Process Control Habits

Coming into mid-Janurary, many people who had made resolutions to become fit are realizing that physical fitness is not a "once and done" project but a continuous habit of daily striving. Achieving true process control in a printing process is equally difficult, but far too many printers try to shortcut the process, thinking that a few days of intensive training or a quick G7 qualification will make their problems vanish. In almost every case, disappointment sets in quickly as management and staff fall back into old habits.

Moving from the old "seat-of-the-pants" approach to printing to a metrics-based approach of printing to standards requires a commitment very similar to a fitness plan....and just as much time. To achieve process control success on press, the pressroom must set up a program to exchange old habits for new ones.

Start the Change Cycle:

Set the New Pressroom Goal: Success requires an objective. Just obtaining G7 Master Printer status from a color consultant is not a goal...just a method. The goal must be to achieve true process control on press, based on objective standards based metrics.

Pursue the New Pressroom Goal: No matter how well your G7 Qualification went, you will not achieve 100% success right away...in fact, the trend is for the process to drift out of control until pressmen have fallen back onto old habits. try for small successes, like consistent density readings, first.

Achieve the New Pressroom Goal: Unfortunately, few pressrooms achieve the goal of true process control. If you do, consider yourselves the exception...and smile.

Repeat: Success is never forever. The process will drift, problems will crop up, old habits will come back. Process control is a habit, not an event. For more ideas on continuous improvement in the pressroom, visit me at Color Clarity.