Quality Management in Printing

Welcome to my website.  My mission is to move printing from the practice of a tradecraft to a modern manufacturing application.  The methods will be those of Quality Management and process engineering. 

If you're interest is in this area take a look around.  If you're a top manager, a plant manager, or a quality manager this website is meant for you. 

The view here is from a bird's eye level; the concentration is on systems and strategy.  There is also an unabashed philosophical side to this.  There is some theorizing along the way, especially at first.  That is both appropriate and necessary.  Learning or improvement or Quality Management or science are all based on the application of the theory-to-practice-to-theory cycle.  The printing industry, while rich in practical application, suffers from a poverty of management theory.  My hope is that this website will help with that.         

systems

 The greatest leverage is available on the systems level.  That leverage is available for both understanding systems as well as for working on systems.  The best place to start, then, is with a look at systems, especially as a systems view applies to print production system.
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quality

There are different schools and methods in Quality.  All these models are useful in some application.  I offer a few models here, along with their best applications.  In the end, it matters not where you start or the model you use, it matters that you do (use one) and that you keep on doing.
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printing

This is where the rubber meets the road, or more accurately, where the ink meets the substrate.  Again, the view is from a high level.  The concentration here is on color reproduction because of the systemic changes in color reproduction, and because, if you can print color, you can print anything.   
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For the Executive:

A print productions facility which prints the right thing, prints it right, and flows the work seamlessly through the plant will have a tremendous competitive advantage.  The strategies described here will add significantly to the profit margin.  For a general commercial printer that difference will amount to 2.5%, minimum. The goal of an increase in the margin of 5% is both realistic and worthwhile.  Read on if this interests you. 

My challenge to the printing industry and to you as an industry leader is here.
 
The business case for Quality is here.  

For those who prefer to read hard copy, I've included a pdf. file of all the material on this website.  Some of the formatting had to be changed, but the material is all there.  Please respect my Copyright and provide attribution when it is due.