Print production: managing production and projects for a print shop of about 20 people across three locations
At Quartet Digital Printing I was the production manager and the project manager for a crew of about 20 people, spread across three locations. We did high-volume printing for colleges and Chicago area businesses, plus large-format printing, bindery and finishing. My job was getting every order through the shop and out the door on time.
My roleProduction manager & project manager
Timeline2012 - 2015 · Evanston and Chicago, IL
BuildHigh-volume digital print · large format · bindery & finishing
OutcomeRaised output and cut costs for university and Fortune 500 clients
Many jobs competing for the same people and equipment
A print shop working for colleges and local businesses always has a lot of jobs open at the same time, each with its own stock, finishing and due date, and all of them compete for the same equipment and the same people. A rush for one client turns into a delay for another unless somebody is sequencing the work.
That made the job mostly a scheduling problem: knowing what each order needed, in what order, from whom, and when it had to leave the shop.
What I did
Managed the crew. Ran a team of about 20 people across printing, large format and bindery at three locations: who was on which job, what came next, and what got moved when a job changed at the last minute.
Scheduled the work. Sequenced high-volume runs for colleges and Chicago area businesses around the large-format and finishing jobs that needed the same people and equipment, so one client's rush order didn't push everyone else late.
Managed the projects. I was also the project manager, so I carried jobs from the first request to the finished piece and was the person clients called when something changed.
Watched the costs. Managed staff, inventory and equipment, and raised output while cutting costs for the university and Fortune 500 clients the shop served.