Atlanta based MARTA is the seventh largest public transit system in North American with over 5,000 employees that provides bus, rail and paratransit service to an average of 560,000 passengers daily. With the third largest Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus fleet in the U.S., MARTA is the first transit agency to provide direct access to a major airline in one of its 36 rail stations. MARTA is also the first agency in the country to pioneer the largest Transit Oriented Development, a mixed-use development of commercial, residential, and retail integration. Keenan Frizzell manages the print production area of the organization.

Keenan, tell us about the process of procuring print for MARTA.

We have multiple people who order printing. Each person that orders printing has a preferred vendor but stays open minded to accept bids from any company. Bottom line, the lowest bid is awarded the business. Being over the printing department, I am one of the main buyers of printing. As a whole, we outsource $76,000 a month. As a group we have about 25 vendors. They initially earned the business by proposing the lowest bid and they keep the business relationship by delivering a quality product with an agreeable delivery time.

We have a large variety of documents that are printed. The majority of our documents are given to the public, because those people are riding our buses and trains. They have to stay informed of things happening and changing. The other items we print are used internally.

How do you evaluate vendors and what tips do you have for other buyers?

I make sure the printing company is local and they offer free pick up and delivery of all orders. I also recommend checking references on the company to ensure they have quality and the turnaround time you expect. I have a good relationship with all of my vendors. I tell vendors from the start that I am straight forward and I do not tolerate surprises - that way they understand how I prefer to do business from day one. You have to be very frank and to the point with vendors in order to have a good working relationship.

What would cause you to stop using a print vendor?

Poor quality and unacceptable delivery time, but I give a vendor a few chances before making the decision to stop doing business with them.

You print many of your documents internally. Describe your capabilities and plans for the future of your department.

With all the new digital equipment on the market today, it seems to be more affordable to purchase. I see companies buying new equipment and doing more in house. In April 2001, we will be purchasing an image setter, black and color digital equipment and bindery equipment. This will save Marta about $30,000 a month, without having to hire any new staff.

We have graphic artists to design print projects and have equipment for proofing these projects, before they go to print. We have a camera department that produces negatives, bluelines and plates for printing in our volume print department. The volume department consists of a 25" Heidelberg (sork) press, polar cutter, and a Stahl folder. This department handles the printing of all the bus schedules for Marta and we have 187 bus schedules. We print 30,000 to 40,000 bus schedules for each run. The equipment we are currently using does a wonderful job for us.

The quick copy department has Xerox, Risograph and AB Dick equipment that handles all of the printing of 10,000 quantity or less. The majority of the work is 8.5 x 11 - spiral bound books and carbonless forms.

We like to ask print buyers what the ultimate print provider would be like?

Promptly pick up my print order and have a guaranteed delivery time on each order. Be able to perform excellent printing quality for every job printed. Have the pricing structure that I have became accustomed to. If this SUPER PRINT PROVIDER exist, tell them to call me.

Thank you Keenan, for sharing the inside workings of your print production and buying procedures.