Shop closing

[almaink]

So after almost 28 years Alma Offset is officially shutting down on March 2nd. What sucks the most is being 58 and almost to retirement age. What sucks second is not much out there in this area in the way of printing jobs. Mostly Flexo and low paying copy jobs. No idea how we are going to pay the bills but hopefully something will turn up soon. 

[DCurry]

Sorry to hear that. Hope something turns up for you.

[Joe]

Oh man that sucks. Sorry to hear that. Good luck finding something. It would be nice if experience mattered in this trade anymore. Unfortunately all they want is the cheapest they can find.

[pspdfppdfxhd]

Sorry to hear that too. I could be in the same boat as you one day, am 55 and can see our place closing in 3-5 years which would make it about the same as your situation. it's a little scary and I can't afford to retire till at least 10 years off. Good luck.

[Farabomb]

Sucks to hear your shop is closing. It's not much better up here in the metro area. Hopefully something will turn up.

[Possum]

I'm around your age and our shop has been teetering on the brink for years now, so I know the feeling. The only other shop left in town sends all their stuff out, so not many opportunities. Just to add to what Joe said, people also get impressed by a degree, nevermind that all they learned was web design. Somebody with experience that knows print can't win over some know-nothing kid with a piece of paper.

Hope you can find somebody who still appreciates knowledge and experience. 

[Tracy]

sheesh that's too bad, I wouldn't worry about your age tho. your experience is more important
now to find a place! I pray you find a place!!
Been wondering if I need to add a skill, not trusting printing anymore.

[Possum]

Tracy, if you can add a skill, I'd recommend it. The one aspect of printing that seems to have a stable future (IMHO) is packaging. That might be a good place to start if you can.

[Tracy]

I do some packaging files here and there, prolly not like packaging printers do.
I do like it.
you know what else seems to be booming? Large Format.
I seem to undersell my Design capabilities tho, not sure if I suck at it or not

[andyfest]

Sorry to hear that too. I could be in the same boat as you one day, am 55 and can see our place closing in 3-5 years which would make it about the same as your situation. it's a little scary and I can't afford to retire till at least 10 years off. Good luck.

Well I am about the same age as almaink and our controller confided to me that he thinks our place will be closing in 5 years or less. I've suspected it for a while now as corporate hasn't spent an effen dime here for new equipment either at prepress or on the production floor for a very long time. In the meantime they have been pouring money into the Toronto operation for a couple of years now. At this stage I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I can ride this out close to retirement age. 

almaink - your best bet is to try and find a folding carton/packaging operation. They are the last bastion of hope in the printing industry. Good luck!

[almaink]

Thanks for the kind words and advice everyone. I've applied at 4 Flexo shops that do packaging but haven't heard back and since it's been a week figure I won't 3 of them are a long commute so they would be a last resort anyway. I also have a few other shop owners I now that don't need anyone themselves looking for me. I'm also letting all our customers that I did design work for as an Alma employee know I'm available freelance now. That would be the best thing if I could work from home just doing design.

[Tracy]

If your close to any vendors their a good source for what's going on in other shops

[wonderings]

sheesh that's too bad, I wouldn't worry about your age tho. your experience is more important
now to find a place! I pray you find a place!!
Been wondering if I need to add a skill, not trusting printing anymore.

Age can be a big factor when looking at hiring someone. It is not supposed to be, but there is no denying it. Why would I want to hire someone who will most likely want to retire in 5 to 10 years? It's unfortunate, but it is a reality. We have had a ton of resumes dropped off over the years, print shops are hurting, especially the small ones. Can be very hard to compete against the large trade printers prices, despite their terrible print quality.

[Tracy]

I would say Prepress people as a whole are aging, not seeing a lot of whipper snappers in prepress.
and it's not a job you can't do into retirement age.
I think I'm a half full kinda girl

[Joe]

The last time I was looking for work I was 46 and even at that age you got a lot of "we'll call you" comments that never materialized. I'm soon going to be 61 and if I lost this job I can guarantee I would not be able to land a prepress job in the USA.