Hi y'all,
We are looking for a Komori pressman up here (or down there if you are above us) in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Either 26 inch 4 color or 28 inch 5 color.
Needed ASAP.
I would love to give you ours!! :laugh:
I will let him know!!
Unfortunately, I know what you mean.
:sad:
Quote from: Tracy on October 05, 2021, 10:57:59 AM
I would love to give you ours!! :laugh:
I will let him know!!
WOW! That is COLD! :cold2:
he he! my coworkers would be happy!
Canada wouldn't be.
I know a guy I'd LIKE to send, but I wouldn't do that to you.
This an industry wide problem.
We have been looking for Heidelberg XL 40inch pressman for almost 2 years.
Feeders too....we have decided to train from within but that is a slow and painful process also.
An aging workforce along with people just leaving the print business is a huge problem.
It has begun to be addressed be Heidelberg and others by taking younger kids into training programs but it's a little too late.
Same thing in Prepress. We advertised for a prepress person to take my place. Only one applicant so far and more than likely the last one. And that one is 62 years old. Used to at least get design school graduates to apply but not anymore.
Quote from: Joe on October 08, 2021, 12:54:27 PM
Only one applicant so far and more than likely the last one.
you should advertise for a prepress influencer...
should attract a few millennials with that
:lmao:
Quote from: david on October 08, 2021, 01:03:23 PM
Quote from: Joe on October 08, 2021, 12:54:27 PMOnly one applicant so far and more than likely the last one.
you should advertise for a prepress influencer...
should attract a few millennials with that
:lmao:
Every time I hear that term I die a little inside.
Quote from: RMPrepress on October 08, 2021, 12:48:11 PM
This an industry wide problem.
We have been looking for Heidelberg XL 40inch pressman for almost 2 years.
Feeders too....we have decided to train from within but that is a slow and painful process also.
An aging workforce along with people just leaving the print business is a huge problem.
It has begun to be addressed be Heidelberg and others by taking younger kids into training programs but it's a little too late.
Scary, I have 3 years, 10 months, 3 days, nine hours and 36 seconds and counting till I at least getting the government pension. We can send work out but other companies can't get paper. :facepalm: :facepalm:
Face it. We're a dying breed and nobody knows how much we're needed until we're gone.
Doomed.
Insert dinosaur emoji here.
I think the PIA has seen this coming for a long time. I used to be on an advisory board and then I was volunteered to take materials (like a VHS tape and a few visuals) around to high schools to get kids excited about a career in printing. I would talk about salaries of foremen, benefits, good career option even without higher education etc...
The idea was that printers were aging out and there were too few newbies to fill the pipeline. And this was back in the early to mid-ninties.
I've been meaning to get in touch with a former sales guy who got onto the board of the local PIA chapter and see what (if any) efforts are in place to refill the workforce. I'd wager there's lots of Initiatives and very few Candidates.
If you were in your 20s would you get into printing?
Quote from: DCurry on October 12, 2021, 05:49:09 AM
If you were in your 20s would you get into printing?
No. And they aren't.
Just did!
EDIT: I'm actually learning design but since we lost a prepress person i took on the duty of XMF and Prepress.
There are a few people learning printing at school, tho! Some even under 20. I'm almost 30 lol
Quote from: DCurry on October 12, 2021, 05:49:09 AM
If you were in your 20s would you get into printing?
Not a chance in hell.
Better paying careers with more opportunities for growth exist today
(for Prepress that is. Pressmen seem to make a nice hourly wage but the shift work must suck and the working conditions vary greatly from place to place)
Personally I find there are not a lot of places here in Ontario that want to pay more than Ontario's minimum wage for prepress work.
Lots of smaller 'mom n pop' places versus larger print companies.
If you do find something that pays well (something you can pay the bills with and put gas in the car.. if you can afford a car) then you either need to move to an expensive city (Toronto or surrounding parts... Burlington and Hamilton are getting expensive rent wise and home wise)
or commute 45mins - 1hr+ each way. every day.
so again, not a chance in hell.
(been in prepress for 16 years now)
Printing has been very good to me and my wife, and was really-REALLY good to my dad.
That being said, my son is a barista at Charbucks, lol
Although prepress and printing were good to me over the course of my career, it's just not the case these days. The company that I worked for previously for decades is held above water by a very small core of key production people, most of whom are my age. Some of them have put in for retirement. As they lose these people the ship will go down. Also, check out some of the larger producers, including the company I worked for, on Indeed or Glassdoor and the employee review ratings are very poor - usually only 1 or 2 stars. Low wages, clawed back benefits, no pensions, temp agency employment are what potential applicants can look forward to now. Not a chance in hell I would go into printing if I were 40 years younger now.
:cane:
Quote from: andyfest on October 23, 2021, 10:07:22 AM
Although prepress and printing were good to me over the course of my career, it's just not the case these days. The company that I worked for previously for decades is held above water by a very small core of key production people, most of whom are my age. Some of them have put in for retirement. As they lose these people the ship will go down. Also, check out some of the larger producers, including the company I worked for, on Indeed or Glassdoor and the employee review ratings are very poor - usually only 1 or 2 stars. Low wages, clawed back benefits, no pensions, temp agency employment are what potential applicants can look forward to now. Not a chance in hell I would go into printing if I were 40 years younger now.
:cane:
Same here. We hired my replacement. Only person that applied. 62 years young and has been out of work for a year and a half.
Quote from: DCurry on October 12, 2021, 05:49:09 AM
If you were in your 20s would you get into printing?
I'm having a tough time even recommending past co-workers to come into my current shop, and we need workers
badly.
I can't imagine anybody with the skills needed to even start in prepress wouldn't go into the IT field instead. Hell, I know of one guy who recently
left printing to get into cloud/IT work. Smart feller.
Or fart smeller?
We found a part timer guy... seems to be working ok so far.
Saw a prepress job being advertised. (company had advertised for the job about a month ago but seem to be looking again).
Pay: $15 to $33 dollars an hour.... what are they trying to say? Typo? I might think about applying but they specifically want "Heidelberg Prinect software" experience.
So they give you a choice between $15 and $33 per hour? Hint: Take the $33.
I'm thinking with the people they've been seeing, they may have to hire 2 people at 15 or one that knows what they are doing at 33. I bet a guy like you left and they are scrambling to find someone. I'm going to be 62, I might be similar to the guy that's replacing you!
If I had known the issues I would endure applying for social security, medicare (part A, B, C, D, G, N, etc...) and pensions I would have worked until I died. Imagine your worst print customer handing your health and financial future. :banghead:
do they reduce your social security when you have a pension?
I always wondered this, I will be getting a very small pension from when I worked at the Newspaper
if there is any money left for me! :laugh:
Quote from: Tracy on December 01, 2021, 09:52:47 AM
do they reduce your social security when you have a pension?
I always wondered this, I will be getting a very small pension from when I worked at the Newspaper
if there is any money left for me! :laugh:
No but if you decide to get another job when you retire there are limits to how much you can make before they start docking your SS. I have 3 pensions plus my SS. I'm about to have a stroke dealing with issues I mentioned. So I'll probably drop dead during my first week of retirement. I think they plan it that way.
holy cow Joe! 3 pensions? way to go!
you will destress in retirement and live long!
I hope you find something to fill your time that you enjoy. As much as you might feel good about getting out of prepress, there will be a need for something to replace it. All that frantic thinking and problem solving will leave a void.
A lot of guys start to drink too much, and that's not a great option.
I'm actually considering buying a run down house and remodeling it and trying to flip it. The housing market is crazy around here right now. It is hard to find anything to buy. Definitely a sellers market right now.
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 08:54:53 AM
We found a part timer guy... seems to be working ok so far.
Saw a prepress job being advertised. (company had advertised for the job about a month ago but seem to be looking again).
Pay: $15 to $33 dollars an hour.... what are they trying to say? Typo? I might think about applying but they specifically want "Heidelberg Prinect software" experience.
Is "Heidelberg Prinect software" not just a workflow like Apogee or Navigator? Or is it something very complicated that would require years of experience?
Quote from: Joe on December 01, 2021, 10:03:53 AM
No but if you decide to get another job when you retire there are limits to how much you can make before they start docking your SS.
If you retire at your full regiment age, you can work as many hours as you want with no penalty, that's what I'm doing now.
I set up my SS when I hit 66 (full retirement age), I still work over 40 hours a week and get my almost $2500 a month in SS.
If you wait longer than your full retirement age to get your SS, you are just throwing money away.
My wife quit her teaching gig in 2020 right when shit was blowing up, and with my SS and her bit of SS (benefits) along with me working still, we actually got a raise in income. WOOHOO!
At least here in Tejas.
:cool:
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 10:27:08 AM
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 08:54:53 AM
We found a part timer guy... seems to be working ok so far.
Saw a prepress job being advertised. (company had advertised for the job about a month ago but seem to be looking again).
Pay: $15 to $33 dollars an hour.... what are they trying to say? Typo? I might think about applying but they specifically want "Heidelberg Prinect software" experience.
Is "Heidelberg Prinect software" not just a workflow like Apogee or Navigator? Or is it something very complicated that would require years of experience?
they are all very similar, just got the buttons in different places.
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 10:25:24 AM
I hope you find something to fill your time that you enjoy. As much as you might feel good about getting out of prepress, there will be a need for something to replace it. All that frantic thinking and problem solving will leave a void.
A lot of guys start to drink too much, and that's not a great option.
I'm actually considering buying a run down house and remodeling it and trying to flip it. The housing market is crazy around here right now. It is hard to find anything to buy. Definitely a sellers market right now.
I sent my brother this awesome house near where I live. (I'm trying to get him out of Chicago) It listed at $455,000. 4 days later the price increased $95,000 to $550,000 and they are still accepting backup offers. Today is day 9 on the market. It's insane out here in NW Indiana with the bidding wars.
wow that is a lot for Indiana almost Cali prices!
Quote from: Skryber on December 01, 2021, 12:35:39 PM
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 10:25:24 AM
I hope you find something to fill your time that you enjoy. As much as you might feel good about getting out of prepress, there will be a need for something to replace it. All that frantic thinking and problem solving will leave a void.
A lot of guys start to drink too much, and that's not a great option.
I'm actually considering buying a run down house and remodeling it and trying to flip it. The housing market is crazy around here right now. It is hard to find anything to buy. Definitely a sellers market right now.
I sent my brother this awesome house near where I live. (I'm trying to get him out of Chicago) It listed at $455,000. 4 days later the price increased $95,000 to $550,000 and they are still accepting backup offers. Today is day 9 on the market. It's insane out here in NW Indiana with the bidding wars.
Yeah smart thing is to list your house at a low price which encourages a bidding war.
Quote from: Joe on December 01, 2021, 10:03:53 AM
So I'll probably drop dead during my first week of retirement. I think they plan it that way.
Get yourself a couple of fishing rods, a small tinny and go fishing, best way to destress that I know of.
yeah get a small tinny Joe!!
Quote from: Tracy on December 01, 2021, 03:44:19 PM
a small tinny
:shudder: I ever tell you guys the shipwreck story?
:popcorn:
Quote from: Tracy on December 01, 2021, 03:44:19 PM
yeah get a small tinny Joe!!
I dunno. I may need a large heated tinny. Gonna be cold out on the ice in January.
Quote from: Joe on December 01, 2021, 05:02:16 PM
Quote from: Tracy on December 01, 2021, 03:44:19 PM
yeah get a small tinny Joe!!
I dunno. I may need a large heated tinny. Gonna be cold out on the ice in January.
Yeah, not a lot of ice or waves around my parts. If the lake gets choppy above a 9" swell we go home :lmao:
And January for us is 40ºC plus, that's 104º Fahrenheit for you guys.
Water temp around that time of year is 20ºC (68ºF), we spend a fair bit of time both in and out of the boat while sitting in the middle of the lake
Quote from: madbugger on December 01, 2021, 05:15:27 PM
Quote from: Joe on December 01, 2021, 05:02:16 PM
Quote from: Tracy on December 01, 2021, 03:44:19 PM
yeah get a small tinny Joe!!
I dunno. I may need a large heated tinny. Gonna be cold out on the ice in January.
Yeah, not a lot of ice or waves around my parts. If the lake gets choppy above a 9" swell we go home :lmao:
And January for us is 40ºC plus, that's 104º Fahrenheit for you guys.
Water temp around that time of year is 20ºC (68ºF), we spend a fair bit of time both in and out of the boat while sitting in the middle of the lake
In summer here, we average between 20 and 30 days 104
o +
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 10:27:08 AM
Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on December 01, 2021, 08:54:53 AM
We found a part timer guy... seems to be working ok so far.
Saw a prepress job being advertised. (company had advertised for the job about a month ago but seem to be looking again).
Pay: $15 to $33 dollars an hour.... what are they trying to say? Typo? I might think about applying but they specifically want "Heidelberg Prinect software" experience.
Is "Heidelberg Prinect software" not just a workflow like Apogee or Navigator? Or is it something very complicated that would require years of experience?
Prinect is just their version of workflow software. Way back in the mists of time it was a partner with Prinergy.