"If in doubt blame prepress" attitude

[Rob]

Hi All,

(I've posted this also in the general section by mistake)

I work for Smurfit print UK, producing envelopes, photo wallets, seed pockets etc.

The Prepress department I work in (as an artworker/CTP platemaker) seems to get the blame for absolutely everything that goes wrong throughout the entire factory - I'm curious if anyone else on here can relate to this scenario.

- If there's anything wrong with the instructions we get and we don't pick it up (no matter how obscure) we get bollocked.

- If we're issued with an incorrect "copy for content" for an imposition job and don't spot that it doesn't match the layout quantity sheet then we'll be blamed - even though the descriptions are clear as mud (if we query a jobs instructions we get moaned at for not having enough common sense).

- We're not allowed to spend any time in the factory to get to know the main machines (at least), and get moaned at if we can't mind-read every last piece of spec for jobs being produced on them.

- We've just upgraded to OSX and Artpro 7.5 which has caused endless teething problems with Allegro RIP on our Creo CTP machine - we've endevoured to sort it out but have had absolutely not allowances made for this movement from one system to another (no change management).

etc etc

Well now I've got that off my chest I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or experience of how they've managed to improve the credability and respect for their Prepress dept - it's a nightmare in our place at the moment and there must be some stratergy to show that Prepress isn't just the easiest job in the plant (as it's perceived to be).

Thanks

Rob

[Nytemare]

Happened to us as well. Prepress gets to be the scapegoat around here because we handle so much more work than any other area. We have 5 presses, and each one has its own special requirements. Of course we're expected to remember them when doing impositions. All of our bindary equipment as well.
What we did, was anytime instructions were unclear, we noted it on the back of our job ticket. When files were built poorly, or incorrectly, we noted it, as well as contact the account rep, we started a Quality Control list for the company as a whole, and when something was wrong, we had a clear place to check and see who failed to do what they were supposed to. We also had a meeting with our sales team and their account reps, and discussed how they noted things and sent things to us effect the way we do our jobs and came up with a better method, that we all agree on. We, prepress, essentially got fed up with being blamed for everything and found ways to not only get the information we need, but to bite back. Personal responsibility also helped. With the new Quality Control sheets, every person is accountable for his or her work, and we know it. Several things changed in this shop because of it. Some people quit because they didn't like it, others stepped up and did better work. All around, it has been a big improvement.
Nyte

[JimG]

Hate to say it, but this is a management and training issue. No matter what size plant it is, I have seen the same issues over and over. Basically dude it is not your fault. I would say with the info given, management should give serious consideration to better job planning. Too many companies do not plan jobs correctly to start and prepress is forced to try to figure bad job tickets and impositions.
These are fixable problems--but you can't do it alone.

Keep on the CSRs or Job Planner until you get correct information and educate yourself as much as possible.

Lastly if someone says to you---get it done will fix it later--remember one of the oldest saying "Not enough time to do it right, but plenty of time to to it over"

[jackmik]

unfortunately it is a combination of things. CSR gets crappy or no information from the Sales/Client, CSR doesn't know enough about preflighting (in and outs of the applications) to write up a ticket that is specific enough for the operator. Even if they did get all of the information, they would end up writing a novel for a work order, which in turn, isn't read by most of the operators. The production manager should be able to take the little information they get from the CSR and go over the job with the CSR and then go over the job in detail with the operator. Through past experience as a production manager, i always asked to view job on screen or a fiery before job was ripped, cut down on a lot of stupid mistakes on all ends.

[thePortugueseMan]

If the information that is given to you is unclear, normalize the comunication. Build a job form, but do it multiple choise. That way everybody can easely learn to fill it out and understand it, and there will be no chance for a sales person to wright a small novell in it (in unreadable glyphs like they allways do) . Just mark the right option.
This might prove dificult if all your jobs are very diferent from one an other, but it seams to me you company is especialised in pockets.
The form sholed have information like the number of colors, impositons style, machine it will be run, finiching equipment to be used, clients phone number... This will be usefull not just to prepress but to everybody in the plant. Only one document, all the jobs specs. 8)

[Sparky]

doesn't matter who gives you the info or who writes the job ticket or what salesman gave the wrong info to the CSRs etc. We, the Pre-press industry of the world will get the blame if the job goes wrong.
More times than not I will read a job ticket, look at the job on screen see that it is 8.5 x 11 and RIP it to plate that way only to have the Shop boss come back at me and say "this was supposed to be 2-up W/T on 11 x 17!!! OK simple example but I try to look at all aspects of a job and will even go back and ask even what appears to be the most stupid of questions as to layout, paper, colors, what press will it be running on etc., etc.
I will admit I still miss a few things but I have a pretty good track record in our shop, but as I hear you say no matter what you think you do right, there will always be somebody to come rattle your cage, and say "you F***ed up!!
It's what we do, and I'm damn proud to do it!!

[pspdfppd]

Prepress runs on computers. Apparently computers are magic devices. If the operator make any kind of error it is obviously his fault because the compute/system costs a lot of money and only makes mistakes if the operator f***'s up.

This is the way it's percieved by many.

Truth is...every one along the line before the job even gets to us had this ... job in-computer fixes and organizes all the details-mentality but this is not reality. Everyone has become lazy except the poor prepress operator. We are standing on our heads and spitting nickels to make things work. We should be getting pissed off at THEM for lack of support and planning not vice-versa.

On the long road to getting a job out....say 2000 mouse clicks and 50 choices on dialoge boxes...if we error on just one little box the job can get frigged up.

I think that this is vastly overlooked by those that point the fingers of blame. Our chances of error are great.......if all responsibility for the output/setup/whatever are placed on our shoulders than it is THEY that are the morons....

[Lammy]

all i can say is. . . in four years the pressman have stopped about 100 jobs because they determained "the films must be wrong". Out of those 100 times in four years we've not remade one set of those films. It still happens to this day. Just last week a pressman came over insisting something was wrong with the films because the sheet didn't match the proofs. We looked at it. told him to try running more yellow and less cyan and more black. . . lo and behold the job matched, they ran the whole thing, and never once said sorry or thank you. . . . .

[Peon]

We are pretty fortunate our planner was our production manager so he knows the steps that we need to go through. He makes the order forms easy to read because information is at a glance. I have found that it works better when all the information is at a glance on the front of the work order and it needs to be simple and to the point. Our new porduction manager wants to change things and make us read the order like a book and yet he's a freak about losing time. We write a spoilage just because of the time it takes to report an issue, that's it, just the time. But since it was his idea to "better things", time is not an issue, what an freakin' ass monkey. And like the rest of you if a job goes wrong or a file won't run it has to be in prepress or it has to be our workflow software. I get so freaking tired of these assbags blaming it all on us I could scream. We are only human and we make mistakes, but not all of the mistakes. I freakin' hate power freaks and our new production manager is a huge power freak, and another unfortunate thing is he is one of those people that thinks everything should come out of our department flawless, what a dumb ass. :roll:

[Vinny]

Everybody points fingers at the other departments.

It wasn't until I moved into prepress that I had to learn to have thick skin. Especially when it comes to design everybody puts there two cents in that one. Not just the print departments.

You just have to deal with it. Being at the top of production your always going to get pointed at. Bindery gets alot of the prepress and press mistakes when alot of their mistakes make it out the door without anyone having to deal with it. Press has to deal with prepress mistakes. And I think to top it all prepress has to deal with customer mistakes.

I've seen prepress pointing fingers at the press when all along it was prepress. And likewise and likewise.

It goes both ways.