This is an edited version of the piece supplied for the 2007 CASE Editors Forum, edited for length and tone, perhaps kinder and gentler. —KM
Some years ago I took a job as university designer for the tuition benefit for my kids. I’d already made my bones as a magazine art director, agency creative director, and freelancer (writer, copyeditor, designer, and illustrator). Five years later, I became a printing sales representative.
Since going over to the dark side as a salesman, I’ve tried to keep one foot in higher education by monitoring e-mail forums—including the CASE CUE list—to respond to printing questions. I see those entries on the politics of college communications. I look at those about the nature of college and alumni magazines and the struggle for editorial integrity. I read those dispatches about client faculty who pull academic rank on points of English mechanics. I’m aware of the search for criteria to pick and choose your fights. I appreciate the many challenges of editors and publications directors. Recognizing that most management positions in higher-ed marketing and communications are held by writers and editors, I have respect for those leaders who stand as buffers between abrasive clients and the creative staff, allowing room for their people to breathe and do their best work.
Many internal communications offices do it right, making their creative people feel valued, and appreciating the complexity of work their designers do. They understand the massive amount of effort it takes to chase a creative idea only to find a dead end, then chase down another until it’s caught—all under the pressure of multiple deadlines. And then there’s staying current on technology that in two decades has brought the work of four or five people onto one desktop without any appreciable bump in pay.
More recently, as a purveyor of printing, I also realize there are those communications professionals that appreciate vendor loyalty and consultant representatives, treat them like professionals, and let them know they recognize their going the extra mile. They consider the fact that different companies deliver different value to your project—beyond ink-on-paper at the lowest price.
If your communications office is like the ones I’ve mentioned above, you’re getting the most for your staffing and printing dollar. You know the value of keeping good people and vendors happy. Move on to something else. You should be writing this article, not reading it—you should be showing others how it’s done.
This epistle, however, is for the others—the ones with room for improvement.
Getting the most from your design staff involves helping them to perform at their creative best, which, at its foundation, means giving them the respect they deserve as professionals. It means understanding their professional challenges, and facilitating solutions.
As far as understanding printing, it means seeing your representative as a resource in an ever changing industry—not just as a name on your vendor list. It means creating a bridge—usually via the design staff, not the purchasing office—between publisher and lithographer so a common language and set of concerns evolves. The more the vendor knows about your concerns, the better he can serve you.
You would think keeping open communication is the key. It’s not. The key is maintaining respect.
Design staff and closing windows…
When a new designer comes on board in an in-house communications office, whether in education or in business, he or she has a quickly-closing window in which to prove himself or herself. According to one conference speaker I heard, that designer is the new-kid-in-town for about three years before professional respect for them declines and they blend into the wallpaper of institutional employees. After that, in-house creatives are judged as being less qualified than their outside agency counterparts—thus the push by officers to go outside for creative work. After all, agencies are more cutting-edge, more creative. The perception becomes the functioning reality, especially after the three-year window closes. In-house creatives work here. At this institution. Ergo, since outside resources are better, the in-house guys must logically be professionally inferior. Things seem to roll downhill from there—especially when others within the same communications office adopt the same conclusion.
Designers have been stereotyped as whiners, prima donnas, ethereal mental wanderers, objectors to reason, right-brained creative trouble makers, and lovers of white space. They play in the world of pretty fonts, electronic artwork, and colorful photography. And, after all, they get paid reasonably well to shuffle a mouse around, and—zip-zop—present prose on paper or on the website. It looks so easy, most with desktop computers feel they could do it themselves (“I have Adobe too!”), and many try—producing passable results that lack that certain creative spark.
Owning a hammer doesn’t make one a carpenter—
Forgive the belligerent point of view, but if you’re one of those who believes good design is a pursuit almost anyone with a computer can do, let’s start with a test, purely on the tools of the trade:
Do you understand image-to-line-screen resolution? Do you know what the minimum digital image resolution is for 150-line screen? 133-line screen? 85-line screen? Do you understand the difference between a TIFF file, a JPEG file, a RAW file, an EPS file, or a PDF file as applies to image formats? Do you know what Lab is? Do you understand RGB versus CMYK? Do you understand the difference vis à vis commercial printing? Digital photography? Do you know when and why to convert from one to the other? Do you know what tonal compression is? Do you know what color temperature is? Do you know why standards for color proof viewing are important? Do you understand color theory? Do you understand color correction? Do you know why you should do it as opposed to your printer? Can you discuss color in terms your prepress or press operator can understand? Do you understand curves? Do you know how to read a histogram? Do you understand color management? Do you know what a device-dependent color gamut is? Do you know what an ICC profile is? Do you know what to do with it? Do you understand duotones? Tritones? Quadtones? Do you know how to make them—and make them well? Do you know how to quantify one illustrator’s style against another? Do you know how to quantify one photographer’s style against another? Do you know the difference between a production artist, a designer, an art director, and a creative director?
A lot to know, isn’t it? And that’s just for ink-on-paper—we haven’t really scratched the surface on web site design and the internet. This is just what comes to mind during this writing—and we haven’t even addressed knowledge toward the craft of actually being creative.
While we’ll cover more about the printing representative’s universe later, here are some of his concerns—to be effective in their jobs, designers need to know most of the answers here, too:
Do you know what line screen your publication prints at? Do you know why? Do you know how papers are graded? Do you know what grade of stock you use—and why? If you print sheetfed, why? If the quantity and page count qualify for the web press, would you move the job there? Why not? What kind of web printing? Heatset? Coldset? What is the difference between publication-grade and commercial-grade web printing? What happens to inks when they go through the press oven? What is the most efficient page count? How do you figure it? Do you know the advantages to web printing? Are there disadvantages? Do you know what stochastic printing is versus standard line-screen printing? Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of each? Does your printer prefer PDF files or native files? Why? What’s the industry norm? Do you know the difference between virtual proofing and soft proofing? Do you know what a contract proof is? When can you do without them? Do you know what SWOP is? Do you know what your printer’s maximum ink coverage standards are? What are the advantages of computer-to-plate technology? And, what about bindery issues? What are the standards and requirements for perfect binding? What’s the difference between layflat and traditional perfect binding? What adhesive holds best for perfect-bound spine? What folds are available coming off of the web press? What’s aqueous coating? What’s UV coating? What are laminates? What about varnishes? Why would I choose one over the other…
…And on, and on. If you as a writer/editor know the answers to all of the above questions, congratulations. In my experience, you’re a rarity.
A good designer has to be well familiar not only with the answers to the designer’s questions, but he should be familiar with those to the printer’s questions as well. And a good printing rep will be conversant on designer issues—that’s his client’s world. They must also beware that the answers change constantly and study the new issues that come along. As the bridge between the designer and the press room, the printing representative has to make sure he understands the issues at play and bridge the gap between his prepress department and his designer/client.
To do the job well, necessary knowledge in these fields is oppressively dynamic and unrelenting. And, as long as new microprocessors are invented, operating systems are updated, and software applications are upgraded, the learning curve will never go away.
Never.
Respect for the creative professional
The first question from the publications director or editor likely is: “Why should this matter to me? Isn’t most of this the printer’s concern (or the engraver’s, or the color separator’s, or the digital photographer’s, or—God help us—the purchasing department’s)?”
But, since 1984 (the advent of Macintosh and desktop publishing), more and more of what others were once responsible for has found its way onto one person’s desk—the designer’s. Publishers were happy with the prospect of crossing off line item after line item from their publication invoices courtesy of do-it-yourself desktop publishing. No more typesetting costs! No more buying scans! No more color house or service bureau bills! No more $250-an-hour digital editing suites! You can do it all right on your desktop! (Zip-zop, remember?) And everybody has a computer on their desk—you too can be a graphic designer, glamorous job that it is!
With that capability, however, knowledge is power, and the lack of it costs money rather than saves it. One can’t simply point to the printer since more and more is happening to the files before the printer lays hands on them.
Call it responsibility compression—the jobs of many specialized professionals condensing onto the designer’s desktop. And, with photography having shifted to digital, once again the purviews are intersecting. Photographers are having to deal in what was once the concern of designers and deliver ready-to-place images that may or may not be friendly for commercial printing vendors. But, even at that, the responsibility focal point is still the designer’s desk.
At the same time, consider that since 1984, many of the same technical advancements have brought lithography to a new high in terms of capability. Combine all of the technological advances in the creative arts with modern advancements in printing like PDF/JDF workflow, computer-to-plate prepress, and automated monitored (closed-loop) color printing, and the world should be producing the most eye popping, highest-quality, advanced print product since Johannes Gutenberg.
With all due respect to the many versatile designers who do good work everyday, by eliminating the many artisans and concentrating production workflow on one desktop, we’ve created in many cases a Peter-Principle-writ-large that exists industry wide resulting in lower standards—but, you’re saving money. If your design staff is producing award-winning, color-accurate work and trendsetting design, then—compared to graphic design twenty years ago—they’re the rough equivalent of a one-man band attempting a complex musical score and pulling it off.
A good creative professional is going to work hard to stay current on as much technology as he can. The reason is two-fold:
First, a design professional is just that—a professional. Along with the pride, self-confidence, and perceived ego, the need is there to have a command of the cutting edge—not just in the mechanics of software, hardware, ink-on-paper manufacturing, and internet tech, but in color trends, design trends, and things creative that will give them the satisfaction that they are executing the highest creative product they are capable of. If a design professional doesn’t occasionally express himself or herself with an abundance of confidence or ego, he or she isn’t worth his or her salt.
The second reason creatives work hard at staying current is to make them more hirable when those who take them for granted tick them off.
Whether they are creative directors (overseeing the entire creative process and personnel in the project), art directors (coordinating project design, photography, and illustration), designers (handling design and production), or production artists (taking creative instruction from designers and executing the production), what they bring to the table is unique according to the abilities of those professionals, and the needs of the publisher.
Better yet, an agency-style team approach to the creative product where the designer’s or art director’s voice is respected and considered will take advantage of the synergistic combined effort—and build departmental pride. Brochures and other creative promotional endeavors are best handled as a team effort under a creative director to get the most unique approach possible—and in a world where recipients of your product are bombarded by the best of Madison Avenue, anything less than the most unique approach is doomed to blending into the background noise of presorted standard mail.
On the other hand, exercising excessive control and repeatedly corralling your creative staff into submission does nothing more than break the creative spirit and teach them to pick and choose their own fights. Rather than encouraging creativity and self-confidence, the product is self-doubt and second-guessing. While the once-opinionated designer may wind up more docile than when first hired, the creative spark will go out and then they’ll conveniently get the blame for letting it happen—like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Further, one of the worst things a publication professional can do is to fail to delegate according to abilities. For a product manager or publications director or editor to tell the designer specifically, “This is the way I want this to look…” limits not only creativity, but reduces a designer to serving as a production artist.
Micromanagement will destroy creativity—and eventually drive off good, key people. Dictating to the design staff by fiat is, by all models I’m familiar with, counterproductive to producing the best.
And, since design professionals have a vested interest in staying current on printing technologies, why not let them take point in the printing vendor relationship? At least keep them heavily involved if a production manager is present. To simply default to the institution’s procurement or purchasing department should be anathema (you would be surprised how many RFQs and RFBs read as though they were written 25 years ago). Since the technologies between design and printing are so intertwined, it simply doesn’t seem efficient if the editor or department director is the one who drives the buyer-vendor relationship. Of course, if your department is fortunate enough to have a production manager overseeing those vendor relationships, that’s great—just make sure the designer is intimately involved, especially on project-related vendor selection. All printers aren’t the same, regardless of what commodity-minded print buyers say. Different printers have different strengths—and weaknesses. And, the designer is going to be the one most conversant in taking advantage of those attributes.
Respect for the printing representative
I mentioned earlier that I have respect for the communications office that keeps his vendor happy. I’m sure the response is, “Why? We cut a check. The printing vendor is happy.” There’s more to it than that. Read on.
As far as printing salesmen—or reps, or consultants, or whatever they call themselves—are concerned, the key word is “salesmen.” We lump all salesmen together, whether they sell printing, advertising, insurance, encyclopedias, or used cars.
I’m reminded of the B. Kliban cartoon called “The Birth of Advertising,” showing the backside of a horse with its tail raised, the byproduct being multiple little men with big Teddy Roosevelt grins and cigars—salesmen all. But, you do need to buy print (which all know by now is nothing more than a commodity like wheat, oil, and pork bellies), and so you issue the request for bid and picture in your mind cigarette-smoking men in cheap suits gathered around in the dust, casting lots outside your purchasing office.
A printing representative (or salesman, consultant, etc.) is also a professional. It is in his interest to save your institution money on a project. It is not in his interest to sell you something you don’t need (if you ever find you’ve been done wrong, another printer is always waiting in the wings). Also, if you know the printer has your best interest at heart—watching your budget, and delivering additional value for your printing dollar—he knows you’ll likely dial him up next time. And, if your representative does tell you that you need to consider an alternative in the specifications, you should be able to trust him. That’s where relationship should trump low price.
Good service from your printing representative should be a given. It’s a competitive market out there, and there’s no excuse for poor service. You should be confident in your representative’s technical understanding of design, production, paper, and printing issues so that he becomes a resource. The more knowledgeable he is, the more you will look to him and his company for answers and budget-minded solutions.
Keep a respectable relationship with your printing salesman. When he comes to call, pick his brain. Don’t simply give the representative the obligatory, courteous five-minute meeting and show him the door. He can be a wealth of information for you on industry trends and technologies. Learn as much as you can about his facility and capabilities. Schedule a plant tour—go look at his turf first-hand. If the publications director or someone else is the primary contact for the print representative, be sure to include the design staff in the visit.
Your representative is also going to be the one to fight for your job, looking out for you against jobs other reps have brought into the plant—there’s only so much real estate on the press scheduling board, and each representative wants his customer to come first. Your representative will cajole those he can and be abrupt with others to meet your schedule, and he’s more likely to forcefully push the limits in his own intra-company relationships if he knows you favorably regard his efforts.
Then, there’s the liability issue when the wheels come off—and they do come off. When there’s a problem with the printed project, everyone looks toward the printer who simply accepted the digital files given to him—work product over which he has had little or no control up to the point of ripping, proofing, and printing. But, when issues arise, try to judge the printer by how fast and well he takes care of his errors. Mistakes happen with every printer. The true measure of that company is how they rectify the situation and negotiate the outcome.
Signal-to-noise ratios
If I’ve offended sensibilities in what I’ve said here, well—good. The common goal within the communications department from all concerned—writers, editors, project managers, design professionals, et al—should be to develop and produce the best print product possible. Many offices could benefit from a reassessment of their overall approach to their work product.
It’s extremely important that department leaders learn to get the best result from those they work with—both internally and externally. Educate yourself as much as you can about the issues within the process—but trust and understand your creative staff and vendors. The best relationships between all concerned can and should become mutually beneficial. It’s all based upon trust and respect.⊗
©2007, 2008 Ken Morris