Re: Graphic Designers job?
Matt,
I"ll try to address your specific issue as best I can relate in my own world. It is very similar. When I started (5ish yrs ago) we were still 3 'designers' with film and a separate darkroom employee. I was on the bottom rung and as we moved forward with transition to ctp, I became head of the prepress/design/platemaking dept., and we cut 2 jobs. We stayed with 2 positions file prep/platemaking and designer for a few years until about a year ago when we added one more position back to the dept. because of growth. When we did that we separated each person into a specific job description. We have a designer, a file prep dude, and myself. I run the dept. and also handle ALL of the final prep and platemaking work. That is our structure, so now I can address your specific questions.
I will agree with your boss on one point, it is the designer's responsibility (in-house or client) to give the end customer something that looks good and what they have asked for. However, a designer who does not intimately understand the print process, techniques and limitations of that process, and the challenges associated with bringing a design through prepress, will never be fully able to achieve with any accuracy exactly what they are selling to the client. So if a designer thinks they can make something look great and rely solely upon you to output plates that will match what they have as a printout or on their screen, then there is a very serious communication and knowledge gap present. Now I know you see it everyday and most likely for a lot of clients or designers, slight color variations aren't a big deal. But, I'm sure you have some clients who take it very seriously because their livliehood depends on it. You spoke in fairly general terms about "getting it right", so I'm taking some liberties here with my response and leaning towards matching colors since that is the first problem usually encountered.
My approach since I started as a lowly pee-on when these opportunities arise has always been first and foremost to talk with either a customer service representative or client/designer directly and, in a professional, nonthreatening way, educate them as much as they will accept about the printing process as it specifically relates to their project and the whole process in general. Obviously some folks are more receptive to this than others, but I'm sure you understand that too. When I took over the dept., we hired a new designer. He had no real background in printing, but a good eye for design. The first thing I did and at every opportunity for awhile afterwards, I gave him jobs that were unusual print projects and required him to elevate his knowledge in some aspect of the actual print process. Sometimes strange layouts, manually arranging hard mechanicals in efficient press layouts, picky client files that I knew would cause him grief, and things like that. I did the very same thing with my file prep guy, who was fresh out of college when we hired him.
With all that being said, it is our responsibility in the platemaking world to give our press guys what they need to get the job done according to the specs we receive and the files we have to work with.
In one respect, your boss is right, it is our responsibility to make the file run as best we can, even though it sounds like he or she is oversimplifying the task. You are correct also in that it is a GOOD designer's responsibility to get it right to start with. I'm going to go out on a limb here (as usual) and add to your responsibilities. You should seize every opportunity to establish communication with your in-house designer, (if possible) clients, and even your customer service representatives and try to help them understand the challenges that you face. After all we are in a service business and the knowledge you have and are willing to share only benefits the customer. It's not about making your job easier, its about making sure the customer's expectations are met and exceeded. Your designer may view it as you trying to make things easier on yourself, but I guarantee if you present it to your boss in the manner I just did, he will give it some thought.
Honestly, we can take nearly any file and make it print. But if its not designed from the beginning to print on paper, and all of the factors associated with that process not taken into consideration, then that is ultimately where the problem begins for everyone. So to close this ridiculously lengthy response, it is a team effort. You and the designer should work together and share your accumulated knowledge to produce the best possible end product for your client. Finger pointing leads nowhere. Step up and take charge in your efforts to solve the real problem of communication.
Good luck and let me know how things turn out.
Neil
