The University of Wisconsin-Madison StudentPrint laid off all 23 employees and transitioned into a self-service shop called the Registered Student Organization (RSO) Print and Resource Center on Sept. 1 after 25 years of student-run printing services.
StudentPrint, a nonprofit formerly owned by the Associated Students of Madison, gave students the opportunity to run a business while servicing nearly all of campus printing needs, including RSO merchandise, the Student Organization Fair map and the semesterly bus pass.
But StudentPrint suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to former employees. After nearly closing its doors, the Wisconsin Union Directorate bought StudentPrint in 2021.
Three years after the Union buyout, workers received an email from the Union on July 2 informing them that StudentPrint was closing. Several former employees told The Daily Cardinal the decision to close was surprising and upsetting.
Corey Holl, former StudentPrint student manager, joined StudentPrint in 2020 before the Union buyout and expressed feeling “betrayed” by the Union’s decision to lay off employees.
“Everyone was in complete shock,” Holl said. “I was on the transition team where they were talking about how this was going to be a safe haven for StudentPrint, and then they backtracked on it all in one email.”
Michael Hepfinger, another former StudentPrint worker, said there were no warning signs that StudentPrint would close and said the decision to lay off student employees was “not only cruel but incompetent.”
In the July 2 email, the Union said the shop would close on Aug. 1 but postponed the shutdown until Sept. 1, explaining to workers the shutdown happened because of “academic trends, consumer behavior changes, duplication of services on campus, and StudentPrint financial performance.”
“In a digital age, campus’, students’ and RSOs’ printing needs have changed significantly,” Madeleine Carr, communications coordinator for the Wisconsin Union, said in an email to the Cardinal. “With this evolution, the Wisconsin Union made the decision to transition StudentPrint to a self-service print shop and resource center to better meet the needs of the community.”
StudentPrint finances
Holl told the Cardinal StudentPrint has not made a profit since the pandemic but said there was never any conversation about reducing expenses.
“We kept making more money than we expected,” Holl said.
Holl also said StudentPrint was recently in the middle of a hiring cycle and buying new equipment, which he said the Union was in support of.
The Union never asked StudentPrint to reduce staff, according to Holl and Hepfinger.
The Union did not comment when asked if there was an internal timeline or plan to get StudentPrint back to profitability.
Reduction in services
Both Hepfinger and Holl said they were left confused by what a self-service model looked like. StudentPrint handles advanced print jobs including bulk orders, stickers and t-shirts.
“The whole transition process has been vague, very little direction,” Hepfinger said. “People are really just flying by the seat of their pants.”
Carr told the Cardinal the self-service print shop will offer “black and white printing, color printing, large format printing, postcard printing, button-making and document lamination” — a reduction in the current services offered.
With StudentPrint closed, RSOs must look elsewhere to print their merchandise. Hepfinger said many customers are struggling to find comparable services.
Although StudentPrint employees have been promised jobs within the Wisconsin Union, Holl said StudentPrint was unique in that it allowed students to manage every level of operations from finances, marketing, printing, inventory and sales. Carr said there are 95 open positions for StudentPrint employees to transition to including internships, custodial work and food service.
Hepfinger agreed that StudentPrint was different from the typical student job and afforded opportunities he would not otherwise have in other Union positions.
“Being able to work together to run a student-run business and run something that supports the campus community and students, I think is definitely different from your average job,” Hepfinger said.
