DESCRIPTION

The position of Forms Specialist in the Division of Fiscal Operations, Technical Support Services coordinates the design, procurement and distribution of university forms. The primary goal of forms management is to provide forms which meet the university's administrative need while reducing its operating costs.

Vendors charge lower rates for the printing of a form when adequate leadtime is provided to schedule their printing presses for consistent production. This leadtime is between 5 and 18 weeks depending on the composition and construction of a form. (See APPM section 8.1.1, Leadtime for Ordering Forms.)

A vendor can deliver a flat sheet faster than a more complex form. A flat sheet is a one-ply form printed on one or both sides of the paper. A complex form (i.e., checks, envelopes, labels, multipart or continuous forms), involves additional steps in its production. These steps may include consecutive numbering, MICR encoding, perforations, collating and binding for multipart forms, etc.

New or revised forms require additional processing time by the Forms Specialist to analyze and coordinate users' needs, to design the form and to approve the proof. Purchasing may also need additional time to acquire bids/quotes on forms with major composition and/or complex construction.

Some forms used by the university are produced internally, either through the University Printing Services, Inc. or electronically via WSU's computer systems. Forms produced at University Printing Services, Inc. are usually single flat sheets ordered in small quantities, which do not require analysis, user review, composition, or proof approval by Technical Support Services or placement of a purchase order. Whenever applicable, computer forms are designed for electronic production.