Printing for TRC Rallyes
When TRC does the printing, it could be done by Dean or Steve Watt <steve@watt.com>.
- Steve no longer attends TRC rallyes regularly, so it is likely that you (or someone) will pick it up beforehand from his house in San Jose. If he prints your CMs, you pick them up from him at the same time.
Printing Reimbursement Rates
The following rates are current, as of January, 2014:
| Item | Reimbursement |
|---|---|
| "simplex" on own paper | $0.06 per sheet |
| "simplex" on TRC paper or labels | $0.05 per sheet |
| "duplex" on own paper | $0.10 per sheet |
| "duplex" on TRC paper or card stock | $0.09 per sheet |
| Envelopes (printed) | $0.07 per 5 envelopes (or fraction thereof) |
| CMs on own card stock | $0.11 per sheet ($0.06+$0.05) |
| 2-sided postcards on own card stock | $0.16 per sheet ($0.06+$0.10) |
| Own labels | $0.30 per sheet ($0.25+$0.05) |
| Color printing | 20 cents per side (plus 1 cent per sheet on your own paper). |
(In case you don't know, "simplex" means printing one one side of the sheet; "duplex" means printing on both sides of the sheet.)
Standard Rallye Printing
Someone must registration packs and extras to the rallye start on time and get the critiques to the finish, typically by bringing them to the start, as well.
Registration Packets ("Reg Packs")
Starting with 2018, we now print 25 copies of the rallye registration pack. These are normally single sided (though some notes have been hidden on the backs). Almost all of them will be stapled and numbered, and the last will be unstapled and unnumbered, available for a run to a copy place (though Office Max near Costco has closed) if more than 24 cars register.
Extra Packets
We now normally print 15 extra registration packets (without scoresheets) for back seat passengers. In 2014, we raised our entry fees and started offering these packets at no extra cost.
These may be printed duplex to save money. But there could be concerns about alternative interpretations. For example, is a page printed on the reverse of the RI Page "on the RI page"? It is easiest to simply mark these extra copies unofficial. (This could be done with a "watermark" or by hand or with text on their first page.)
Critiques
Print 25 copies of the critique, duplex. Do not put maps on the back of the text that refers to the same area. There are often errors in the critique that will need to be explained at the finish. It is best to review it last.
Coursemarkers
Dean or Steve can also print your coursemarkers, if you're willing to pick them up. We have a few ideas about how to create coursemarkers. Word format works fine for these, as the formatting is somewhat less challenging.
We now normally print coursemarkers on standard paper, rather than 110-pound card stock. So TRC reimbursement rates are the same as those stated above. You may also be reimbursed for a duplicate set of CMs on standard paper, in case a CM is lost or destroyed. Most RMs simply depend on a Sharpie or pasting existing letters and numbers in the unlikely case that a replacement is needed.
Checkpoint Slips
When Steve was competing, he normally did not print checkpoint slips. This is because they usually need handling (small slips need to be cut apart), and one cannot perform that handling without seeing/reading them, and no competing rallyist should do so; that just wouldn't be fair.
Reimbursement
Reimbursement rates are now summarized in the table at the top of this page. This is roughly cost for medium-duty laser printers; bulk copiers will be somewhat lower, small printers somewhat higher.
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." You may keep your use of color a secret, at the risk that you will absorb the extra expense.
Dean's place charges (in November, 2015) $0.39 for one-sided color copies in bulk, plus a $5 setup charge, 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 20 copies; remaining copies would be gray scale). You're likely to do the collation and stapling yourself, however.
Document Transfer to Dean or Steve Watt
The easiest way to handle the bulk printing is to E-mail two PDFs to Dean or Steve: One with the packet participants get at the start, one with the critique. Steve can also handle Word 2007 or earlier documents, but there is risk of formatting disagreement when using Office.
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 Steve if he has it.
If you can't create a combined PDF, there are web sites that will combine your PDFs for you. Or Steve 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, Steve 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).
Schedule
Please have your files ready by the Wednesday late-afternoon before the rallye (assuming a Saturday rallye). That gives Steve time to do the test run, and we can iterate if needed to make sure something printable comes out.
Printing for Mailings
Reimbursement rates are now summarized in the table at the top of this page. We account for mailings separately from rallye printing.
Postage for Mailing (as of January 2023)
Postcard postage is current 48 cents per card). (This is surprisingly difficult to verify at usps.gov; try postcalc.usps.com.)
Postage for a first class letter, stamped, is currently 60 cents. (They are currently 3 cents cheaper if metered.) This info may be available from a USPS press release.