Print production planner job profile

Print production planners manage the entire process across the full print life cycle of printed materials in a printing company

In this role, you'll check schedules, confirm product specifications, arrange adjustments, oversee the work of staff in the department and monitor the quality of the product, ensuring deadlines are met.

You'll liaise with other production departments and customer account managers at local, national and international levels according to the scale of the work in hand.

A print production planner may also be referred to as a print manager, print supervisor, production press operations manager or production planning co-coordinator.

Responsibilities

Working for a large print company, responsibilities are often more specialised, and you may focus on a specific area of the printing process. The main stages are:

planning (pre-press) - where the type of printing is determined and specifications for the product order are generated using a computerised management system
origination聽- at this stage, artwork is prepared, and digital images are designed
reprographic聽- printing plates are produced
print machine rooms/floors聽- where printing presses operate
bindery聽- the products are bound and finished
dispatch聽- the products are packaged and distributed.

In a smaller company, your role is likely to be broader and more varied, and you may take responsibility for several functions across a range of departments. Your tasks may be to:

review product specifications for accuracy and feasibility
configure and adapt digital systems to meet production requirements
check the accuracy and viability of the product specification
adapt computer systems to meet the requirements of the work
allocate, distribute and check work with available staff
monitor and maintain the quality of the order
improve processes and cost-efficiency
manage production staff and trainees
liaise with customer account managers to discuss time or process setbacks
ensure collaboration between different staff in different departments
keep contact with customers to ensure specifications are carried out
comply with health and safety standards and workplace legislation
recommend changes and improvements.

Salary

Starting salaries range between 拢20,000 and 拢28,000.
In senior print production positions, salaries can reach 拢35,000 to 拢45,000 - with the potential for this to rise to around 拢55,000 with significant experience.

Salaries vary according to the company and range of responsibilities.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours vary. Large companies may operate a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week production cycle with work shifts, including early starts, late finishes, weekends and public holidays. Smaller firms may run a standard working day for some employees.

What to expect

Technological advances have sped up print processes in all stages of production. One effect of this has been to increase customer expectations in terms of shorter deadlines. Planners can therefore expect to work under pressure to meet continual deadlines and must be prepared to work extra hours from time to time to ensure orders are efficiently processed.
You'll normally work from an office with standard equipment and access to computers, but you will also spend time in production areas.
When working on or near to machinery, you must wear appropriate safety gear and observe health and safety regulations.
Travel is not usually a feature of the role, though you may occasionally visit a local customer.

Qualifications

Although this area of work is open to all graduates and diploma students, a degree or HND in the following subjects may increase your chances:

business studies
graphic communications
print media management
print production or digital print production
printing management.

Degree and HND courses may cover different skills areas, so check the course content to make sure it's relevant to the area of printing you want to work in. Courses may cover any of the following skills areas:

pre-press
machine printing
finishing
sheet-fed printing press control
ICT
total quality management
digital pre-press
publishing
publishing production
desktop publishing
publication production
print buying
production management
printing processes
print production.

Entry without a degree or HND is common, and many employers are willing to provide training at work, through an apprenticeship scheme or on day-release training. Related qualifications in art, design, communications and information technology will be helpful. Find out more about printing apprenticeships from .

Postgraduate and professional courses are available.

Skills

You'll need:

good organisational skills and the ability to prioritise work, set targets and make decisions
the ability to work accurately and methodically under pressure
IT knowledge
initiative, with problem-solving skills
numerical and verbal reasoning
a high level of communication abilities, as the production planner is often the link between the shop floor and management
appreciation of customer service
tact and the ability to persuade and negotiate.

Work experience

The UK has a thriving print industry with companies located across the country. If a placement is not included in your course, take the initiative to contact printing firms to enquire about work experience.

Experience in producing printed products - for example, at a book publisher or newspaper - can also be useful.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most opportunities are found in general printing firms, commercial printing houses and specialist print service providers.

The UK's print sector is the world's sixth-largest producer of printed products, according to The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF). With a turnover of more than 拢11billion, the sector includes over 7,000 companies, employing approximately 94,000 people.

You can find work in the print industry in almost all areas of the UK. The highest concentration of companies is in London and the South East, but there are also many opportunities in the North West, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside.

The largest sector in the industry is printed packaging (25%), followed by advertising literature and event programmes (24%), followed by newspapers, magazines and books (22%).

There are also companies that specialise in security printing (cheques, tickets and secure documents), and in packaging and labels.

It's now common for printing companies to deliver integrated marketing solutions to their clients by combining print and electronic media.

Employers include:

high street print shops and small general jobbing printers who provide origination, printing and finishing services, mostly for short-run, fast turn-around printed products, such as letterheads, flyers and business cards
larger companies offering facilities capable of producing a greater range of printed material, for example fine art printing, posters, brochures, catalogues and periodicals
specialist printers in screen-printing or printing on plastic, metal and other non-paper-based materials
large printing companies specialising in paperback and hardback book production
high volume web-offset printers, such as those producing newsprint and full-colour glossy magazines.

Other employers include advertising agencies, which hire production planners to plan the progress of clients' work, gather specification information, estimate costs of the work and act as the link between the agency and the printing company.

At all levels, the industry relies on sophisticated digital workflows and production management systems.

Look for job vacancies at:

You can also check the local and regional press.

Recruitment agencies also handle vacancies. See:

Professional development

Training is often delivered in the workplace, with options including day release or attendance at external courses. A range of short, subject-specific courses is also available on a full-time, part-time or distance learning basis at centres throughout the country.

For details of a range of training options and relevant courses in all areas of print, see .

Including , a one-day introductory course covering the fundamentals of print - the print processes, paper terminology, colour and finishing.

Larger organisations generally offer more opportunities for promotion to supervisory and management positions and often enable you to specialise in a particular role.

However, smaller, often family-owned micro businesses sometimes offer greater responsibility at an earlier stage in your career and allow you the chance to gain hands-on printing skills and experience in a range of specialist areas.

It can help your career to of BPIF, the trade association for the print industry and this will connect you to networking and training opportunities and to other benefits including health and safety support.

Career prospects

During your career as a production planner, you may gain experience across a range of planning work in the departments of administration, origination, reprographics, print, bindery and dispatch. The role provides an excellent grounding for supervisory and management careers in all parts of the industry.

You may eventually choose to specialise in one of the separate areas of production. This could be in estimating work or, with further training, account management, customer relations, sales or buying.

Promotion is normally to production manager, with responsibility for the long-term and day-to-day production planning and control of workflow across all departments. Ultimately, your aim might be to advance to works or general manager.

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