24 hour dedication to quality
Date: 24th Jul 2008
Of all the various departments that make up Kingfisher Print, the one that sees action morning, noon and night is the Print Department.
A BUSY, lively area, it is staffed by six machine printers, four doing day shifts and two taking care of the night shift.Those working during daylight hours, namely Ivan, Dean, Dave and Stevie, work a double day shift: one week from 6am until 1.30pm followed by a week at 1pm until 8.30pm. Those working the night shift take over from the later of the double day shifts at 8pm and leave at 6am on Mondays through to Friday.
The printers’ responsibilities require a range of skills including a technical aptitude, an eye for detail and colour and the ability to perform meticulous tasks. They also have to be fit as the job involves a lot of physically demanding work including loading the press and stacking.
The role of the printer comes in after those in Repro have completed their job. The printer receives the printing plates, along with customer’s requirements such as print run and information about papers. The printer prepares by putting the plates onto the press and checking the correct inks are loaded. The machine then has to be loaded with paper or other materials, such as plastic or board.
A make ready procedure is then done, so that any adjustments can be made before the main run begins. This involves taking a ‘pull’ of 50 sheets and inspecting them with an eyeglass to make sure they are ‘in register’, which basically means that all four plates are lined up in the correct position or ‘in sit’ and the colour is up to strength. If all is well, the main print commences.
While the machine is running, the printer checks that the print quality and colours are constant, which is where tHeidelberg Image Control Machine (see ‘Showing our colours’) comes in. When the run is complete, the printed material has to be unloaded and stacked, ready to go on to the finishing process.
Kingfisher’s growth has led to the creation of the night shift in the print department, put in place approximately three years ago. Angus Robertson started the printing shift on his own and was later joined by Alex in the finishing department. Around eight months ago, Carl joined Kingfisher’s night shift to work the second press, when the workload increased. Prior to working the nightshift, Angus was working double day shifts with a printing firm close by. So – what’s it like working at Kingfisher when everyone else is at home, tucked up in bed?
“It’s good because we can be very productive. We can focus on getting through the workload without any distractions,” Angus explains.
“It also works well with family life. My wife works full time and I have two children so I get to see them often and can pick them up from school.”
The combined experience of all of our printers is an asset we at Kingfisher prize highly. Couple that with the technological advances that have provided machines like Image Control, and we have a first class team committed to consistency, quality and service.
