Last Week of Interning, Preparing for Senior Year!

During the thirteenth week (and last week) of my internship, I had a lot to stay on top of with school starting in one week. Majority of my work consisted of on-campus orders the needed to be done before school starts so I was needed in the shop as much as possible. We also hired four new student workers, so I was busy with showing them the ropes as well.

The entire week, my desk was occupied with piles of work orders. For instance, on Monday I printed 20 11 x 4 desk tags on 80# uncoated cover, two sets of campus business cards, 200 wedding invitations, RSVPs and information cards on 100# uncoated cover, 25 folded cards on 80# coated cover with envelopes, 300 postcards on 80# uncoated cover, 75 more different postcards, 1,000 PSU letterheads on 25% cotton, 200 PSU envelopes, 200 5 x 7 forms on 28# uncoated paper, 25 posters on 100# uncoated cover and 50 flyers on 28# uncoated paper. On top of that I designed a placemat for a company called NAMI and proofed a brochure and card for the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas. The rest of the workweek was a lot like this, including several more design jobs and wide format orders.

Through out my internship I have gotten into the habit of writing down everything I get done in a day. It has given me the chance to see how productive I can be and what all I can get done in a short amount of time. With the work ethic I have developed over the summer, I’m ready to dive into my senior year at Pittstate University and last year of working as a student designer for PSU printing & design!

Busy with Business Cards and Banners

During the twelfth week of my internship, work was in full swing. With Pittsburg State University being two weeks away from school starting, campus departments were piling orders on the shop. On top of that, some of my co-workers were on vacation, leaving me to be the only designer/ printer working the entire week.

At the beginning of the week I was able to finish 2 wide format prints and successfully adhere them to foam cor. The prints were so large that I had to use our wide format laminator to get them perfectly smoothed out onto the foam cor board. Through out the week I worked on proofing and printing business card after business card for Pittsburg State faculty, along with designing and printing many other orders specifically geared towards the needs of Pittstate. By the end of the week I proofed and printed a total of 15 different business cards.

All together I was able to finish 5 wide format orders, including two banners printed for a Yoga and Wellness business and a Pittsburg Taxi service. These banners were printed on a substrate called “13 oz. scrim.” 13 oz. scrim is a very sturdy material, best used for outdoor and indoor banners. Usually, when printing a 13 oz. scrim banner, I have to go into the file and make it 1.5 inches larger all the way around so I can fold the edges of the banner. After I fold the edges all the way around using two-sided tape, I then add a grommet to each corner.

Multitasking QUEEN.

During the eleventh week of my internship, work orders were flying in just as fast as they were flying out. I put my multitasking skills to the test and was able to reach my goal of catching up the work order box. One specific duty that I have, as the graphic designer/ printer, is to pull work orders out of “the box.” These work orders are not assigned to me, but it is my job to help the full-time staff keep up with knowing what must be done on a day-to-day basis, as well as making sure they get completed. This can sometimes be a stressful task, especially when I am also doing several tasks at once, on top of depending on other workers to do their part as well.

Believe it or not, this week I was able to complete approximately a whopping 40 different work orders. This also does not include my time spent helping customers via front desk/over the phone, entering work orders and helping my co-workers laminate and fold. I have officially become the queen of efficient multitasking and I have summer internship here at the print shop this summer to commend for that!

I was able to design 6 different items, print approximately 30 different items (not including some of the items with in each order,) and print 4 different wide format orders (which included 16 different items all together.) One wide format order I did was some canvas prints for the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. I printed 4 different photos and learned how to build and fit the canvas to a frame.

OVERCOMING THE OVERLOAD.

During the tenth week of my internship, the PSU Printing and Design shop was overloaded with work orders! I quickly had to become a master at multi-tasking and pick up the pace to get design jobs, print jobs and wide format jobs done and out the door. Through out the summer we have been a little understaffed, and on top of having issues with the printers, orders have been slowly piling up.

Through the week I had several corrections to make to previous invitations and business cards, which were then proofed and printed. I had one day to design and proof a funeral program, which then had to be printed quickly thereafter. I began working on some wide format canvas prints that will decorate the new Bicknell Center for the Arts, but was put on hold due to the canvas substrate running out halfway through printing.

By the end of the week, I had printed and proofed various booklets, business cards, invitations and brochures. It was definitely a work overload, and although I had to put in extra hours, I was able get everything accomplished. I feel extremely proud of myself because even two months I was nowhere near getting the level of work done that I have been recently. I have taken on new responsibliles and stepped up to learn and discover new ways to print, design and layout, on top of bettering my communication skills with customers and my co-workers. I have realized that taking on new challenges is the best way to learn and grow in graphic design.

Steadily Working

During the ninth week of my internship, the shop steadily became very busy with new orders and quick deadlines. My week consisted of both printing files that were already designed and ready to print, and designing a few things of my own.

My week started off with finishing up a wide format that I started the week before. I made an error in printing this one and learned how to prevent a file from “tiling.” This means printing in titles, instead of all together. After printing various cards, envelopes and invites, a customer came in requesting my help for a design job. She wanted a business card, stickers and a folded thank you card to all be designed. This was very challenging due to the fact that she had no idea what she wanted or where to begin. By utilizing good communication and my underlying talent of “seeing” what the customer wanted I was not only able to get the job completed on time, but also exceed the expectations of the customer. It was a great feeling!

The rest of the week involved getting yet another bridal shower invitation designed, and picking up two more design jobs I will complete next week. This included another wedding invitation, and a newer design task, a funeral program. On Thursday, orders got backed up because BOTH printers were not working right. This put us behind a little so next week will be a hand full!

Stepping up to Improve Business.

During the eighth week of my internship, I realized how much I have stepped up at work and how much easier it is for me to take initiative to take on and complete various work orders. Tasks ranging from simply printing business cards and invitations, to setting up huge complicated files for print, figuring out how to fix complicated customer files correctly and getting to know all the aspects to wide format printing.

This week, along with the various design and print jobs, two major projects I have been working on were completed. This first was the paper sample books. These books, printed with the new Printing and Design mark (designed for our shop T-Shirt as well,) will be given out to all the departments who order from us. This will make it easier for them to order and know exactly what they want ahead of time, decreasing face-to-face customer time, as well as decreasing complications for work orders. The second project I was able to get finished was the wide format sample book. This project took a lot of time and effort and I ended up making three on-hand books to use in the shop to help not only the customers figure out what they want, but help my co-workers also understand what the shop can really do. The wide formatting is done in a separate part of the shop, so student workers hardly get to see what wide format options we offer. This will also help in making work orders. The book was made of each individual wide format paper, and I decided to apply grommets in each corner of each sample. I finally was able to clip the samples all together with a metal ring, making it easy for adjustment and to flip through.

Paper Sample Booklet and Wide Format Booklet

Doing what I LOVE. (Design)

During the seventh week of my internship, I picked up several jobs that needed design work done. These jobs are my favorite because I absolutely love being able to use my creativity and design skills. On top of using my design skills, I also love the challenge of figuring out and matching exactly what the customer wants, and when I do, it’s a great feeling!

In between designing a series of wedding invitations, thank you cards and recipe cards, I was able to take on the task of preparing a paper sample book of all the papers PSU printing and design offers, as well as start printing a wide format sample book. Although we already have several paper sample books on hand at the print shop for walk-in customers to see, my supervisor wanted to make a series of smaller versions with every possible sample so that departments can order things more easily online. I printed all the paper names on clear labels and designed a recognizable cover, which was also laminated for durability. We were able to coil-bind 20 books.

For the wide-format sample-book, I was able to locate files a previous worker had compiled and began the process of printing each file on each different wide-format substrate. I learned how to load large rolls of paper onto the Roland and make sure everything is set up correctly for print. So far, I managed to print on adhesive vinyl, matt high-tack, perforated window vinyl, wall cling, and gloss paper.

This is the Bridal Shower Invite, Thank You and Recipe card I designed and printed.

Holy Laminate!!

During the fifth week of my internship, the pace of the print shop had slowed down quite a bit. I kept myself busy with several design jobs and a TON of laminating. I also talked to my supervisor about the possibility of redoing the board by the front desk that displays all of the different colors and paper options for customers. It is outdated and in need of some sprucing up. I hope to find some time next week to do this!

At the beginning of the week, after I finished designing and printing the 500 brochure for the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas, I took on my very first wide format design project, a banner that will go onto a float. Although I had trouble reaching the customer to ask about certain design elements, I was finally able to proof it at the end of the week. One of the most important things I have been learning and developing in my time here at Printing and Design is the ability to communicate with customers, specifically about orders, files and design.

The rest of the week was filled with punching and coiling, book after book, for the Pittsburg State Bookstore. This will be something I’ll have to help with throughout the summer. This week alone my co-workers and I managed to get over 800 books done. Another tedious task I had to get done was to laminate almost 600 posters for a firework stand. This was roughly 600 ft. of lamination and involved changing the laminator’s laminate roll out two times with in two days.

Too Much HEAT

The fourth week of my internship was a little bit of a break compared to the last three weeks, less customers to attend to and work orders fulfill. This was not a bad thing considering I had trouble with one of our smaller digital color printers.

At the beginning of the week I took on the task of printing 1000 color letterhead and 1000 color envelopes for the Community Foundation for Fort Scott. I began with the letterheads, which were to be printed on our 24# 25% cotton paper. Shortly after running the letterhead they began curling and jamming the printer. My supervisor suggested that the fuser in the printer was too hot and so I have to keep a close watch as I ran the job. When I got the envelopes, I noticed that they were fusing together and crinkling at the edges. Although we could not fix this problem on our own, I had to only run the job at 200 envelopes at a time, with breaks in between.

Some of my other jobs this week included printing and proofing 200 17 x 5 brochures, print, fold and bind 250 12 page booklets, print flyers and cards, typeset a resume and design and proof a brochure for the Southeast Kansas Community Foundation. Aside from these jobs I also made work orders and help customers receive and pay for their orders.

I love this job; I get the chance to work one on one with real businesses to figure out what they want and how I can come up with the best possible designs.

Furlough?! Oh no!!

The third week of my internship, was a busy week full of anxiety among my co-workers and I due to Governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, and his warnings about going into “furlough.” As I understood it, if the State of Kansas was to go into furlough that would mean that many non-essential state workers would not be able to get paid. Because I work for Pittsburg State’s Printing and Design service, I am not only a state employee, but a “student employee” as well, making me what the Governor would consider “non-essential.” Although we, and many others, were worried of these circumstances, as of yesterday I was informed that a furlough is NOT going to happen this week. (Yes!!!)

Throughout this entire week a lot of my focus was set on attending the front desk and carious customer duties. These included assisting all customers via phone, email and in person, as well as printing small jobs for various customers on task. Aside from busyness of the front desk, at the beginning of the week I did many smaller print jobs such as proofing and printing 9 different business cards, stickers, flyers, invitations, certificates and brochures. Some of my larger jobs included setting up, proofing and printing over 275 magazines called “The Baptist Heralds,” setting up and printing a 10 item job, which also included a 15 x 18 wide format mounted on foam-cor and finishing up the 1200 booklets needed for PITT CARES.

Learning more and more about wide format printing has been awesome!