Jostens to Close Photo-Processing Unit in Anaheim : * Consolidation: Some of its 150 full-time employees will be transferred to its El Toro service center, while others will be offered jobs in Clinton, Miss.

Jostens Inc., the leading school class ring and yearbook company, announced Tuesday a consolidation plan that will mean closing two Southern California facilities, including a photo-processing plant here.

The Minneapolis company, which employs 150 full-time and 300 seasonal employees in Anaheim, said it will close the 40,000-square-foot plant by June 30. Jostens will offer positions to some managers and full-time employees at its new and larger facility in Clinton, Miss., where its Jackson, Miss., plant will relocate within five months.

The company plans to transfer other employees to its 20,000-square-foot El Toro service center, where it processes school photos. About 60 people work in the El Toro plant, which will not be affected by the consolidation. By year’s end, Jostens will have three photo plants: in El Toro, Clinton and Webster, N.Y.

Closing and relocation costs associated with the consolidation will be offset by sales of the company’s excess gold reserve, Jostens spokesman Ellis F. Bullock said.

The consolidation is not expected to affect Jostens’ financial performance for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1992, he said.

Jostens had a 1991 profit of $64.2 million on sales of $860 million, up from net income of $60.2 million on sales of $788 million in 1990.

“We’re moving (because) we need a larger facility that will allow us to expand and incorporate new technology in the photo-processing business,” Bullock said.

“The goal is to make sure that all products Jostens manufactures and processes are transferred to Clinton to handle new technology and increased work volume,” he said.

He added that the lease on the Anaheim facility expires Oct. 1.

The company said it will also close its manufacturing plant for class rings in Santa Barbara and shift that operation to similar facilities in Denton, Tex., and Attleboro, Mass. Some of the 100 full-time and 450 seasonal employees in Santa Barbara will be offered opportunities to transfer to other Jostens jewelry and photo operations.

After closing the two Southern California plants, Jostens will have 39 U.S. facilities and five in Canada by the end of the year, Bullock said.

Jostens, with more than 7,000 full-time employees nationwide, was founded in 1897 by Otto Josten, a German immigrant who started a business repairing watches in Owatonna, Minn. He soon expanded to include making class rings for students.

By the 1940s, the company began publishing yearbooks and diplomas.

“We are doing these consolidations to become more competitive in the post-recession period,” Bullock said.

Jostens stocks closed at $34 a share at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, up 62.5 cents from Monday.