SAN LUIS OBISPO – The UPS Store and the Graphic Communication Institute (GrCI) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, have developed a new training program designed to help The UPS Store network advance its capabilities in the commercial printing industry.
 
The three-day program, led by the faculty and staff of Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department, provides participants an intensive, hands-on experience using the latest software and digital printing and finishing technologies.
 
"As small businesses look for cost-effective marketing solutions, we feel this training enables us to enhance the print capabilities and support infrastructure for The UPS Store network," said Bill Martin, the company's vice president of print services. "Eighty percent of the U.S. population lives within five miles of one of The UPS Store's nearly 4,400 branches, allowing us to efficiently serve the print needs of individuals, small businesses and enterprise customers with distributed workforces."
 
Twelve three-day programs were recently conducted at Cal Poly over a six-month period for approximately 150 representatives of The UPS Store from across the United States. Those representatives will train their employees at The UPS Store locations nationwide. The intention is to provide The UPS Store network the knowledge and tools needed to produce high-quality print materials for customers, from simple fliers, brochures and letterheads to more complex full-color booklets and customized calendars.
 
"While much of the commercial printing industry is in retrenchment, The UPS Store is expanding as a new resource for printing services in nearly every community – sort of a rebirth of the neighborhood print shop in a new and improved digital form," said Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department. "This is good for customers, good for the vendors, and good for the printing industry as a whole."
 
Approximately 550 hours went into producing the program. Equipment suppliers, including HP, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Xerox, Martin Yale, GBC, Baumfolder and Southwest Binding & Laminating, installed the equipment in Cal Poly's laboratories for the training.
 
"This program is by far the most intensive we've done in the decades we've been conducting training for the industry," Levenson said.
 
GrCI Manager Lyndee Sing said, "The graphic arts industry is changing, and many more of today's customers are looking for companies that can provide short-run color and on-demand printing. I have no doubt that with the training received at Cal Poly, The UPS Store is now better able to understand the expectations of their customers and how to meet them."