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It’s become almost humorous to me when people ask me what I do. The answer is just not easy to explain, so normally I say something like, “I manage the design department at a print shop.” That is my latest answer and it usually doesn’t require much further explanation. However, for my readers, I’d like to explain it with a little more clarification. Since you are here to learn or understand something about printing (hopefully) I should give you a fair description of my role in the process and why I think I can help you with your printing projects.

My initial canned answer is mostly accurate, however I don’t design anything. I used to, but not anymore. I understand design, have a pretty good eye for balance and color, etc., but I really have no desire to get back into that part of the process. There are plenty of graphic designers who are far more skilled than I will ever be, and that is what they want to do. I am much more technically minded, so let me begin by explaining my department’s role, and my participation therein.

If you break down most print shops into departments, you will end up with four distinct areas; sales and customer service, prepress/design, press department, and bindery/finishing. The prepress/design department is mine. Most people outside of printing have never heard the word “Prepress” and have no idea what it is, so let me attempt to explain.

Prepress, to me, is the most exciting spot in the chain of printing. Not only do we have to take customer files, analyze them, change them if necessary, and communicate with customer service if something additional is needed, but we also have to make sure those files can be printed on the presses and processed through the bindery equipment without problems. I find it exciting because not only do we have to make the customer happy, but we also have to make sure our coworkers downstream are happy too. It’s a challenging position with new obstacles almost daily. We have to understand what the customer wants as well as what the pressmen and bindery operators need to successfully complete every project that comes in the door. The margin for error is very thin for prepress, and that’s just the way I like it. I run a pretty tight ship for that very reason and that doesn’t always make me popular with my coworkers, but I’m not there to make them happy. I’m there to make sure the customer gets what they want.

My specific role in the department is pretty simple. I tell people that the buck stops with me and that’s the truth. I am the “Team Leader” for the department, which means if something gets past me, I really don’t have anyone else to blame. Once a project receives final approval from the customer, it is my responsibility to layout the job so it will run efficiently and correctly on the press, and to make sure the layout can be processed through bindery and finishing correctly also. It’s a process of understanding the capabilities and limitations of basically ALL of the machines in our shop and sometimes making judgements, or consulting with operators, on how best to set up the project so it will make it to the customer correct and on time. Now if I try and tell you I don’t make any mistakes, you know I’m lying. Every single printing project that comes in the door crosses my desk before printing begins. Since I am the last link in the chain before the real money is spent on ink and paper, I take my responsibilities very seriously and I can promise you that some days I leave there completely mentally exhausted. And yes, occasionally I miss something. Fortunately, the press operators know me and know my work ethic, so if I do miss something, they usually catch it and the issue is resolved without the customer ever knowing. I imagine it must be that way in many other print shops as well.

Since I sit in a “fulcrum” position (as the previous owner liked to call it), I also try to take on some of the responsibilities of teaching new employees outside of my department about the printing process. If and when we gain a new employee in the customer service department (and sometimes sales) I like to make an attempt at establishing a working dialogue with them so they understand what the company needs (from a production perspective) so they are better equipped to talk with customers and make suggestions that will benefit the customer. It’s easy to say yes all the time when you’re trying to land a new job, but ultimately if you are not knowledgeable about printing and the entire printing process, you run the risk of having a potentially dissatisfied new client because you didn’t have the understanding or knowledge of what can and cannot be done in printing to provide alternatives or suggestions for the client to achieve their desired goal. I can design stuff all day long that simply cannot print the way it is designed. This is why I attempt to involve myself in the training and education of those employees who work directly with the customers. It is just too important not to do it, even if it falls outside of my job description.

There’s one more aspect of prepress that I enjoy…technology. If you’ve been purchasing printing for the last ten years, then you’ve noticed competition increase and prices fall dramatically. This is largely due to the acceleration of technology in the prepress department. (I use the term “acceleration” rather than “advancement” because technology really does seem to be gaining speed each year.) Ten years ago the process to get from digital file to press was very time-consuming, very laborious, and usually involved unfriendly chemicals that had to be containerized and picked up as hazardous waste. Not today. The norm in today’s print shop is computer to printing plate in about 5 minutes. No hazardous chemicals, fewer steps involved, no darkroom, less expensive components, recyclable materials and (at least) one less employee to fund. It’s much like printing to your desktop printer. There are also digital presses and even digital “copiers” that produce output very close to traditional offset printing and require no intermediate steps. They really do act like giant color printers, but it’s hard to beat traditional offset printing in my opinion.

So now that I’ve given you an inside view of my world, I’d like to extend an offer to my readers. If you have a question about printing or if you’d like to share some of your printing experiences, good or bad, I’d love to read them and post them here for others to see. Tell me what you do and how you’ve been part of the printing process, I’m sure my readers would love to her war stories from someone other than me.