you get your ID card or use the uniFlow printers on campus or sit an exam, Uniprint is involved."

Uniprint supports tauira and kaimahi through four streams of work, Martin says.

"These are printing solutions, examinations support, uniflow printers we manage on behalf of Canon, and ID cards.

"From day one of university to graduation, we support students in their journey through the services we provide."

Uniprint Operations Manager Glen Fowler says ID cards are key to several services that students and staff access.

"If your ID card is not working for any reason, or you need a replacement, talk to the Uniprint team. You can reach out to us over email or meet our team at any of our locations, like the Central Library branch."

Another thing to remember is that you can reach out to Uniprint for bulk or specialist printing.

"It doesn't have to be for university or study purposes only.

"Our services are open to the public too. You can come to us for printing for your clubs or personal needs or even if you are part of any external charitable organisation for example.

"We also offer scanning, lamination, printed stationery, promotional flyer printing, pull-up banners and more. We have high-quality machines so jobs can be done much faster and to a higher specification."

For postgraduate students, Uniprint has a range of services from printing theses to binding.

"Mail merge and distribution is quite helpful; a recent example is sending out research surveys to a database for PhD research.

"We have templates for research poster design, which we direct students to. We also check that the posters have the correct branding on them before printing and can offer guidance on design."

The team's support goes beyond printing too, Glen says.

"We offer print and graphic design consultancy services, where we can guide you through the whole process from design to delivery.

"We have a lot of staff with a lot of experience who can help, and if we can't do it for you in-house, we will give advice on whom to approach."

Uniprint Operations Manager Glen Fowler (right) with Customer Services Representative Dale Blanc at the Albany Street Branch. In the background, the guillotine machine, that trims paper to specification.

Production Manager (Acting) Debra Evans-Turner is one of the key team members supporting examinations at Otago.

Her work involves coordinating with the Examinations Office and departments, organising the printing and delivery of exams, and scanning and marking of multi-choice answer sheets.

Debra also works with the Disability Information and Support Office for students requiring alternate arrangements during exams.

Exams are a "very intense, high security, six-to-eight-week period" every semester, she says.

"In semester one this year, we printed 30,099 exam scripts for 328 exams, with approximately 1,500 of those being alternate arrangements.

"We also scanned and marked about 17,000 multi-choice answer sheets."

When it comes to multi-choice exams and answer sheets, there's a few important things to remember, Debra says.

"The system we use to read multi-choice answer sheets are highly sensitive.

"The blank answer sheets cannot be photocopied and printed on any standard machine. If you use an older version of the answer sheet or a photocopied one, the system will not accept it.

"Students must carry their ID card and fill in their ID number clearly and in the correct spot on the answer sheet. The kind of pencil used and how they fill in the circles to mark their answers is also important. We have a video showing how to do it correctly."

For the Uniprint team, it's all part and parcel of their everyday - sometimes big, sometimes small, sometimes fancy, and sometimes not.

"Nothing's too small. If it's one thing, it's okay. If it's 2,000 things, then it's okay too. We don't turn anybody away," Debra says.

~ Kōreo by Sandra French, Adviser, Internal Communications