Yeah, you're right about that. I still have the daily battle about e-proofing. I can't get through to anyone that taking a PDF that a customer sends me and e-mailing it right back is not an e-proof. I can understand if I have to fix it, or modify it, but wasting my time to placate a customer that doesn't know, doesn't want to know, and doesn't even look at the file I send is maddening.

Everyone in a print shop is first to blame Prepress and come in here looking for answers. They sure as hell don't listen when we warn them to begin with. It's like your brain telling you your leg is broke, but you go ahead and jump on it anyway. Yes, that's going to hurt, you are doing more damage, and in turn it's going to cost you that much more time, money and expense to get it fixed.

What do they care? We just push buttons, right? All files are Press Ready and perfect and e-proofing is a valid way to take the liability out of our hands.

Quote from: andyfest on September 30, 2014, 12:04:45 PM

Quote from: Farabomb on September 30, 2014, 11:54:28 AMOh, speaking of diecutters I just loaded up 8 skids of paper onto their truck. We had to rerun a job because they diecut the whole thing before checking if they had the correct die. Well over a million pieces. They went to do the inserting of the second element and noticed their mistake.

Hell, we just threw out 100,000 cartons because the CSR put an incorrect ink spec on the production order and the press followed the spec, and that happens a fair bit in our production plant - the worldwide web of waste. No accountability or consequences for the CSR at all. Head office won't spend a few thousand on updating our software or hardware, but is willing to spend $300,000 on an image scanner for the press that they never used in ten f***ing years!! Building was struck by lightning a couple of years ago and fried the scanner, so there went $300K up in smoke. And on and on....

That was the first of 2 back to back reruns we had to do because and outside source screwed it up. Hopefully we are done for the year.

I have a question. How many people out there do a shit-ton of charity work?

We do some but not a shit-ton.

We do slightly less than a buttload, which is far less than a shit-ton. And, a lot of the charity print we do ends up getting us a sponsor team on various golf tournaments each year... which I'm happy about because I am privileged to attend.

Quote from: Joe on September 30, 2014, 12:10:23 PMRemember the old term "camera ready artwork"? I've noticed over the last couple of years that has changed to "Press ready PDF". That is how every quote here is done. They think if it is a PDF it is ready for the press. Nothing ever has to be done to the file because it is "press ready". Bullshit! It ain't press ready until I (prepress) is done with it! You can talk to the salesman until you are blue in the face about problems with customer files. All they know is that it is a PDF so it is "press ready". End of story.

You are not alone there Joe!  I found out that they just doubled the price of a "preflight" for jobs because we seem to be losing money there.  I actually had a CSR ask if we could do a job without a preflight.  I said maybe, but in all seriousness I'm still gonna inspect the file for issues.  They just don't get it when it comes to understanding the screwed up things that can be wrong with a file hiding under the surface of a PDF.  No matter how insistent a client is that there files are Press-Ready, I usually find something in them that makes them not.  It's a never ending cycle.

We actually pay A LOT or a shit-ton of money to "get to" print a certain sports team's bullshit every year.

We do enough charity print to actually make another print company. We give so much shit away here, it's a fucking smorgasbord for print customers nowadays. We almost pay YOU to print here. Ridiculous.

... and they have trouble wanting to pay OT? Oh that's ripe.

Quote from: Ear on September 30, 2014, 11:02:29 AM

Quote from: PrepressCrapFixer on September 30, 2014, 10:31:36 AMI spend so much time under the Bus that all I smell is diesel fumes all the time.

haahaaa maybe you should be PrepressBusFixer

I think it will be my back up plan when the printing industry implodes in on itself!

Quote from: Ear on September 30, 2014, 01:21:51 PM... and they have trouble wanting to pay OT? Oh that's ripe.

Ripe and typical. I've worked for far worse places.

I've probably mentioned this before...

The last place I worked, by far the worst place I have EVER worked for, I asked for a raise after a year. The boss looked at me and said, "Maybe you should become a dentist. They get paid more."

I made that fucker pay dearly later, but I was speechless at the time. THAT is the common answer we all hear, or would hear with a little less tact.

Quote from: PrepressCrapFixer on September 30, 2014, 01:24:32 PM

Quote from: Ear on September 30, 2014, 11:02:29 AM

Quote from: PrepressCrapFixer on September 30, 2014, 10:31:36 AMI spend so much time under the Bus that all I smell is diesel fumes all the time.

haahaaa maybe you should be PrepressBusFixer

I think it will be my back up plan when the printing industry implodes in on itself!

I suppose since you are getting thrown under the bus, it should be PrepressChassisLuber

Quote from: DigitalCrapShoveler on September 30, 2014, 01:25:52 PM"Maybe you should become a dentist. They get paid more."

To me, that is an invite to knock his teeth out.

Quote from: Ear on September 30, 2014, 01:28:06 PM

Quote from: DigitalCrapShoveler on September 30, 2014, 01:25:52 PM"Maybe you should become a dentist. They get paid more."

To me, that is an invite to knock his teeth out.

Man, you don't know how close that came. Fortunately for him, I JUST had my first kid and I felt very overwhelmed with responsibility. If that were to happen today, I would have torn his throat out and ate it in front of his fat ass wife to make her jealous.

I hear ya, man. We don't become truly evil until the kids hit school age and the marriage gets that not-so-fresh smell. 

Quote from: DigitalCrapShoveler on September 30, 2014, 01:00:10 PMI have a question. How many people out there do a shit-ton of charity work?

Not a shit-ton, because the corporate suits are far too selfish to spend their potential profits on charity. Their BMWs and Jags do cost a lot to service. We do just enough charity work that they can use it as a marketing tool to make them look like good corporate citizens.