Within the past week at RIT, I obtained a position that I have been seeking for over two years. I was hired as Production Manager for the only student produced, 32-page, weekly color college news magazine in the United States. In this blog I would like to share with you what the Reporter magazine is, how I will manage print on the Goss Sunday 2000 and my thoughts on the industry pertaining to technology and providing customers with cutting-edge print services.
Reporter delivers on- and off-campus news, features, entertainment and sports coverage to the RIT community every Friday morning with a circulation of 6,000. A winner of numerous state and national awards, it is highly-regarded as one of the nation’s most innovative college publications, respected for its high quality of writing, photography, illustration, design and printing.
Through my time interning at Advanced Web and GLS before coming to RIT, I gained a great deal of hands on experience through every aspect of the print production workflow. I worked throughout prepress, was a press assistant on both a Heidelberg CD 102 and Komori web press and spent time in bindery. After attending production meetings each morning with the managers of each department, I knew that production management was an area I was well suited for and possessed a great amount of interest in.
What excites me most about this job is managing print that is being run on the Goss Sunday 2000 web press. There is a great deal of work that goes into being production manager and I have loved every minute of it. My duties include strategic print production planning, attending press runs, coordination of special projects, communication between art staff, editorial staff and outside vendors and planning and development for distribution and circulation.
My ultimate goal within this position is to make the entire student body at RIT aware of print and appreciate it in ways they never thought were possible. By utilizing industry leading equipment and technology along with creativity, I know I can achieve this goal.
In my last blog I discussed my Production Manager position within TAGA and how our goal in creating the journal was to provide the reader an innovative “tactical experience.”
What I plan to do with Reporter magazine is to continue its highly regarded reputation nationally. Through the incorporation of special weekly issues, I plan to feature unique aspects of print in order to retain positive and highly regarded feedback. The use of scented inks, variable data printing, dimensional coating, metallic inks, QR codes and different stocks of paper are just a few examples that I am eager to look into incorporatinginto the magazine.
Something that I love about this industry is the constant progression of technology. Every day when I visit print sites online, I find myself reading about new digital and offset presses that are setting higher standards than previously on the market. Digital presses are getting faster, increasing image quality and finding newer ways to utilize fifth units (dimensional coating, security printing, increased color gamut by adding red, green or blue dry ink, etc) as seen in the Kodak NexPress. Offset presses are as always increasing speed and becoming somehow ever more automated than previously before.
The reason I have sought out the companies that I have worked for in the past is because they have invested in the type of technology that allows them to be extremely competitive and offer their customers innovative and cutting-edge printing services. What I loved about working on a Heidelberg CD 102 all last summer was the use of UV and seeing it add astonishing results to every printed piece. This summer I will be working for Bolger in Minneapolis, which in 2007 purchased a one-of-a-kind press in North America. The 10-color KBA Rapida 105 perfecting press allows them to competitively utilize perfecting, UV capabilities, coating towers and state-of-the-art precise register and color control.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my position within Reporter and I would like to add that this magazine has been on campus at RIT now for over 100 years. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please feel free to share them and I would be happy to hear from you.
- Companies:
- Heidelberg
He enjoys sharing his insight and involvement within the industry and is always searching for new experiences. Nick’s goal is to lead his generation into the future of the printing industry.