At our shop, we deal with a lot of ASAP offset jobs so we work to deadlines. So if an offset job comes in with no deadline on it, it's probably going to be pushed back and back to a maximum of about a 10 days. Anything with bindery work or parts that need to be sent out will be prioritized. CMYK jobs will be scheduled together where possible and spot colours at a different time of day. Press passes will also need some kind of priority.

Yesterday for example, I had an CMYK offset job (just trimming, no bindery) that was approved at 9am, to be printed, trimmed, packed and picked up by noon. Of course, this isn't ideal as the ink is still wet! But for clients that require, it we can do it.

Our digital department moves faster, so if a job has no deadline on it, the turnaround is generally about 4 days.

We try to look after our best customers, but sometimes you get bad customers that just scream much louder for their job to be printed first. The worst is when a client demands an ASAP deadline, you bust your ass to get it done within hours and all other jobs on the board are pushed back. You make the deadline only for the printed product to sit at pickups for days because the client was too busy to come and pick it up.

It works kinda like triage in a hospital Garricks.
It helps to have a really good traffic manager who knows what's on press, what's coming up and where the holes are for those gotta have it now jobs.

PD has it right. Basically, first come first served. The main exception to that are funeral materials, that cut to the head of the line, no waiting. Had a bridezilla once try to bully me because I had a funeral memorial to produce, instead of her wedding seating chart. I told her "You had months to plan and execute this. This other poor family has had a few days to come to terms with their loss, and get things done. You'll have to wait. Period."

Print shops have their own customers, and complying with an outside designer might not mean as much. Another way of looking at it, "those who spend the most money with the print shop get the honey."

Short answer:
Criteria = How can I (the printer) reduce my costs

Long answer:
Another reason would be if it can be gang run with another job. Need to consider if it's possible to run two or three jobs on the same machine, on the same paper at the same time. Guillotine man can chop the page up before binding/folding.

50,000 tri fold Company A
25,000 tri fold Company B

Same stock - run them together.


Plan for, quantity, impositions, machine, binding/folding, delivery method.

I've imposed business cards up with covers for magazines, same stock, as long as the quantities are divisible. The business cards can fit into the area that would have been off cuts and this means:

1: Extra paper not required
2: Machine time is reduced (two jobs same time makes sens(as makeready on offset is about 30 minutes))


Printers will make it as cost effective as possible, reducing their machine times. The machines are the most expensive part.

For example, €500 per hour rate for the machine time. If you can get 2 jobs on the machine at the same time - you save money.

1: Machine time reduced
2: Save on 4 plates
3: Save on makeready (2 jobs would = 1 hour = €500 compared to 2 jobs same time = 30 minutes = €250)
4: Save on paper costs


This could mean the Guillotine Operator job is also halved (pardon the pun).

If you get 5,000 tri-fold Company A and 5,000 Company B

Well running them separately the G/O would have to cut 5,000 in one sitting, and 5,000 in another. Time consuming.

Split the sheet half/half of Company A and Company B - save time and money.

^That's why a good traffic manager is a necessity.

I know this wasn't a question about wide format but what Hank said is even more true there. Imagine a desktop inkjet printer that is 16feet wide. Imagine loading a roll of 16foot vinyl in there. When the machine is webbed, it can take anywhere from 3 to 8 yards of un-imaged material to get to the takeup rollers. You don't want to be stopping and switching out rolls too often on something like that. You want to load up for multiple jobs, have all future proofs in line that run on that same material after the jobs are run and only then swap to the next material.
Simplified but the gist of it.
And also why there are such hefty rush fees in this field.

It's a lot of planning. But the gist is, save money and time by running jobs together.

That's the basics of what is considered.


If anyone has never been to a printers or worked in a printers, I always say to go and see the process from start to finish.

You'll see all sorts of jobs ganged up with other jobs on the same sheet.

We basically assume every job is a rush. I remember back when I got into the business, a week turnaround was standard for smaller jobs. Two to three weeks for bigger jobs. But these days, a week is about 5 days too long most of the time.

So we basically do a first-come, first-serve thing too. Actually with us, the biggest scheduling variable is when we actually get proofs okayed from the customer. It's not uncommon for proofs to be out a couple weeks before we hear anything back. And, of course, once they take two weeks to get back to us, naturally they need the job the next day.

Yeh but do you still try get as many jobs up together on the same sheet for the same machine?

We don't because of the nature of the packaging industry. It doesn't work to do it like that because most every job is die cut, and it's not usually practical to have a die made for more than one job at a time.

Ah packaging, and die cutting, more pieces to the printing industry and considerations for printers.

We don't gang run anything here. We keep our plates so they can be reused when reordered. It's unlikely that two or more clients will reorder the same quantities at the same time!

The closest thing we have to a gang run is when we have a nation wide company's business cards. We collect orders from around the country and when we get to about 10 business card orders we run them all together. But I don't really consider these a gang run because it's just a black overprint onto existing shells.

We work on a first come first serve basis too. I try to get a proof out the day after I receive files, then it's usually 5-7 business days after the proof is approved. We'll get stuff out faster if it's a really good customer, or we're slow. Right now we're at least 7 business days out on anything 4 color, but that only happens once every couple of months. Usually from proof approval to pick up it's right around 5 business days.

We don't do gang runs either, we could but our 4 color guy really whines. If we've got spot color jobs we try to run those all in the same day. We used to keep the plates but about 4 years ago we went CTP on polyester plates and they won't store well.

Thanks for the info folks.

Back in the '90s, when we still had an in-house print shop, I knew my way around the bindery (nothing like helping change a guillotine blade to REALLY make you feel alive!), and I learned how to use the stat camera and burn plates. I've spent time at all the printers I currently use except one, and have a pretty good handle on their capabilities.

Looking at your responses, I find that what I'm really looking for is the hitches—the things that throw the schedule into disarray. Things that happen at commercial printers that wouldn't happen in my hospital print shop experience.

Gromit's example of funeral materials is great (and a very nice thing to do for the bereaved). I think my clients will understand better if I frame the discussion in PrintDriver's triage comparison. As several of you said, first-come, first-served, with exceptions.

I'll never forget my 5 p.m. press check that turned into a 1:30 a.m. press check (times are approximate ) because the job on press before mine went bad. The *ahem* major credit card company's annual report proof was rejected after the fact when an executive didn't like his photo. So they held the job on press while they shot another photo, developed it, ran it to the printer, stripped it in, etc., etc., etc. By 11 p.m. I was falling asleep with the portable phone clutched in one hand and my pager in the other. Fun times.

Oh, and on a really tight deadline, I ALWAYS remind the client that their prompt response to a proof approval is necessary.

Any other odd examples of things that throw a commercial printer's schedule off?

Stuff breaks. Mechanical as well as electronic