Pressmen as Platemakers?

[Hopkins Printing]

Just curious if anyone out there has their pressmen make plates instead of a prepress person?

Reasoning?

[Cornishpastythighs]

We have trained all our press people to make plates during the off shifts as there is only dayshift in our plateroom. They all know how to work the CTP and processor as well as sending over CIP3 files if they need them. They only make plates no file changes or anything creative.

[gordo]

Just curious if anyone out there has their pressmen make plates instead of a prepress person?

Reasoning?

Many shops have their nightshift press operators make plates so that prepress can close down. It also means that if a plate breaks and a new one is needed then prepress doesn't have to be involved.

Interestingly the first Creo CtP devices circa 1996 were designed to sit in the pressroom rather than prepress so that press operators could make plates as needed without prepress being involved.

best. gordo

[Mike F]

Pretty much what Gordo and Cornish said. Pretty much everyone besides me outside the pressroom is gone around 5pm, and I'm only here till about 7pm, so the pressmen here know how to make plates in case a plate gets scratched or turns out to be bad. They don't make changes or anything like that though, if for some reason something gets approved and then the customer needs an emergency change post-approval after prepress leaves, the prepress guys can connect remotely from home and make the changes and then the pressmen make the plates.

[TheProcessIStheproduct]

both shifts image plates they are going to use, in a perfect day they stay about 4 plates ahead, if something happens, jam, error etc. they come talk to me, I don't want them turning a wrench on the CTP (too heavy handed), no creative involved just output

[DanB]

We moved platemaking from prepress to press years ago when we went to CTP. This works well for us because plates are made just in time as needed. I some cases, we've save the cost of remaking plates due to last minute customer alterations.

Dan B

[uncle leo]

I worked in a shop where the lead pressman INSISTED that he STRIP the film as well as plate the jobs he was going to run because he felt that the stripper was doing a bad job (pre-CTP years). All prepress did was run the film.

Most pressmen that I know can and will make plates, even though most of them would rather not.
Most pressman that I know can, but won't strip.

[zoran]

Jon, I hope you don't mind, but I find this topic interesting so wanted more feedback.
I posted separate Poll here:
Who should run CTP, Prepress or Pressroom?

[Alith7]

Our shop has had the pressmen making the plates since the neg/Poly days. Back then, I was the ONLY prepress person, and I ran the 1/2 color presses more than I did the computer work.
Now, we're MUCH bigger, and have since switched to CTP about 7 years ago, and the pressmen still burn most of their plates. prepress helps sometimes as the burner is next to our office area and the beeping is flipping annoying.
most of the reasoning is as was previously stated though, it's just easier for the pressmen to burn their plates in the order they want them in the timing they want them. In our shop, they even have the control to pull up old reorders by job number and reburn the plates so they don't have to wait for prepress.

[Mike F]

I should have mentioned, we have someone that checks proofs and makes plates and nothing else. He comes in pretty early and leaves around 3, between 3 - 5 the prepress manager makes any plates that still need to be made, 5 - 7 I take care of it if anything's left, and then if a plate is bad in those next 12 or so hours before the CTP guy comes in in the morning, the pressmen will remake whatever they need.