Cover Story
Defining the new normal: post-pandemic prepress This two-part series explores the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic on prepress operations, what we’ve learned, and the likely legacy. Part 1 will examine how prepress has adapted to accommodate the necessary pandemic countermeasures. With the crisis continuing, and many areas moving from an isolation strategy to a mitigation strategy, some printers have started announcing “return to work” dates for their staffers who have been furloughed or operating remotely. Many are questioning whether it’s the right time, or even if the “right” time will ever come. With so many printers forced to push their organization’s capabilities to the limit, a new, viable direction has become apparent. Welcome to the new normal of ‘distributed prepress.’ In the blockbuster 1994 movie Forrest Gump, the young title character’s spina bifida is being treated with cumbersome leg braces that make walking difficult and running impossible, but are necessary to teach his body to move more fluidly and to straighten out his spine. In an iconic scene, young Forrest is in crisis, being chased by bullies, and he starts to awkwardly trot, increasing his speed eventually to a full run. As he runs, his braces disintegrate under the strain, and he finds he no longer needs them, and possibly has not needed them for some time. Forrest never returns to wearing leg braces. They served their purpose and now he knows he no longer needs them. Why would he go back to the way things were? During the last few months, we’ve faced a considerable global crisis and had to stretch our abilities to meet the challenge. Printers and converters around the world have had to adjust to health guidance, sending home every employee capable of working remotely and operating plants with skeleton crews. Of course, this has included most digital prepress workers. Happily, we’ve had most of the tools to cope with the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic all along: we’ve just not been forced to use them in the ways we have until now. In the past few months we’ve learned what it takes to effectively operate remotely, and since this pandemic is still in play, it doesn’t appear that we’re going to be making any changes soon. So the question once again is, like Forrest Gump, why would we go back to the way things were?
@graphicarts
The evolution of the “gig economy” has led to the development of a host of collaboration and ideation tools that enable remote operations. Many of the automation tools required for efficient remote operations were already in use by printers and converters, and just needed some adjustments to support remote workers. That said, many printers
“There is no such thing as remote work, just work." and converters continue to struggle with implementing these tools, and many of those who have implemented them struggle with engagement, confidence, productivity and process control. Those who’ve gotten it right have been able to accommodate surging demand while developing and implementing new processes.
Remote work a misnomer To understand their success, we need first to accept that the percentage of employees engaged under traditional working conditions continues to decline. In a 2017 Bentley University study, about three-quarters of millennial respondents said businesses “should be flexible and fluid in the face of volatile working environments and not enforce a rigid structure on employees.” Easier said than done, right? But for those who are getting it right, the benefits are considerable – and with millennials now comprising half of the workforce, we need to be listening. Futurist Mike Walsh presents a fresh perspective when he says: “The phrase ‘remote work’ implies that somewhere there is an office where the ‘real work’ gets done.” He continues: “There is no such thing as remote work, just work. So we need to stop thinking about it as remote work and instead consider it to be ‘distributed work’.” Most of this is antithetical to the business practices we are comfortable with. But again, if done right, non-traditional approaches to business can lead to happier employees, improved productivity and greater profits. The benefits of our rapid evolution during this crisis will not be restricted to prepress, but allowing your prepress team to work remotely and on flexible schedules seems to inspire much more dissonance than allowing your accounting, customer service, or sales teams to do so. Prepress is part of the production team, so it seems risky to have prepress operators
GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | July / August 2020 | 7
