AIKCU is pleased to announce that it has partnered with international printing and marketing services company St Ives US Division (http://www.st-ives-usa.com). Along with competitive pricing on St Ives’ extensive print and marketing services - including alumni magazines, development and recruitment publications, variable data printing, and other printing, mailing and marketing needs - this partnership provides AIKCU campuses with training opportunities and evaluation services to help campuses maximize the efficiency and impact of their print communications and marketing efforts.

AIKCU’s office of Business Services develops partnerships with a variety of companies – from office products to insurance to technology to recycling providers – that draw on the collaborative purchasing power of the Association and help campuses maximize operating efficiencies. Participation in the St Ives partnership, like all AIKCU business partnerships, is optional for individual campuses.

The St Ives partnership offers the following benefits for member campuses:

• Competitive pricing on print, variable data marketing, mailing, and web-to-print solutions tailored to campus needs and targeted to provide savings over current solutions.
• The development of additional graduated group-buy discount opportunities based on total AIKCU volume purchases for planned, programmatic projects to be developed (like a collaborative quarterly alumni magazine printing schedule or a collaborative promotional campaign).
• A personal customer service representative who will, on request, evaluate current printing and/or direct mail marketing practices to help campuses develop strategies to both control costs and create efficiencies in the workflow and production of printed materials.
• A secure online portal connecting participating campuses to St Ives’s online project management and proofing solutions.
• Informational/training opportunities for AIKCU membership groups that may include: printing technologies, prepress design and file preparation, variable data marketing, maximizing mailing efficiencies/new postal regulations, and other areas of St Ives expertise.

The development of free training opportunities is one of the key components of the St Ives partnership that adds value for all AIKCU member campuses, regardless of whether or not they choose to do business with St Ives. St Ives has agreed to develop a series of training events focused on a variety of topics related to campus communications and marketing efforts, including: design and prepress, printing, variable data printing, direct mail marketing, and other related areas.

The first training session, open to all AIKCU member staff with responsibilities for or interest in print communications, will be held Thursday, November 1st, at noon at the Kentucky Broadcasters Association building in Frankfort (across the street from the AIKCU office). The training will focus on developing design and prepress techniques to improve workflows and production.