[5653] in APO Printshop
Re: ordering stock for the press
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Ellen Kranzer)
Mon Mar 9 00:42:36 2009
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 00:42:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ellen Kranzer <ccrazy@MIT.EDU>
To: Nicole D Teague <nteague@MIT.EDU>
cc: Cat Thu Nguyen Huu <catthu@MIT.EDU>,
"Leonard H Tower Jr." <tower@alum.MIT.EDU>,
Matthew S Goldstein <austein@MIT.EDU>,
apo-printshop-journeyman@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <20090308185742.hwbv0p2h9sao0448@webmail.mit.edu>
That sounds like the right ballpark to me.
Thank you for working through the old records and figuring this out.
Y.i.S.
Ellen
On Sun, 8 Mar 2009, Nicole D Teague wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> Based on old operations ledgers, control ledgers, current accounts, ect. I
> have
> concluded that the opening budget of the press shop fund in F02 was $1130.68
> and the current balance is $1250.54. If anyone thinks this sounds deeply
> flawed
> in some manner, please let me know.
>
> Nicole
>
>
> Quoting Cat Thu Nguyen Huu <catthu@MIT.EDU>:
>
>> Hi Len,
>>
>> To answer two questions at once, I didn't pre-order the 5 1/2 bar cream
>> paneled/non-paneled announcement cards/ envelopes because I did check our
>> current inventory before going to Paperworks, and it turned out that we
>> still have plenty of them. We also have some of the other sized cream
>> cards, but not in substantial amount, and we basically run out of white
>> stock. Since all the non-announcement stock has been moved to under the
>> stone desk, all the announcement stock is now on the shelves and is easy
>> to quickly check, should you feel inclined to do so.
>>
>> I wasn't aware of the Lee size, and would also be grateful to be given a
>> reminder on what it is. I'm sorry if you have mentioned this when we
>> talked at the beginning of the semester, I must have forgotten about it
>> when trying to remember everything from the top of my head. I was also
>> aware that you want the folders, however I believe I forgot to ask you how
>> many/ what sizes/ what colors you want them in, so I didn't put them in my
>> original list to Paperworks.
>>
>> The doubling of some colors/sizes was due to my interpretation of what you
>> said, which was that I should think about what and how many to order. As
>> you pointed out to Matt, few press shop managers had the time to really
>> get around restocking the print shop, so when someone does it's probably a
>> good idea to order in large amount. I understood that you'd like the press
>> shop to be restocked once a semester, and while I'm not sure whether it's
>> a better approach, apparently we haven't been doing that so there's no
>> reason to assume that we will do that in the future. Cost-wise, it's
>> probably also a good idea since the price is likely to go up in the future
>> just like everything else, and it's not like the cards will disappear if
>> we don't use them before a certain time. It also optimizes other fixed
>> costs such as delivery cost, which I wasn't sure whether we would need.
>> Let me know if I miss something.
>>
>> Let me remind you that I made it very clear to Paperworks and everyone
>> else that the pre-order list is subject to changes. Also, I have sent
>> several inquiries to the treasurer about the structure and balance of the
>> press fund before actually contacting Paperworks, but unfortunately she
>> didn't reply to any of my emails. The only information that I have gotten
>> from the treasurer about the press fund is when I talked to her in person
>> and learned that we had no record of the balance in the recent years, and
>> I accordingly raised the problem to apo-printshop. I'm grateful that you
>> took the initiative and responsibility yourself in working with Nicole to
>> figure this out; but if that's somehow inconvenient for you and you'd
>> rather I do it, then you should first let me know and I'll be happy to
>> work on it or direct someone else to work on it.
>>
>> I think you somehow have the impression that initiatives on things
>> involving the printshop have to come from the press shop manager. To make
>> it unambiguous: this is not true. While all decisions regarding the
>> printshop should be made under the approval and responsibility of the
>> manager, everyone is welcomed to contribute ideas and give opinions, and
>> in fact that's what people have been doing. Relating this point back to
>> things that we're currently dealing with: if you somehow think that it
>> would save you much effort and time if you ordered and restocked the press
>> shop, and would rather do it yourself, then please by all means let me
>> know. It would indeed also save me a lot of time and effort.
>>
>> I hope that answered all your questions, in enough details and
>> transparency.
>>
>> Cat
>>
>> On Mar 4, 2009, at 12:02 AM, Leonard H Tower Jr. wrote:
>>
>>> hi all,
>>>
>>> i'll cover:
>>> why is Press Fund being budgeted?
>>> what to order from Paperworks + why
>>> yes, we can afford this
>>>
>>> * why is Press Fund being budgeted?
>>>
>>> it's been mentioned that the Press Fund had a budget of $50.00 this
>>> term
>>>
>>> is this from the Chapter Fund or Press Fund?
>>>
>>> what is this money meant to be used for?
>>>
>>> why is the Press Fund budgeted at all?
>>> (it's unusual for this kind of fund to be budgeted, in the way AX
>>> does budgeting - it's a manufacturing operation from an accounting
>>> prespective, and is usually handled quite differently)
>>>
>>> * what to order + why
>>>
>>> lorit told me that paperworks no longer have 500 envelopes in a box,
>>> and so their websight confirms - http://www.paperworks.com/
>>>
>>> so all the counts should be 250/box
>>>
>>> the following is my understanding of what cat suggested ordering
>>> (i added counts at the front,
>>> fixed the typo -> "6 bar cream plain (non-paneled)")
>>>
>>> 250 - 4 bar white paneled cards
>>> 250 - 4 bar white envelopes
>>> 500 - 4 bar cream paneled cards x2
>>> 500 - 4 bar cream envelopes x2
>>> 500 - 5 1/2 bar white paneled cards x2
>>> 500 - 5 1/2 bar white plain (non-paneled) cards x2
>>> 1,000 - 5 1/2 bar white envelopes x4
>>> 500 - 6 bar white paneled cards x2
>>> 500 - 6 bar white plain (non-paneled) cards x2
>>> 500 - 6 bar cream paneled cards x2
>>> 500 - 6 bar cream plain (non-paneled) cards x2
>>> 1,000 - 6 bar cream envelopes x4
>>>
>>> i should have asked cat for the present inventory, but i suggested
>>> she do that before putting an order together, so i assume she has
>>> taken the present inventory into account
>>>
>>> the Press Shop has for most of it's the four decades, brought the
>>> inventory up @ least once each term to:
>>> - 250 or each size and color of announcement card, and
>>> - 500 of each size and color of announcement envelope
>>>
>>> cat's proposal is more generous than that, which allocates more
>>> funds to the inventory
>>>
>>> imho, it be more useful to use those funds to also the stock the
>>> "Lee" size in each color, as well as the foldovers, so reducing the
>>> amounts cat suggested is a better use of the funds
>>>
>>> note, that jobs using this stock, seldom use more than 150-200
>>> sets. so why do we need more than 250 of each kind?
>>>
>>> so change the amounts cat suggest to:
>>>
>>> 250 - 4 bar white paneled cards
>>> 250 - 4 bar white envelopes
>>> 250 - 4 bar cream paneled cards
>>> 250 - 4 bar cream envelopes
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 bar white paneled cards
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 bar white plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 500 - 5 1/2 bar white envelopes x2
>>> 250 - 6 bar white paneled cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar white plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar cream paneled cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar cream plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 500 - 6 bar cream envelopes x2
>>>
>>> add these missing envelopes
>>>
>>> 500 - 6 bar white envelopes x2
>>>
>>> add 5 1/2 Cream
>>>
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 bar cream paneled cards
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 bar cream plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 500 - 5 1/2 bar cream envelopes x2
>>>
>>> add the Lee size
>>>
>>> 250 - Lee white paneled cards
>>> 250 - Lee white plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 500 - Lee white envelopes x2
>>> 250 - Lee cream paneled cards
>>> 250 - Lee cream plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 500 - Lee cream envelopes x2
>>>
>>> add the Foldovers in (no more envelopes - it be rare that all three
>>> style in one size and color will be used in a term)
>>>
>>> 250 - 4 bar white foldover paneled cards
>>> 250 - 4 bar cream foldover paneled cards
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 foldover bar white paneled cards
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 foldover bar white plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 foldover bar cream paneled cards
>>> 250 - 5 1/2 foldover bar cream plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar white foldover paneled cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar white foldover plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar cream foldover paneled cards
>>> 250 - 6 bar cream foldover plain (non-paneled) cards
>>> 250 - Lee white paneled foldover cards
>>> 250 - Lee white plain foldover (non-paneled) cards
>>> 250 - Lee cream paneled foldover cards
>>> 250 - Lee cream plain foldover (non-paneled) cards
>>>
>>> i couldn't find the 4 and 5 foldovers on the websight, but cat could
>>> double check that Paperworks really does not carry them
>>>
>>> add enough of each color of Ideal Jersey round corner card stock
>>> so the inventory of each color is between 3 boxes (1500) and 4 boxes
>>> (2000) - Ideal Jersey Cards only come in one size
>>>
>>> my recommendation here is based on what's happened in the past,
>>> while allowing for reasonable growth in what's printed in the Press
>>> Shop as the number of jobs it does grows.
>>>
>>> other comments?
>>>
>>> * yes, AX can afford this
>>>
>>> ** first, keeping samples in the shop, and ordering as needed doesn't
>>> work well in practice
>>>
>>> for training and qualifying runs, it would add too much time to
>>> the run to have the trainee/qualee do it (8 to 10 hours is already
>>> VERY long to learn a chapter skill), limit the design choices
>>> (design is a key part of printing, and the most fun part of
>>> the process for many), etc.
>>>
>>> it also lengthens how long it takes to get a job done between the
>>> time a press op accepts an order, and the time it's delivered to
>>> the client. though in theory, one can call Paperworks, and go out
>>> that day, or in a few days (depending on whether they have the
>>> stock in Allston, or have to order it themselves), most busy mit
>>> press ops don't have the time to do this
>>>
>>> and if either someone doesn't go out to Allston to pick up the
>>> stock, then someone has to spend a morning or afternoon waiting in
>>> the APOffice for the call from the loading dock to come down and
>>> get it from Paperwork's driver (and they charge added shipping in
>>> this case, which the press shop has to charge the client, some
>>> way). also the press shop manager and treasurer has more
>>> paperwork and transactions to deal with
>>>
>>> which is why the Press Shop has kept a broad inventory, that
>>> allows jobs to get done more quickly
>>>
>>> ** i spoke with Nicole last week about the Press Fund balance
>>>
>>> - she verified that when the switch to the gnu cash on-line system
>>> was made, the press fund balance started @ $0.00 (zero ) in Fall
>>> 2002
>>>
>>> - she said it currently showed a little over a $100.00
>>> (i forgot to write that down)
>>>
>>> - we quickly looked through the safe and found the journal that
>>> showed the Press Fund had a balance of $1000.96 on 30 june 2001.
>>> (this is what i remembered it having about that time)
>>>
>>> i need to do a number of things before nicole can reset the
>>> balance, but it appears we have around $1,100.00 in the Press
>>> Fund
>>>
>>> these include: looking for the treasury records between 30 june
>>> 2001 and Fall 2002. checking against the records the Press
>>> Shop have. looking over all transactions for the Press Fund in
>>> the gnucash system since it started
>>>
>>> this currently has priority behind train/qual runs, the small
>>> press cart, and answering cat's and press ops questions
>>>
>>> ** even if the Press Fund doesn't have the money, the Chapter Fund
>>> can in effect lend the Press Fund the money
>>>
>>> the Press Shop inventory has value, and is sold, and the cash
>>> comes back
>>>
>>> it's not like, e.g., food for a meeting, that is brought and gone
>>> forever
>>>
>>> cat: so i suggest you go ahead and order what the Press Shop needs
>>>
>>> yiLFS -len
>>
>>
>
>
>
