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Gaston County highlights in-house print shop and mail services as cost-saving operations
Summary
County staff described the in-house print shop's capabilities and said repeated comparisons show in-house printing costs less than outsourcing; Mario Gordon, the county mail carrier, outlined daily routes and emphasized timely delivery.
GASTON COUNTY — County staff presented an overview of Gaston County's in-house print and mail operations, saying the print shop handles a broad range of products and that keeping work inside the county yields measurable savings.
An unidentified print-shop staff member told the meeting the shop is "basically a full service print shop," producing "copies, banners, yard signs" and custom decals. The staff member said they have worked in the printing industry since 1995 and that the shop has expanded its services over time to keep pace with technology.
The staff member described the intake process for jobs and said the county uses a help-desk ticket system to triage requests by urgency. "We try to send them in order of, you know, if there's a rush job on it, we'll get to that first," the speaker said, and summarized the steps: ticket access, setup, printing, cutting, boxing and delivery.
On cost, the staff member said the county has run the numbers "3 or 4 different times" comparing in-house work with outsourcing and concluded it is less expensive to keep printing in-house because private vendors must cover building and staff overhead. "When you break the cost down, it's it's a no brainer on that end. It is gonna save money," the speaker said.
Equipment and capacity were described in practical terms: the shop's wide-format unit can print certain stocks in about an hour and can produce double-sided jobs faster. The shop also offers booklet finishing and a mail room attached to the operation.
Mario Gordon, introduced by staff, identified himself as a county mail carrier. "My name is Mario Gordon. I'm a mail carrier for the county," he said, and described his daily routine: he wakes in the early morning, arrives at the post office annex by about 6:30 a.m. and visits "every department every day." Gordon said he aims to deliver important forms and packages promptly and that he averages roughly 15,000 steps per day on his route.
County staff closed by reiterating the priority given to county work over outside jobs and listing the shop's services, including color and black-and-white copies, stickers, door decals, banners and retractable displays for events and trade shows.
The presentation did not include a formal motion or vote. No specific figures were provided for annual printing volume, total budget savings, or the number of outside clients served; those details were not specified in the presentation.
