Printing and Publication Expenditures

September 30, 2009

UCLA Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost


Vice Chancellors, Deans, Directors, and Administrative Officers
 

Dear Colleagues:

In this difficult time, there are simple steps we all can take to reduce expenditures.  One category deserving of scrutiny is printing, particularly of publications and marketing materials.

Hard-copy “internal” marketing — brochures and other advertising materials sent by one department to another, or to internal audiences of faculty, students and staff — should be eliminated.  Please use e-mail and the web for communications to internal audiences.

We also see far too many hard copy materials produced for external audiences.  This is not the time to routinely update materials or repeat the publication cycles of years past.  Printed invitations can be replaced with E-vites, hard copy newsletters with email versions, etc.

Such efforts reduce costs and serve UCLA’s sustainability objectives.  A reduction of print and proper utilization of electronic media also can be more effective, as well as less expensive.

For those cases when printed materials are necessary, be certain that you have a realistic appraisal of the quantities needed.  Be skeptical of materials created “to hand out” in some unspecified way at some later date.  In some circumstances, on-demand digital printing may be an effective alternative to conventional print runs.

Associate Vice Chancellor Lawrence Lokman’s University Communications unit may be able to assist you in developing better and more cost effective alternatives to current efforts.  We estimate that campus-wide savings in printing and publications could be in the neighborhood of $4 million annually — budget dollars that we vitally need to avoid layoffs and programmatic cuts.

Administrative Vice Chancellor Sam Morabito and I will review printing and publication expenses throughout the year to ensure that we are meeting our goals.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Waugh
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost