Copier guy looking to learn printing on a Ryobi 3200 or 2800

[kevinphila]

Hi everyone

I am a supervisor at a print shop and I have been thinking of learning to run the offset press to add to my skill set. I am the main operator on the Xerox Docutech 6115, 4112 and DC252.

I do the prepress work in Adobe CS5 and I've been in the industry for 15 years, just not running offset. Right now we have a AB Dick 9985 which is a rebadged Ryobi 3302M. Our Hamada 600 is ready for the dump and I am looking into getting a refurbished Ryobi 3200 or 2800 to run just envelopes since its a direct feed. My question is what is the learning curve on these machines? I have a pressman but he gets backed up and I can give him a hand on envelopes if this machine is fairly simple to run.

Does anyone have these machines and how is it going to work, taking a prepress/copier guy like me and teaching him the press?

Thanks for your insight.

[RGPW17100]

Does the 3200 have a crestline dampening system? The older super aqua damp system is a bit harder to run and does not do solids well. The learning curve will depend on you. It is nothing like a copier so your experience with that is of no help. It is like anything else either you are gifted at doing it or not. I have seen operators go to a press and be awesome right away and I have seen operators do this for years and still not be very good at it. Give it three weeks full time and see where you are after that. Your other press operator may see you as taking away his job so he may not be as helpful as you may need. If he is willing to help you should have no problems.

[TheProcessIStheproduct]

running a press just takes reps, you are going to suck at first, then get a little less sucky the more you run it...

[John Arneson]

It only takes weeks to learn to push the buttons, It takes years to learn to lay ink.

[hondarr9]

Running simple envelope jobs should be fairly easy, especially if you have an experienced pressman around. I'd say in a couple of weeks you should be able to whip off some jobs on your own. You should devote a whole day to just running the press uninterrupted.

[bprint_tampabay]

Why would you want to try to learn a dying trade?

Spend your time getting better at what you know.

It is a skill set that is destined for the Smithsonian.

[kevinphila]

Does the 3200 have a crestline dampening system? The older super aqua damp system is a bit harder to run and does not do solids well. The learning curve will depend on you. It is nothing like a copier so your experience with that is of no help. It is like anything else either you are gifted at doing it or not. I have seen operators go to a press and be awesome right away and I have seen operators do this for years and still not be very good at it. Give it three weeks full time and see where you are after that. Your other press operator may see you as taking away his job so he may not be as helpful as you may need. If he is willing to help you should have no problems.

Thanks I would def get crestline or a Kompac on it. I think my press guy would be thankful to get the extra help. We bought a digital duplicator for simple text line art jobs on #10 envelopes that has bailed us out a couple of times when he was on vacation, but it didnt match the offset quality.

Im a quick learner and its something I can put on my resume. I like the prepress end better and leave the dirty stuff such as the press work to someone else, but as a supervisor I feel as though it will only help me to know all the aspects of the shop. In todays economy I am just trying to learn all I can to have a plan B or even get a part time job running offset for a few of my contacts.

Thanks for the advice. Do you have the Ryobi models I mentioned?

Kev

[kevinphila]

Awesome thank you its nice to hear some encouraging words!

[kevinphila]

running a press just takes reps, you are going to suck at first, then get a little less sucky the more you run it...

Thanks, I figure its going to be a chore, but I always like running something new and between the pressman I have there and my techs I think the training will go well.

[Rhett]

I disagree with the "dying trade", particularly until you resolve the letterhead/laser printer problem, envelope printing and the cost/benefit of big press runs. I worked for years in the digital trade and the best addition to the shops I worked at was a 2 color press that could do both letterhead and envelopes... and much, much more. I'm a prepress guy in a very large offset shop now, and while we send a number of jobs to the digital equipment, the offset side definitely pulls in the most profit, with very large output numbers. If you've already got a pressman that's willing to help, there is definitely no reason you can't learn. I'd love to hear about results after you've invested some time.