It was a good thing in high school I had what they called a “study hall” (which basically meant a 45 minute period when we all acted obnoxious and did anything but homework or study). It was just an unproductive waste of time during the course of the day so my sister told me I should get into the graphic communications class. I figured why not, study hall isn’t doing anything good for me anyway.
So off to this new class and learning things like, page layout on a computer, burning plates and developing them in the darkroom, loading the plates on an offset press and producing printed materials. What did this all lead to? Four years of taking the class in high school, five years as a Lithographer in the US Navy and another two years for a printing company after military service.
Even though I spend a lot of time with digital marketing these days, printing skills are essential in marketing and communications. My years in the printing industry taught me to effectively communicate messages via print and I use them on a daily basis. In every position I’ve held with a company I’ve used my printing experience to:
- Enhance the brand by being consistent with colors and design elements
- Present the company in a more professional manner
- Increase the quality of printed materials
- Maintain adequate supply to support sales groups
- Eliminate boxes of useless materials collecting dust
- Reduce overall printing costs by at least 20 percent