The Next Generation of Printers --Waldman

The good and proud people that mastered these crafts are either unemployed, in another industry, or had to learn a new technological skill that more often than not resulted in a lower paying position.

Let's use the example of a press operator to represent the skilled positions currently critical for printing. As of this moment, a commercial sheetfed press operator is still a high paying, rewarding position. Although no one is saying that industry backbones like the 40˝, six-color press is going to disappear any time soon, there are forces that may diminish the need for skilled press operators in the near future. For example, two months from now Drupa will be featuring JDF (Job Definition Format) enabled presses. Hopefully, all of you are aware that JDF actually automates the manufacturing process and can control devices.