Mizzou to phase out printing operations but will keep University Stores in-house

Citing numerous factors, Mizzou officials have announced that they will phase out the university’s printing services operation in Columbia within the next calendar year.

That facility is on east Columbia’s McGuire Boulevard, near Lemone Industrial drive. Mizzou’s Print and Mail services has been serving campus needs since 1935.

Mizzou officials say the current business model for printing services is not sustainable. They say revenue has declined by 50 percent in the past decade and that operating costs are projected to increase. They also cite staffing challenges at the printing operation, saying they’ve lost nine full-time staff members in the past five years and have had a difficult time filling vacant positions.

The university says key pieces of printing equipment need repair, including a saddle stitching machine. Mizzou says a repair would be $60,000, while a machine replacement could cost $500,000.

Mizzou vice chancellor Sarah Chinniah says printing services remains committed to its customers and that they’ll continue to fulfill orders through the transition. A University spokesman tells our news partner KMIZ that a couple of dozen employees will lose their jobs.

Meantime, Mizzou has decided to continue operating University Stores in-house. University Stores include the Tiger Team Store, the Mizzou Store and UMKC bookstore. UM System spokesman Christian Basi says University Stores remains financially independent. Basi says University Stores has also contributed $20-million in student scholarships and capital reserves in the past five years, while putting $13-million toward deferred maintenance in the MU Student Center.