Are you only doing prepress at work? Or...?

[Made in Taiwan]

Hello everybody!

Since our digital print shop is pretty small, my duties during working time aside from prepress are to feed the machines with paper and toner as well as to do the finishing of the product, like binding or cutting. Actually I think it's not a bad thing, because like this one doesn't need to sit the entire day in front of a computer screen and damage his eyes.

But I'm curious if anyone here on the board is in the same situation and needs to do things aside from prepress, like cutting or folding the paper or operate the printing presses or other bindery equipment, during working time.

 

[David]

did no one tell you that being in "Prepress" is in fact all of those duties plus:
Be the rececptionist
truck driver
folder operator
cutter operator
network specialist
scheduling guy
CSR
food delivery
cut the grass
sweep the floors
clean the bathroom
make the coffee
fry up some bacon
make drinks

too many to list actually.

[Possum]

You forgot the most important one - be the one to take the blame for everything that goes wrong.

[Farabomb]

Forgot forklift driver

I work for family so yeah I have to be able to do it all. I do bitch about it but that's becasue of one guy here that doesn't have the drive everyone else here does. (and it's not the boss). He actually told the boss one day "I'd work harder if you paid me more". Now when I have to help him out I'm downright nasty to him and give him shit. He's not a bad guy at heart, just confused how life really works.

I don't mind doing production work. It gives me a better sense of the entire scope of getting the work out. Fuck front office work. I detest that bullshit. The boss (brother) keeps trying to push me into it but it's not happening. He keeps telling me "quoting is easy" and I keep saying then go preflight a job.

Last week we had a discussion about talking to customers. While he can be professional he's really a dick at heart. While I'm far from professional for some reason all the customers love me and for most things that are not pricing, would rather talk to me than him. He still gives me "tips" about talking to customers. "what if I die tomorrow? You'll have to do this" I said bullshit, I'm hiring a salesman/CSR so I can concentrate on getting the work out.

One of the things that does piss me off is when I have a whole day set up where I want to spend it learning more about pitstop, prinergy or whatever I feel I need to get better with. He sees me sitting behind the computer and thinks I'm not doing anything and wants me to sweep the floor or work on one of his car/bike projects. I'm expanding my skillset here for this place. I already build racecars as a hobby, that doesn't mean I want to do it here. Also you refuse to listen to me when you ask advice.



TL;DR. I think everyone in prepress does for more than just prepress. Management fucked themselves during the film/CTP transfer by not knowing how to bill CTP. Now they are fucked. They need skilled operators but since we don't make them money as they see it we get to do everything so it looks like we earn our pay. Now try and get work through without skilled prepress operators and see how well that works out for you.

Possum mentioned the most important job of prepress. Give us files and nothing else and we are expected to be mind readers. Job run on matte goldenrod stock when the bag says white gloss, Prepress's fault. PMS 200 ends up in the fountain instead of 208, prepress's fault. Boss's wife left him because he was banging the baby-sitter, prepress's fault.

[born2print]

IMO, it is not a bad thing MadeInTaiwan
I used to be a prepress operator, but now I still am.
I also run the Xerox "Docutech" type copier, and a hundred other things (see david)
Also, I started years ago in shipping / receiving / bindery and I benefit from that experience and real-world finishing knowledge as a prepress person. Anyway, it all pays the same, so I shouldn't care if I am driving a van or polishing score wheels or wrestling a PDF.

[Ear]

Just prepress, man. A little CSR (mostly verbally abusing designers). One-man show, 2 big web presses and 2 Speedmasters. 100+ 8up plates per day is the norm, so I got my hands full with the prepress.

That said, I will jump on one of the forklifts any chance I get. The clamp-truck is great for picking up chicks. Literally. I can grab, like, 4 at a time. :cheesy:

[Joe]

No bindery, pressroom, or shipping here. Just prepress, IT (which is a full time job), web development, database development, CSR, and crash dummy.

[Farabomb]

Honestly I really, really wish we were so busy all I did was prepress. I long for the days of a rack full of work and nobody pestering me about how fast I can turn a job because the press isn't running. Having the press booked for a week used to be SOP, now it's a just a dream. I'd be able to learn the programs more, improve the workflow and stay sharp.

Now I have 3 sets of clothes here. One set to look "professional" while the boss walks around in a t shirt and shorts, one set for if I'm helping out on the production floor and a set for when he wants me to help with car work. There is a reason I only work on cars as a hobby now, I don't want to have to do it here with just some harbor freight tools. There is a reason I have a fully outfitted auto shop. Makes things a lot easier when you have the right tools... and 2 lifts.

[Slappy]

Just prepress, man.

About the same here, and damned glad! I can operate the digital machines, within reason but we have 2 FT operators so that's rare. The little digital envelope press is about the only other thing we have to do in here. I don't cut, shrink, fold, spindle or mutilate any more. Done it all before but I don't step into those areas at all cause I just don't see any reason to any more.

Shit, one of the 2nd shift press guys saw me cutting down Epson proofs one night on the Polar & was all surprised I knew how! Told "Him, you'd better fucking not tell anybody I know either!" and he laughed - he knows the drill.

[Ear]

you'd better fucking not tell anybody I know either

I hear that.

I stick with prepress these days but I started in bindery, then ran press, and evolved to prepress. I know how to run folders, stitchers, cutters and on up to presses. In a pinch, I will help set up the folder or set up a cut program, but I don't have the time nor desire to run any of them.

[DigiCorn]

As a one-man show in a shop with 3 employees and an owner (and a part time accountant), you end up doing many tasks outside your comfort zone. On a daily basis I do all the IT/network stuff, run (and do basic calibration) the digital presses (we have 3), make plates (which includes processor maintenance), program stuff for the on-line store, maintain the on-line store, answer overflow on the phones, and general prepress area cleaning/janitorial stuff in addition to normal prepress duties. On occasion, I work in bindery and/or do deliveries.

[Farabomb]

Folders are voodoo to me but if I dicked with them long enough I think I'd get the hang of it. The bindery guy here barley remembers to breathe, doesn't know the difference between W/T, W/Tum or S/W yet can still get jobs through.

I ran a Heidi DI for a while, hated it but I got work off.

I can, after a while, learn damn near anything but I'd rather be fighting incoming files.

Women, that's the only thing I will never understand.

[Ear]

Folders are the devil. I started with Baum folders then moved to MBO. MBO folders are slick, as folders go.

[Fontaholic]

Let's see... At my place, here's what I do, especially since I'm pretty much the only one in the front office aside from Da Boss and his wife, Mis(s) Management:

--Typesetting / layout
--Dealing with customers' artwork files
--Answering the phone / taking messages / running interference against bill collectors
--Keeping an eye on multiple email accounts
--Taking customer orders
--Waiting on customers
--Making plates on DTP system
--Maintaining / upkeep of DTP processor (a co-responsibility along with Da Boss)
--Running jobs on Xerox 700 "digital color press"
--Billing data entry
--Printing out UPS labels
--Occasionally delivering packages to UPS Store (Miss Management discovered we save money by not having UPS come by here to pick up packages every day...)
--Helping Da Boss and/or Miss Management out with computer issues / any other piss-ant thing that crosses their minds
--Taking the blame for everything that goes wrong in the place (which, to be fair, is often the case -- but considering how divided my focus and attention is, trying to do the jobs of three people, can ya blame me???!  :angry:)

Cheers, John the Fontaholic 

[Fontaholic]

Oh, and even though this place has been going down the crapper for a good few years, Da Boss and Miss Management left today for a week's vacation in Disneyland (FL) with the grandkids.

And my other full-time co-worker wonders why I don't bust my chops for this place like he does...  :angry:

Cheers, John the Fontaholic