Printing for TRC Rallyes

When TRC does the printing, it is usually handled by Steve Watt <steve@watt.com>. Verify that he will bring the printout to the start or that you (or someone) can pick it up beforehand. If he prints your CMs, you pick them up together.

Standard Rallye Printing

Whoever prints should bring 40 copies of the rallye and critique to the start. Almost all of them will be stapled and numbered, and the last will be unstapled, available for a run up to Office Max if more than 39 cars register.

We now normally print 20 extra registration packets (without scoresheets) to sell for back seat passengers.

See below about coursemarkers and other printing.

Reimbursement

If you want to do your own printing on your own paper, TRC will reimburse at $0.05 for a "simplex" sheet with one printed side (typical of registration packets) and $0.09 for a two-sided "duplex" page (typical in a Critique). This is roughly cost for medium-duty laser printers; bulk copiers will be somewhat lower, small printers somewhat higher.

(When we print on TRC-purchased paper, we reimburse half a cent less: $0.045 for a simplex sheet and $0.085 for a duplex page. These rates started in January, 2012.)

Color

Some RMs have used color in registration packets, CMs, and Critique maps to great effect. If you want to be reimbursed more than the above rates, you need to get board approval beforehand. If this is used for gimmicks, this will "tip your hand."

<a href="http://www.copyfactory.com/product_info.php?products_id=208">Dean's place</a> charges (in December, 2011) $0.39 for one-sided, so maybe less than twice that for two-sided. Most places charge more (about $0.50). Standard ink-jet printing cost depends greatly on how much of the page is colored.

If you are printing in color, one way to keep costs down is to minimize how many pages are color (e.g., only the maps of the Critique and only 30 copies; remaining copies would be grey scale).

Document Transfer to Steve

The easiest way to handle the bulk printing is to E-mail two PDFs to Steve: One with the packet participants get at the start, one with the critique. I can also handle Office 2002 (a.k.a. Office XP) or earlier documents, but there is risk of formatting disagreement.

Make certain that your PDF creation software embeds any unusual fonts. If you're using any font that doesn't come with a default Windows installation, ask me if I have it.

If you can't create a combined PDF, I can probably do it, but you need to make sure that PDF font subsetting does not occur; again this is dependent on your particular PDF creating software.

Note that if you have special car numbers, colored paper, or other unusual requests, we can often handle them, but do ask more than a day or two ahead.

Minimum margins are 1/4" on the sides and bottom, and about 1/2" on top (though people prefer more, due to clipboards).

Coursemarkers

I can also print your coursemarkers. This is often handy because I usually have the marker tools; you can pick up your markers and the tools at the same time. I have a few ideas about how to create coursemarkers. Word format works fine for these, as the formatting is somewhat less challenging.

If you prefer to print your own coursemarkers, TRC will reimburse $.04 each if the club provides the thick paper or $0.08 per CM on your own paper. You may have a duplicate set of CMs on standard paper, in case a CM is lost or destroyed.

Checkpoint Slips

TRC normally does not print checkpoint slips. This is because they usually need handling (small slips need to be cut apart), and I cannot perform that handling without seeing/reading them, and since I'm normally a competing rallyist, that just wouldn't be fair.

Schedule

Please have your files ready by the Wednesday late-afternoon before the rallye (assuming a Saturday rallye). That gives me time to do the test run, and we can iterate if needed to make sure something printable comes out.

Printing for Mailings

We reimburse for mailings (which are generally quarterly, plus a membership election mailing at the end of the year) at the same rate. (See #Reimbursement section above.) The mailing labels are reimbursed as well, at $.25 per page if you buy the labels, $.04 per page if TRC has already bought the labels.