FedEx Kinko’s lands contract for BU copy services

FedEx Kinko’s soon will offer all BU faculty, staff, and students its full range of copying and printing services on the Charles River and the Medical Campus. The national retailer will open its doors Monday, October 31, on both campuses, taking over from current vendor IKON Express.

FedEx Kinko’s will offer copying, printing, binding, and finishing jobs, as well as the creation of original signs, posters, and banners, plus new packing and shipping services via FedEx. Additional details about services can be found at http://psg.kinkos.com/bu.

“This will bring to BU the national reputation and the experience of FedEx Kinko’s, which will without question enhance our reprographic services to the populations at both the Charles River and Medical Campuses,” says Peter Fiedler, vice president for administrative services.

As of mid-November, FedEx Kinko’s will be located at 115 Cummington St. on the Charles River Campus. But because of ongoing construction at that site, it initially will operate out of the current IKON Express store at 700 Commonwealth Ave. On the Medical Campus, FedEx Kinko’s will be located at 715 Albany St.

Domenic Screnci, director of the Medical Campus Educational Media Center, praises the deal and its implications for the Medical Campus. “As with the Charles River Campus,” he says, “it’s offering expanded services from a company that has the depth and breadth of knowledge and resources to support whatever needs we may have today and in the future.”

Customers with BU identification will be eligible for discount rates on most services, with the exception of FedEx shipping. Jobs need not be University-related to be eligible for discounts, and BU customers can take advantage of the discounts at any FedEx Kinko’s store in the Boston metro area. Current copy prices of 3 cents for black-and-white and 59 cents for color are locked in for the next five years; rush charges will be dropped, as will increased per-copy prices for small lots of color copies.

The Desktop Express service, which allows anyone with an Internet connection and a BU Kerberos password to send electronic requests for print jobs directly to the copy center, will be replaced by FedEx Kinko’s similar DocStore service. Faculty and staff will have free pickup and delivery, with no minimum order.

Screnci says the change will be a good one for both the Medical Campus and for FedEx Kinko’s. “I think with the growth of the South End and the Med Campus area,” he says, “there’s an economic boom there, and some of these national vendors are seeing this as a real opportunity.”

Starting October 31, FedEx Kinko’s will be open at 700 Commonwealth Ave. from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Hours at the new location at 155 Cummington St. will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The store hours at 715 Albany St. will be 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

To ensure continuity of service during the transition between retailers, FedEx Kinko’s staff will be at the current IKON Express copy centers on both campuses from October 25 through October 28. Same-day jobs brought in Friday, October 28, will be handled by IKON staff, and jobs brought in that day to be picked up the following week will be handled by FedEx Kinko’s staff.

The change in service provider will not affect University departments’ contracts for internal copy machines. IKON Express will continue to operate the copy center in the School of Law through May 31, 2006.