WEB OFFSET REPORT -- Back to the Future

By Caroline Miller

Tom Basore has no regrets when he looks back over his long career in the graphic arts industry. "It's been a wonderful experience. I've loved every moment of it," says the Web Offset Association's (WOA) executive director, who is retiring this month.

While Basore has loved every minute of his career, he is also not one to look back. Basore is now eagerly looking forward to the next phase of his life, which includes relocating to a home in Florida and an upcoming cruise to Alaska with his new wife.

Basore says that he plans to take a lesson from a fellow colleague who retired and then walked away from the industry several years ago. "He now volunteers with the local fire department and has a carpentry shop. I talk to him from time to time and he says that he loves what he is doing now. I am capable of doing that, as well. There are a couple of things I have in mind that I want to pursue," Basore remarks.

Still, he admits that he will miss the profession he found by accident—but fell in love with because of the challenges that it presented. "It really is just a fascinating industry. There are so many avenues one can take. Old printers talk about how they have ink in their blood. I fall into that category. I can walk into a printing operation, smelling the inks and hearing the sounds of the big webs purring, and feel very emotional. I still look in disbelief and marvel at what can be done on a printing press."

Military Man

Even so, Basore's printing career began in an unlikely place—the military. "I spent four years in the U.S. Air Force. I was a jet fighter mechanic. I rose to the level of jet fighter plan crew chief," reveals Basore, who joined the Air Force right out of high school. His stint in the military instilled values that would guide him throughout the rest of his professional life.

"You learn a lot when you work around fighter pilots—they're winners. The word failure is not in their vocabulary. In their profession, they can't. They have a real sense of pride in what they do and become incredibly self-confident. Military service teaches you to not be afraid to reach out and follow your dreams," he explains.

Basore loved military life and had planned to make it his career. But, in 1959, he found himself in his hometown of Hagerstown, MD, looking for a job. "I would have stayed in the military, but they were downsizing at that time, so I decided to get out," he notes.

Basore had thought he might continue his love affair with planes and pursue a career in the airline industry. But, at that time, the country was in the midst of a recession and the airline industry was not hiring.

Instead, he heard about a job for a pressman at the Nelson Doubleday Printing Co. It was here that he found his new love, and it would be an affair that would span the next 44 years of his life.

A contact at Doubleday eventually led him to a position as a color photographer with McCall's Printing in Dayton, OH. Basore then moved to Graphic Arts of Ohio, in Toledo, OH, to become one of the first electronic color scanner operators in the country. In 1968, he joined DuPont as a graphic arts technical specialist. Basore would eventually serve as DuPont's proofing markets regional specialist and industry relations coordinator.

It was this expertise in proofing that brought Basore to New York City at a key moment in the industry, as the organization that would become the SWOP technical advisory group was forming. Basore brought his experience to the SWOP table and, in turn, was introduced to the world of magazine publishing and high-powered advertising agencies. "That experience was just a tremendous education for me and it allowed me to develop some wonderful relationships."

In 1977, Basore returned to the DuPont corporate fold by being named marketing and industry relations manager, where he worked until 1985. That spring, Basore was faced with a crossroads: DuPont was offering an early retirement program. "I was 47 and wasn't even thinking about retiring," he recalls.

Yet, always ready for a new challenge, Basore decided to take the package and explore yet another avenue in the graphic arts industry. He accepted a job as sales manager for Phototype Color Graphics in Pennsauken, NJ.

Still yet another opportunity came his way in the fall of 1987, when he got a call that the Web Offset Association was looking for a new executive director.

Basore would spend the next 15 years as the executive director of the association. During his tenure, he helped to build a world-class annual business management and technical conference. He also instituted the association's tradition of bringing high-profile speakers to the conference, including such dignitaries as former President George H.W. Bush, Colin Powell, John Major and Norman Schwarzkopf, to name a few.

Changing for the Better

While helping to mold the association into a world-class organization is high on his list, he is also equally proud of lesser known, often behind the scenes, contributions he has made over the years. Among those accomplishments was the ability to serve as a mentor for those on his staff—many of whom have since gone onto other management and leadership positions within other professional trade associations in the Washington, DC, area.

Basore believes that investing in the development of people is important because that's what makes the graphic arts industry so special. "The one thing that I am really going to miss about this industry is the wonderful people."

As Basore steps down from the WOA this month, he has great hopes for the printing industry in the coming years."The industry is changing so much. Not too many years ago you could make money basically without trying. Now, printers have to be extremely well-managed organizations with a great management team that fully grasps the company's goals and objectives."

Basore remains bullish that printing will continue to grow and evolve. "We aren't going to disappear. There will be those that will fall under their own weight because they don't have a management plan in place. But, just like movie theaters didn't disappear when VCRs came on the scene, we will continue to do business and evolve.

"Going forth, I think there will be large printing groups that will handle the bulk of the products, while smaller printers will develop specialty, boutique-type products," he predicts. "This industry has a lot of spirit left in it—just like me."