La Quinta, CA – Like many other large public school systems around the nation, the Desert Sands Unified School District serving a combined student population of about 30,000 in the seven southern California communities of Coachella, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Bermuda Dunes and Rancho Mirage will produce yearbooks by the thousands for students and families who wish to preserve precious memories of the school year.

But unlike most school systems, the Desert Sands Unified School District's Graphic Services department is taking a new approach to yearbook production that should bring smiles to school administrators and taxpayers – as well as to the students.

To achieve this feat, the department recently installed a new color digital printing press and integrated book production line from Xerox Corporation, with plans this spring to produce full-color, softcover yearbooks for many of its 20 elementary schools, explains Graphic Services Manager John Gildner.

The new production line, which features a high-speed Xerox iGen4TM press operating in-line with an automated C.P. Bourg BBF2005 Book Factory, Bourg BPRFx perforating rotating folder and a three-knife trimmer, makes it possible to produce and bind softcover books of various sizes and types in monochrome to full-color automatically and on demand, as they are needed.

The Bourg Book Factory is fully integrated with the Xerox iGen4 press, and uniquely able to match the printer's speed and versatility. A single operator can control the binding operation from a color touchscreen to produce up to 300 perfect-bound books per hour in finished, pre-trimmed sizes from 8-1/4 by 5-1/2 inches to 14 by 12 inches, and up to 1.57 inches thick.

"We chose this print manufacturing solution to increase our efficiency and add value to the work we produce," says Mr. Gildner. "With it, we expect to save enough on production to cover the cost of the equipment, while gaining better control of the process.

"The anticipated cost savings could enable some schools in the district to offer yearbooks at a price more families can afford, which fits well with our charter to support strategic educational initiatives and provide added value to the entire school district," he explains.

In addition to producing yearbooks, the new production line will be used for many other jobs throughout the year, from printing newsletters to printing and binding legal documents. As one example, Mr. Gildner describes using the new system soon after it was installed to produce 1,700 union contracts printed on tabloid size paper and finished as soft-bound books.

"The system worked perfectly," says Mr. Gildner.  "We cut our production time dramatically – and the books looked great!"