PLANNING GUIDE FOR COLLEGE PRINTING, PUBLICATIONS AND WEB PAGES

Overview

The Office of Marketing and Recruitment's primary interest in printing, publications and web pages is the development, editing, and design of information materials that accurately and effectively support the institutional image of the college. Special care is taken to ensure than such materials carry a strong South Plains College identify, covey a uniform, positive message consistent with professional standards, reflect good taste in design, and do an effective and efficient job of the intended purposes.
For practical purposes, publications at South Plains College are defined as printed or electronic materials that take the form of flyers, handbooks, brochures, handbills, multi-page booklets, magazines, newsletters, posters, cards, folders, schedules, catalogs and web pages.
Special functions of the printing and publications operations of the Office of Marketing and Recruitment include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Preparing publications funded through the College's printing budgets, including the general catalog, general information brochure, departmental brochures, scholarship guidebook, campus maps, posters, class schedules, special newsletters, sports programs, special brochures and other materials;

2. Supervising production of other college materials that are printed, including college stationery and envelopes, business cards, employment applications, scholarship applications, business forms and other items;

3. Coordinating and organizing the content, design and use of the college’s website.

4. Assisting College staff with designing in-house publications; and editing, designing and publishing in-house publications, such as the personnel directory, academic planner and calendar, telephone extension directory, special reports and documents as needed.

Creation of a Publication or Web Page

Individuals with suggestions or a defined need for new or particular types of publications, printed materials or web pages should contact the Associate Dean of Marketing and Recruitment at least six weeks prior to the date the publication or materials are needed. Some publications or web projects may require more lead time depending upon the size or complexity of the project or upon the number of projects already underway in the Office of Marketing and Recruitment . All publications, printed materials or web pages at South Plains College should have a stated purpose that clearly describes the intended use of the piece.

Publication Budgets

Each College printing budget includes a list of items to be printed within a specific school year. Other publications or printed materials must be paid from budgets of the office requesting the materials. The source of funding for a particular publication does not have any bearing on the quality and design control jurisdiction already defined for the Office of Marketing and Recruitment .
Printing Schedules

In August, the Associate Dean of Marketing and Recruitment compiles a master publications calendar, showing the production schedule for all major publications during the school year. Copies of the calendar are distributed to each department or office responsible for coordinating a printing project with the Office of Marketing and Recruitment . To assure production of college publications on schedule, all parties involved in the project must meet the deadlines on the master publications calendar.

Publications Production

During the production of a typical college publication, a deadline for each step of production is established. The deadlines must be met if the target date for publication use is to be assured.
First, the college employee responsible for using a publication should contact the Associate Dean of Marketing and Recruitment for an appointment to discuss the overall project. The most important points of the discussion will center on the purpose of the publication, the target audience of the publication, and the message the publication is to carry to its intended audience.
Then, appropriate decisions can be made about photographs, artwork, graphics, copy, format, color, paper stock and estimated cost.

If the office responsible for using the publication is submitting recommended copy, a conference with the Associate Dean of Marketing and Recruitment is needed prior to copy being prepared so that correct publications form and style will be followed. Accuracy is imperative in college publications; therefore, information with correct spelling and facts should be submitted. The Office of Marketing and Recruitment reserves the right to edit all submitted copy for clarity of message, factualness, grammar and style.
Persons coordinating the publication with the Office of Marketing and Recruitment will be given the opportunity to check all final copy, photographs and artwork before the job is taken to the printer. Camera-ready proof pages will be provided to facilitate this process.

Publication Uniformity

Knowing that the College's printed publications and materials directly impact its public image, steps have been taken to tailor South Plains College's publications program to reflect a contemporary, progressive image. The goal of the College's publication efforts is to produce information pieces, which are unified in design and message. As a result, a specific design and format have been developed for departmental and program brochures and student recruitment materials. The Office of Marketing and Recruitment is responsible for determining design considerations related to color, format, style and content, which contribute to a unified publications image.
Use of College Logos in Publications

The logos utilized to represent South Plains College have been designed with specific visual messages in mind. An understanding of these messages and their intent helps direct the appropriate use of the College’s logos.

Specific policies and guidelines governing the use of College logos can be found in Section HP.