What annoys you about press operators

[BeauchampT]

I may regret this, but...

I work as a press operator and want to work very closely with prepress for the best troubleshooting and results possible. Obviously in most plants, the relationship between prepress and pressroom has been 'strained' to say the least.

So, to all you prepress workers, form newbie to very experienced - what do we press operators do that annoys you most?? How can I communicate better with platemakers, graphic designers, proof makers, and so on?

Thanks for your input...

[zoran]

I think you should come working for us as such attitude coming from Pressman is unheard of
Seriously, what you are doing now is great first step, next one is to get technical lead or supervisor befriended and go out for a coffee or lunch and chat.
It might take a while but you might turn out to be best friends and both benefit from the relationship.
I think prepress is mostly irked with pressman attitude (I run big iron, nobody is equal to me, how dare you telling me that I have flaws, etc...).
Next thing would be not understanding what prepress has to deal with.

Pressroom mostly starts with perfect product that prepress is responsible for.

Prepress mostly starts with garbage that they are suppose to fix to make it into something that pressman is willing to put on his press.

It's a good start, this is from top of my head, keep it coming (you opened can of worms my friend)

[nhprinter]

Pressroom mostly starts with perfect product that prepress is responsible for.

Crap paper with more dust than an old ladies closet, temps in the pressroom that can vary by 40 degrees, rollers that shrink and swell, too much humidity, not enough humidity, too much tack, not enough tack, ghosting issues because of an inexperenced prepress person imposing the job wrong, "designers" that are "designers" because they own a computer and photoshop and put an 80% in the middle of an 11 x 17 solid with a gradient in front of that.



Let's not even get into the mechanical aspects of a printing press and what can go wrong on a daily basis.


There.....with that off my chest....

I'm a production manager so I deal with both departments on a daily basis, but my background is in the pressroom. (bet you couldn't tell)

We've got very good communication between departments so we don't have the problems that some shops do, but I have seen friction caused by a lack of knowledge in both departments.

I think it will always be there, but it can be limited with good COMMUNICATION and they both have to be open-minded. If either department talks down to the other it's a lost cause.

Consider the can opened.........:-)

[Erik Nikkanen]

I may regret this, but...

I work as a press operator and want to work very closely with prepress for the best troubleshooting and results possible. Obviously in most plants, the relationship between prepress and pressroom has been 'strained' to say the least.

So, to all you prepress workers, form newbie to very experienced - what do we press operators do that annoys you most?? How can I communicate better with platemakers, graphic designers, proof makers, and so on?

Thanks for your input...

BeauchampT, you have a great attitude shown by this question. Basically I would say that one problem could be is that press operators sometimes take a stance that implies that they have more understanding of the process than they actually do.

The whole process of printing is very complicated. There are so many things that can happen that seem unexpected in addition to the ones that are expected, that the prepress or press operator have to deal with. I have always been amazed at the number of issues that come up.

On the other hand, being a complicated process is not the problem. Many processes are very complicated but they have been understood better and therefore technology has been developed to address the fundamentals of that complication. The complication becomes almost invisible to the users.

With printing, historically and culturally, problems that lead to the complexity of the process are not corrected but tend to be covered up with technical approaches that address mostly the symptoms. This has resulted in better performing technology but technology that still allows problems to exist. This puts a lot of pressure on the operators.

If the industry can not explain in rational terms these problems, it is understandable that operators in prepress and at the press, will not explain issues in a way that will always lead to a quick solution.

In an environment that is this complicated and uncertain, I would suggest that people deal with each other in probabilities and not certainty. Never be 100% sure of anything. Never state that something is for sure "No *** good". Say where the problem is probably located and where it is probably not located and go from there.

One Japanese technique for problem solving addresses this issue. When everyone believes 100% that a problem is not caused by a certain issue, they tend not to investigate that issue. The technique says to try things you don't believe will work, just to find out what happens. If you have a belief that something will not work, you subconsciously make rational reasons for why it will not work. Actually testing what you don't believe can be a real eye opener when the results differ from your belief. It shows that what you believe is not always a good guide to what you should do.

Experts are a great barrier to progress. Humility can help a lot in relations between prepress and press.

[HPC]

I may regret this, but...

I work as a press operator and want to work very closely with prepress for the best troubleshooting and results possible. Obviously in most plants, the relationship between prepress and pressroom has been 'strained' to say the least.

So, to all you prepress workers, form newbie to very experienced - what do we press operators do that annoys you most?? How can I communicate better with platemakers, graphic designers, proof makers, and so on?

Thanks for your input...

Awesome attitude!!! Wish I had a few more pressman like this!!

Best piece of advice I can offer is no matter what the problem is, always approach as just that... a problem. Too often as crafts people we are very sensitive about mistakes, self included. As soon as you take a problem, put it off to the side, and address it as a problem, not he did or she did, I did. You will find it much easier to break it down to causes and solutions. Also, when asking questions, never use why, always use what. By using what it makes you phrase your question constructively, it also causes a more technical response than why. Sorry if this is a bit broken up, but its before my standard pot of coffee and I am so happy to run across a person with such an attitude like this I just wanted to help. I wish you luck on your adventure, don't get discouraged.

[Greg_Firestone]

It would be a riot to take a press crew and a prepress crew and let them switch hats for one day. We can do a reality TV show.

All kidding aside, I'm sure there would be a lot more appreciation for what each other brings to the table.

Greg

[HPC]

[QUOTE=Greg_Firestone;164616]It would be a riot to take a press crew and a prepress crew and let them switch hats for one day. We can do a reality TV show.


Why stop there? How about the entire plant? There has to be enough entertainment for a half hour to an hour reality show!! Heck, film the plant for an entire week, pay someone to edit the entertaining footage, split the proceeds, everyone wins!!! From the janitor dumping a truck full of numbered cards all over the floor, to the look on someone's face getting busted for doing something they shouldn't.

[Luc St-Pierre]

Well, we have done it! Prepress people as press helpers for a full shift on high-end touchy jobs. Press people sitting in front of a computer for a whole shift. Nobody learned much in a single shift except that they learned to talk to each other and foremost to listen to each other. And to conclude, I must confess beeing in a position where I live in both worlds, that prepress can do a lot more with all the technology than a pressman operating a huge and unforgiving piece of equipment. All pressmen need to learn is to express clearly their needs to prepress that in turn will listen and find a fixer.

[BeauchampT]

Very nice comments far. Ok...to summarize what I get from this:

1)Talk - and be clear about what you are saying, not accusing but learning and stating your needs
2) Humility - especially if someone (on either end) made a mistake

And I think that reality show would have very limited appeal - I mean other than people in the print industry, who would get most of it??? :-)

Appreciate all your comments so far. Keep anything fresh coming.

As a side point - I see at my plant a real lack of knowledge in the platemaking and proofing aspect. We have excellent graphics and computer work, but when something else goes wrong, it takes along time for prepress to troubleshoot. So far, when I've suspected a solution and made a suggestion, I'm usually on the right track (or at least a good starting point). Any suggestions on how to get involved without stepping on toes???

[imagesetting]

Yes, its all about open communication - uncharged, as a prepress man now, I used to be a pressman also involved with finishing, and have a complete understanding of what is required, you can work with prepress staff who have no press room experience, but it does help somewhat !

http://www.imagesetting.com