By Josh Chang
Opinion
What is the value of a yearbook? Turns out a quick Google search for that question returns a compelling answer. The first result, from the website of a yearbook publishing company called Herff Jones, claims that a yearbook “…captures memories frozen in time, events that happened, faces that change inevitably and memories that may only be remembered again by opening the cover.”
Yearbooks are a nostalgic record of what was, and for that reason they are immensely valuable. Yet, last year at Irvington High School, barely half of the school purchased one. Why? They’re crazy expensive. One yearbook costs families $100, or $90 if they are early. For many, especially those with lower incomes, it’s just not worth the high price. It’s a real shame because — to summarize Herff Jones — yearbooks mean a lot. And, ironically, Herff Jones is entirely to blame.
Irvington High School contracts with Herff Jones to print its yearbook and handle payments. This year, Herff Jones is charging the school $111 per book for that service, although prices in past years have been even higher, once surpassing $140 according to physical education teacher Martin Resediz, who manages the finances for the yearbook. The school sells yearbooks at a loss to families, and makes up the difference by selling advertisements. These ads, which are purchased by local businesses and the families of seniors, are also processed by Herff Jones, which takes an additional cut.
The school’s contract with Herff Jones is fixed, meaning that the school is forced to buy a certain number of books, 325 to be exact, no matter how many people choose to order. Last year just 264 yearbooks were bought, leaving more than 60 unsold. At roughly $120 a book, the math isn’t pretty. The school’s current contract with Herff Jones, which was negotiated last spring, extends until 2024.
From these facts arises a simple question: what does Herff Jones provide that justifies the cost? Not much. Based on quotes from hardcover book printing services online, it likely costs less than ten dollars to print each 176-page full color book, and shipping is maybe a dollar or two per book based on United States Postal Service rates. Herff Jones provides payment handling and email reminders, which could easily be organized through the office as is the case with other programs such as field trips. Their ad design feature could easily be replicated through Google Docs templates.
One other service Herff Jones provides is the software used to design the book. As someone in Advanced Publishing, the class that takes the photos and designs the book, I can report that Herff Jones’s “EDesign” software is a constant source of frustration due to bugs and a lack of features. EDesign is an online ripoff of Adobe InDesign, which is the industry standard for designing publications and would be both more functional and better preparation for a career in publication (the theoretical point of the Advanced Publishing class). Instead of using EDesign’s file sharing feature, we could use Google Drive, which the school already pays for. The school also already pays for the Adobe Creative Cloud in the photo lab, including InDesign.
So what Herff Jones really offers is a one-stop shop for everything yearbook. It is an enticing offer — their service makes it so that there is no need to configure all the separate parts as described above. But, ultimately, it is not even close to worth it.
For the price of a little extra time spent organizing, the school could save families tens of thousands of dollars and make the yearbook more accessible and equitable. It would be more fair to parents, students, and the kids who work hard all year to design it, like me. The students in Advanced Publishing want everyone to have a copy of our work — a book we make for the entire school community to cherish. Right now, due to the school’s contract with Herff Jones, that is not a reality. Instead, vast amounts of money are siphoned from parents to a company that is owned by a giant private equity firm only concerned with profit.
When its contract with Herff Jones expires in 2024, it is essential that Irvington High School does not renew. It is the only way to ensure that no one loses the “…memories that may only be remembered again by opening the cover.”
