By: Brad Kartel
Submitted: 2011-08-08 09:56:51 | Word Count: 588
If you are wondering what goes on in a commercial printing company, well it literally runs like a well-oiled machine. There are five departments in a commercial printer three of them are involved in the production. Let us take a look at all of them.
The Creative Department
This is where the artists, graphics designers, and proofreaders are. Usually, this office is separated from pretty much every one else because the artists and the editors need to concentrate on their work, so this is a quiet place most of the time. Additionally, the designs, especially of advertising materials, are usually confidential before they are released to the public. So that is why the designs need to be guarded from people who just come in to spy on the designs.
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The Printing Department
After the designs are done, they are processed for printing. If the requirement is full color printing, then the file undergoes color separation in order to be ready for the CMYK printing. Once the films are ready, these are then transferred onto plates then loaded in the machines. The operator loads the right amounts of ink and the right quantity and quality of paper then does a test print. The test print will have to be approved by a supervisor of the commercial printing company before mass printing begins.
The Finishing Department
When the printing is done, the materials are then moved to the finishing department where the staff will apply the requirements of the client. If there are not much specifications, the materials will be trimmed or cut so that they will all be uniform in size. The finishing department is adjacent to the printing department for efficient operations. These areas are separated from the main office and the creative department because of the noise and the fumes that they create. Additionally, printed materials are confidential until the client releases them to the public.
The Sales and Marketing Department
These two teams usually sit in the front office. They are at the forefront of the operations because they look for clients and they entertain walk-ins. They close the deals and are usually on the phone following up clients. When clients come in, theirs are the faces usually seen first. They could not be joined with the creative department because these people talk a lot on the phone doing sales calls and that would be distracting to artists. In bigger firms, it would be the receptionist.
The Administration and Finance Department
These two departments also work hand in hand. In smaller print shops, the admin and the finance only have one personnel for each. The admin also serves as the human resource staff handling personnel matters. The finance officer is also the one who handles clerical accounting work such as billing, deposits, and payroll.
As you have read above, a commercial printer can be a really big organization. If you are talking about those monthly periodicals or the daily newspapers, the operations are pretty much the same but the workforce is multiplied. This is especially true with dailies because they have daily deadlines and the presses run every day, mostly at night so that the newspaper comes out in the morning. We just take for granted the printed materials that we see every day without knowing what goes on in a commercial printing.
Author Resource:-
Brad Kartel is a marketing executive whose passion is helping business owners build their campaign through acquiring services from a commercial printing company. Learn more about this commercial printer.
