Print Shop staff (from left) Jennifer Almeida, Luc Quenneville, Charlene St. Onge, and Scott Thorpe bring commercial-grade printing expertise and production capabilities to campus. (PHOTO BY JOHN-PAUL BONADONNA/University of Windsor)
By John-Paul Bonadonna
Tucked away in the basement of Chrysler Hall Tower is one of the University of Windsor’s most versatile and quietly essential services — a full-service print facility that many on campus walk past without ever realizing the scale of what happens behind its doors.
The University Print Shop has been serving campus since the 1960s, supporting students, faculty, staff and even community organizations with everything from posters and business cards to retractable banners, thesis binding, signage, stickers and large-format installations.
Jennifer Almeida, Scott Thorpe and Luc Quenneville have worked together since 2004 and continue to staff the Print Shop today.
“I think there’s sort of this concept of just making copies, but that’s not really what we do,” says Almeida.
“People are often surprised by the alternate formats we can produce, but we’re just like any other commercial printing facility.”
The range of services available has continued to grow thanks to new equipment and the creativity of the team.
“Coroplast signs, foam board, vinyl stickers, window clings, banners,” she lists.
“All the graphics on our doors here were done in-house too.”
In recent years, the Print Shop has expanded into producing custom decals, lawn signs, event installations, pole banners, bus stop advertising graphics and specialty promotional materials that previously would have needed to be outsourced.
Thorpe says one of the most rewarding parts of the job is solving unusual printing challenges.
“When someone comes in and says, ‘I need this — how can you make it happen?’ that’s the fun part,” says Thorpe.
“We figure it out.”
That problem-solving mentality has helped the shop adapt to changing campus needs and trends in the print industry.
Quenneville notes that the addition of a large-format printing machine – about 10 times the size of a typical desktop printer – has been an investment with positive dividends.
“That machine has grown the business tremendously,” he says, pointing towards paper the size of a bed sheet wrapping around the machine’s rolling tray.
“Now, there’s so much more that we can do in-house.”
The shop’s work can be found across campus, often in places people may never realize originated just downstairs in Chrysler Hall Tower.
The Print Shop also plays a critical role in supporting student life and academic work. Students regularly visit for poster printing, club materials, event programs, flyers and presentation materials. One particularly important service is thesis printing and binding.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the department took over coordination of thesis hard binding. The shop now acts as the liaison with Wallaceburg Bookbinding, one of only a small number of Canadian companies specializing in formal academic thesis binding.
Beyond academic work, the shop has also seen an increase in personal printing requests.
“We’ve been doing a lot of wedding invitations and baby shower invitations lately,” says Almeida.
“That business has definitely picked up.”
The team is focused on continuing to build awareness about what the department can offer while maintaining the strong customer service culture that has kept the small staff together for more than 20 years.
“We care about the work we do and we care about our crew,” Thorpe says.
The staff understand the unique pace and pressures of university life — including the last-minute rushes that often come with it.
“We do a lot of last-minute stuff,” Almeida says knowingly.
“Things find their way to us at the end of the approval chain. Sometimes, that’s very close to when those materials are needed.”
Almeida, Thorpe and Quenneville encourage students, faculty and staff to follow signage for the Print Shop when travelling through the basement floors of Chrysler Hall.
The hidden gem under Chrysler Hall Tower is ready and waiting for all your printing needs.