LETTERS to the editor

Skilled Labor Debate Rages

Dear Editor, Regarding the skilled labor controversy, here is another vantage point. First, Mr. Levenson is correct in saying that the industry does not need union offset pressmen. We do, however, need pressmen. What we have today are, for the most part, operators.

In this day of the "McDonald-ization" of many industries, including printing, automation and turnaround are paramount. If you asked an operator about print length, wire vs. felt, what densitometers do, spectrophotometry, ink tacks, feeding wavy paper, screen angles, emulsification, dot patterns, etc., all you would get is a blank stare.

Just last week, an operator was asked to reboot the press, and he didn't even know how to shut the power off. Even the equipment manufacturers only brag about productivity gains. When was the last time a press manufacturer announced quality enhancement tools as standard equipment?

Next, to say that we should forget "craft" is wrong. That is exactly why we can't get skilled labor. Who wants to make a career in production at McDonalds? Craft is needed, even in this day of automation, because "individualized and personal skills" will achieve a common goal (standards) faster than non-craftsmen would. Leave alone all of the potential problems in the printing process that a craftsman would easily resolve and an operator would not know where to begin.

Next, standards and systems are only as good as the individual utilizing and setting them. And who is monitoring this? How many jobs are run without QA approval? Therefore, it is not just "who is doing the task" that makes productivity and quality consistent. It is also the managers who set the standards.

In the interest of fast turnaround, aka higher profits, I have found the common response from management and sales to be: "It has to deliver." By the way, as a QA person in the printing industry for nearly 36 years, I can tell you that productivity has gone up and quality is going down, more internally than externally. I'm fortunate to work for a company that has a QA department. There are many that don't or have eliminated them.

It is sad to see the deterioration of quality and craftsmanship, which go hand in hand in the printing industry. There is no longer "Pride in Print."

If the printing industry wants to regain its past luster, we need to stop producing (and accepting) "average," stop blaming others (vocational and community colleges), and start emphasizing creativity, quality, reputation, innovation and what a craftsman can do to a blank sheet of paper. Then advertise it.

Alan Bossie
TCG
Raleigh, NC

Scholarships Need Funding

Dear Editor,

The graphic communication industry has a recruiting crisis. Our industry is not attracting enough talented young people. Printing is not perceived as a glamorous career choice.

In reality, graphic communication is a highly technical industry that is in rapid change. Today, the entire industry is run on a digital platform. A highly innovative and skilled work force is required to work with this level of sophisticated technology. This is a very real situation that is about to hit our industry with a significant blow.

Many are trying to ignore the implications of a severe talent shortage. Some, on the other hand--such as the group of industry leaders involved with the Education Summit Committee--are embracing the problem and trying to guide the industry with suggestions for the most critical issues.

Our industry faces a very real challenge. Over the next several years the graphic communication industry (printing, if you will) will need 60,000 workers each year. This is despite the compression the industry is experiencing. Much of this replacement need is due to us Baby Boomers retiring in significant numbers.

There are 220 colleges in the United States that have graphics programs. These schools have 4,000 students enrolled in the programs. About 1,000 students will graduate as the class of 2009. Granted, not all 60,000 open positions require a graphics education. There are many non-core positions such as accounting, information technology, facility engineering, clerical, material handling, etc., that can be filled with a general education background.

There are also 175 PrintED
accredited high schools and post-secondary programs. These schools will add less than 1,000 technically trained workers to the pool of available graduates for the class of 2009.

These statistics are very real and further show the major recruiting challenge that our industry faces.

The Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) is very proud to be part of the solution to the challenge. The PGSF Board of Directors recently approved scholarship awards totaling close to $500,000 for the 2008-09 academic year. In the past two years, the foundation provided approximately $1 million in financial assistance. This year, 220 students at 80 colleges are receiving scholarships through PGSF.

This is all great news, yet PGSF had to turn away 500 additional college students due to lack of funds. To help close the education gap, the industry needs to back education and help provide the necessary financial support.

Ted Ringman
Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF)

Printers Score Elections Work

Dear Editor,

Thanks for including BC Printing, one of our Green Printer member companies, in your article on elections printers [August issue]. Another one of our members, Egan Printing, did work for the Democratic National Convention. It is a union shop, which was a requirement.

Also, Signature Offset produced dailies (via coldset web) during the convention; their work was not from the Democratic Host Committee, therefore, it didn't require a union printer.

Kathryn Lauerman
President
Printing & Imaging Association of the Mountain States
Denver

Dear Editor,

The article on election printers looked great. Thanks for mentioning Globe Publishing, one of our member companies.

Bruce Printing has also done quite a bit of political printing, for everything from the Iowa caucus to the Democratic National Convention. They are a union shop, so work primarily is for Democratic candidates. They did [most] all of Hillary Clinton's printing, in addition to work for Joe Biden and John Edwards. Now, they are trying to get on board with Barack Obama. In the past they have done all sorts of printing for local election campaigns, as well.

Linda White
Director of Marketing & Communications
Printing Industry ofMinnesota
Roseville, MN

We encourage reader feedback. Write to Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief, Printing Impressions, 1500 Spring Garden St., 12th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19108; e-mail mmichelson@napco.com. Some letters are shortened/edited due to length.