Printing and Mailing Partnership

RR Donnelley
NIUsupport@rrd.com 
Hours: Mon-Fri from 7AM - 7PM CT
Customer Service

Josh Levey
Enterprise Solutions Executive
RR Donnelley
35 W. Wacker, 36th FL | Chicago, IL 60601
m 312.256.1907
e josh.levey@rrd.com
w rrd.com

The RRD primary contact number and email is the best place to start. You will be directed to the proper department or facility that can answer your question.

Josh Levey
Enterprise Solutions Executive
RR Donnelley
35 W. Wacker, 36th FL | Chicago, IL 60601
m 312.256.1907
e josh.levey@rrd.com
w rrd.com

The RRD primary contact number and email is the best place to start. You will be directed to the proper department or facility that can answer your question.  You can also find information on all aspects of acceptable mail design at USPS Publication 25 “Designing Letter and Reply Mail” (www.usps.com).

Start with the Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications (EMMC).  Once approved RRD can assist you with all your large project needs. 

While there are many facets that are impacting the rising cost of printing, the greatest contributing factor has been the dire situation of the paper industry. Many of you have been hearing of the paper industry challenges and its impact on printers and publishers. Mill closures continue, as do mergers, and acquisitions. Production capacity is diminishing. Raw materials (pulp, chemicals), fuel, and transportation costs are experiencing double- and in some cases triple-digit increases. The price of paper pulp alone has skyrocketed over 35% since the beginning of 2022.

Supply is low, demand is high. Paper mills are struggling to fulfill order. In response, most mills are imposing limits or allocations on paper purchases to prevent stockpiling. Lead times are being extended, most now at 10 to 12 weeks or more. Quick-turn paper orders are clearly a thing of the past. 

Price increase announcements have been coming with much greater frequency than the industry has ever seen before. Additionally, forecasts are predicting more cost increases into the remainder of this, and next year, but fortunately at a slower, steadier pace. However, supply will be increasingly tight with continued extended lead times. 

This increased pressure for the industry is affecting all printers, and RRD is no exception to this. The NIU community is seeing and feeling these increases on the quotes we are receiving from RRD.

In an effort to balance the supply chain impact on NIU, the RRD team is working hard to identify expected levels of paper needed for NIU’s various marketing and communication projects. RRD is also working diligently to define best practices and identify the best facilities within their many plants. Their goal is to provide the most cost effective, fastest response, and highest quality print to NIU.

A continued understanding of the NIU environment and its needs will be a regular point of discussion as you meet and work with the University’s print vendor. We encourage you to plan ahead and think of your projects in terms of the entire scope of work. Share this plan with RRD so they can best serve our campus.

RRD will have two methods for sharing the price of your project. 1) When you select your product in the RRD Storefront and choose the options you desire, you will be presented with the price. 2) When you provide the specifications for your print project, RRD will provide a quote for your approval prior to production.

The type of print project you require will determine the print production time.  In determining when to submit your project to RRD, remember to include the on-campus delivery time from Materials Management once the completed job is delivered to campus.

• Normal turn times for printed materials is 5-10 business days depending on material availability. If you need to expedite your order, contact NIUSupport@rrd.com.
• If a new template is requested, please expect 10-15 business days before the template is setup on the site for ordering. 
• If a new static item is requested, please expect 1-2 business days before item is setup on the site for ordering.

You can choose from pre-built products or use an order form to provide details on your printing and mailing projects at the RRD Storefront.

Note: RRD has launched the RRD/NIU Storefront with a basic order form (On-Request Form on the site banner) in order for the NIU community to submit print and mail orders. As additional products like NIU Stationery, NIU branded Postcard, and other items that were present on IMT’s Storefront, RRD will add those in the banner section named “Catalog”.

When logged in to the RRD Storefront, you will be able to review your order history. As part of that process, you will see the current status of your order(s).

As a default, RRD offers a digital proof you can view and approve during the ordering process. They will be able to produce a hard copy proof if that is something you require. You can check with RRD regarding the cost and delivery options for hard copy proofs.

The RRD Storefront products are setup with paper choices similar to those you have become accustomed to on the NIU Storefront. You may also contact RRD to request recommendations for paper, finishing, and other production considerations.

RRD will be printing and mailing NIU projects. You will be able to upload your mailing list(s) associated with your project on the RRD Storefront. They will process your mailings in the same manner as DoIT’s IMT has been doing.

That depends on the nature of the project. In general, you should use RRD to print and mail your project. If you have special circumstances, you should contact RRD and/or Campus Mailing Services for advice.

Marketing Mail will be processed by RRD on behalf of NIU. You can request that your print order be mailed by RRD at the time you place the order.

Please note:  The print shop relinquished its Marketing Mail permit #120 on January 15, 2022. Any printed materials containing a NIU Standard Mail indicia (permit 120) will no longer be accepted at the USPS.

NIU’s Campus Mail Services will continue to support and process First Class Mail on behalf of NIU.

For specifics regarding your First Class Mail projects, you may contact Campus Mail Services in the Dorland Building directly:

NIU Campus Mail Services
Mailroom: 815-753-1183
Manager: 815-753-6286, szimmer2@niu.edu
Office Hours: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Depending on the type of job, and the quantity, RRD will manage delivery to the NIU campus. All projects will come to NIU’s Central Receiving, and then will be dispatched to the building/room indicated on the shipping label.

RRD has a process for requesting new custom products to be added to the RRD Storefront. You may request a product to be added by submitting an email to NIUsupport@rrd.com.

RRD will be offering virtual training opportunities once the RRD Storefront launches. We will be sure the campus is notified when those sessions are available. In addition, RRD will prepare a Storefront user’s guide. This will be available once you login to the RRD Storefront. It will also be added to this page when available.

Yes. At the end of the ordering checkout, you may request that your print order be stored at RRD for future use.

Yes, RRD will charge your cost center for storage of NIU materials. The charge for a pallet of materials will be $11.22/month. Smaller materials will have a Bin charge of $4.81/month.

Standard storage time is 6 months. After that monthly charge will increase. RRD will only store NIU materials for 12 months.

Yes. At any time, you can request your materials to be returned to you. You will be charged for shipping to NIU. Alternatively, at the end of the 12-month timeline, you can request destruction of the materials for a charge of $10.18 per container.

You can order paper from Office Depot. The link to order is https://business.officedepot.com

You will be able to order paper and toner from Central Stores. The link to order is 
https://pp-workorder.niu.edu:82/cs/part_types.html#AWP