How to be Print-Ready for End-of-Year Print Needs and Graduation Ceremonies

The end of a school year is a hectic season, with students scrambling to meet deadlines and teachers moving to process requirements. It’s also one of the most crucial times for printing. After all, graduation season isn’t just a time of celebration; it’s also a time of major logistical undertaking. From diplomas to yearbooks, printers and copiers ensure the readiness of a wide range of materials for various end-of-year purposes.

Essential Print Materials for The Graduation Season

When preparing for this season, it’s important to remember that it’s not just the graduating students who need attention. Learners from other grade levels or school programs also need to fill out academic clearance forms, receive certificates, and fulfill other requirements—all of which require some type of printed materials.

Here’s a list of primary print materials that students, teachers, or even administrators need at this time:

1. Graduation Diploma
   As a symbol of academic achievement, diplomas must be accurately printed and durable to last for decades. 
   
   
2. Certificates of Recognition or Awards
   Whether it's Latin honors or simple high school-level awards, these documents must be printed accurately to highlight student excellence. 
   
   
3. Invitations and RSVP Cards
   These are primarily used for inviting parents and other important guests to graduation ceremonies and other end-of-year events.
   
   
4. Report Cards
   As essential documents for enrollment and other purposes, report cards need to be prepared with care to ensure that all academic data is accurately printed.
   
   
5. Yearbooks and other Year-End School Newsletters
   These materials serve as memory keepsakes, encapsulating the entire academic year, announcing essential information that requires notice, and more.
   

These and other printed documents and materials need to be handled with care for a truly memorable and pleasant end-of-school-year experience. Ensuring that accuracy, design consistency, and print quality are in place not only upholds the standards of any academic institution but also honors the effort put in by every student and staff member during the year

How to Have a Smoother Print Process

In light of this, it’s essential to have effective print solutions. After all, printing these crucial academic documents and school materials isn’t as simple as it seems.

Here are three print solutions that your school should consider implementing or using:

1. Print Management Software (PMS)
   This is mainly used to ensure that every print job is operationally efficient. PMS, such as PaperCut (included in SumnerOne’s print technology solutions), helps reduce waste by tracking usage and setting quotas, ensuring the security of sensitive materials (such as those containing students’ home addresses and birthdays), and more. 
   
   
2. Web-to-Print Portals
   These allow users to order materials, such as paper types or ink, reducing the need for back-and-forth emails. It also enables manual quoting, which makes on-demand ordering easier, especially since stocking is often necessary during peak seasons, such as the end of the school year. 
   
   
3. Automated Prepress Workflow Systems
   Finally, these types of systems ensure that every file is print-ready before a print job is initiated. These systems also automatically check for any layout, font, color profile, bleeding, and resolution errors, which not only saves time but resources, making a school’s overall workflow more efficient.
   

Prepare For End-of-Year Print Needs and Graduation Ceremonies

At SumnerOne, we specialize in helping learning institutions streamline their print processes with effective print technology solutions tailored to their unique needs. For over 70 years, we’ve enabled hundreds of schools and other organizations across the Midwest and beyond to lower their costs, organize and secure their data, and more, with feature-packed copiers, advanced print management software, and white-glove service.

If you’re looking forward to a successful end of school year and graduation ceremonies, get in touch with us and tell us your print requirements!