Candidate of the Week: Prepress Manager
David Lewis
88 Sartors Ave
Browns Bay
North Shore, Auckland
T: 09 479 6994 M: 021 634 121
SUMMARY
I have 25 years’ experience in the print and publishing industries, mainly working in magazines and newspapers, although I also have experience in design and commercial jobbing houses.
Since arriving in Auckland from London in 2001, with my Kiwi wife, Seonaid, and twin daughters, I have been working for Fairfax Magazines (formerly INL Magazines), as a key person in the team, implementing and establishing an in-house Pre-Press department providing colour management, scanning, retouching and full CTP services using the Agfa Apogee Pilot system.
As well as general workflow and file management, as a colour specialist, I have mainly been responsible for scanning, creative retouching and manipulation of images for their titles: Cuisine, House & Garden, OnHoliday, Style, NZ Gardener and other quality glossy magazines in their stable, ensuring that the colour management and image manipulation is of the highest standard.
This experience coupled with 13 years at The Times newspapers and magazine titles in London, means that I am able to turn very high quality work around in a very short time. I have demonstrated that I am both an effective team leader and team player with a friendly and easygoing nature.
I work well under pressure, I’m highly motivated, well organised, hard working, multi-skilled and still very eager to learn and further my career.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY IN BRIEF
2002 – 2004 Fairfax Magazines, Auckland Prepress
Supervisor and creative retoucher. Workflow organising and supervision, scanning, creative retouching and manipulation, colour correction, using an Apogee CTP system.
1988 – 2001 Times Newspapers, News International, Wapping, London
Imaging/Scanner Operative, Imaging Deputy Supervisor, Ad Production Planner, Ad Production Typesetter, Ad Production
1987 – 1988 Superchrome Studios, London
Production Controller
1986 – 1987 Fotofast, London
Shop Manager
1986 – 1986 Gilder Grove Studios, London
Studio Manager, London Office
1979 – 1985 Haymarket Publishing, London
Group Production Manager, Production Manager, Technical skills Apple Macintosh G5, G4, G3, Photoshop v7 (expert) & CS, Quark & Illustrator (intermediate), Colourgetter, ColourRight drum scanner, Kodak ColourRight 5, Screen Cezanne, Agfa, Eskofot, Sharp and Kodak + drum scanners Linotype AM Varitype, Atex Newspaper Publishing System Xenotron, Sun Micro – ClassPage (Unix), Apogee CTP/PDF pre-flight system.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
Printing and Estimating London College of Print Production Management for Print London College of Print Digital Repro and Pre-Press Media Training, London, Web project management Media Training, London PhotoShop courses News International training department,Typography and typesetting News International training department Production and quality control training Haymarket Publishing
INTERESTS
Scuba diving, swimming, walking, photography, travel and family.
REFERENCES
Richard Hook Paul Stubbington Alan Butcher
IS Co-ordinator Supervisor Ad Production Manager
Fairfax Magazines News International plc News International plc; 131 New North Road 1 Virginia St 1 Virginia St
Eden Terrace London E1 9DD London E1 9DD
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY DETAIL
2002 – present FAIRFAX MAGAZINES, AUCKLAND, NZ (formerly INL Magazines) PREPRESS SUPERVISOR
Duties and responsibilities: I was the first employee in the new department, designed to bring the prepress for INL/Fairfax’s magazine titles and contract publishing work inhouse. As a key person I was consulted and also assisted in, the setup of the new department, doing test runs, then providing scanning, retouching and full CTP services using the Agfa Apogee Pilot system. Although initially the department was established and manned solely by myself, it has now grown to a staff of five as we’ve brought titles in-house, and now includes a Hell 3400 drum scanner.
I assist in workflow planning and supervision, and am ofte, the first point of contact for the designers and editorial staff for advice and taking briefs to delegate to the other employees. Titles include monthlies such as NZ House and Garden, NZ Gardener, NZ Boating, Growing Today, bimonthly Cuisine and Life Pharmacy, quarterlies AA Directions, AutoFocus, OnHoliday and the weekly Sunday magazine for the Sunday Star-Times, as well as various other contract publishing jobs as required.
Workflow planning, supervision and delegation; Liaison with designers, editors and print suppliers; Liaison with external technical suppliers; Scanning, using a flat bed (Screen Cezanne) and drum scanner (Hell 3400); Retouching, improving quality of photos; Cutouts and montages to designers’ visuals; ‘Cosmetic’ retouching and manipulation, to improve or change the subject; Colour management of four colour, duotones and single colour work; Distortions and knock-backs; Intermediate Quark and Illustrator; Follow design briefs, liaise with designers, picture editors and production staff; Checking blue line and colour proofs, and correcting when necessary; PDFing and sending the print ready files to print
1988 – 2001 TIMES NEWSPAPERS, NEWS INTERNATIONAL, LONDON
1994 – 2001 IMAGING OPERATIVE (Times Imaging)
Duties and responsibilities: In my 13 years at News International, I have held a variety of positions. In 1994 I moved into the Imaging Department as I wanted to broaden my horizons by learning how to use a Mac and felt that scanning and retouching in the Imaging Group complemented my photographic skills and colour repro knowledge that I had acquired in previous positions. I worked on both newspaper and magazine titles.
Scanning, using flat beds and drum scanners; Retouching, improving quality of photos; Cutouts and montages to designers visuals; Four-colour, duotones and single colour work; Distortions and knock-backs; ‘Cosmetic’ retouching, to improve subject; Basic Quark and Illustrator; Follow design briefs, liaise with designers, picture editors and production staff; Filled in as supervisor, when none was available and holiday cover (booking in, assigned work, progress chased,resolved problems); Assisted with testing the new Intellitune and BinuScan systems.
1988 – 2001 TIMES NEWSPAPERS, NEWS INTERNATIONAL, LONDON
1992 – 1994 DEPUTY SUPERVISOR (Times Ad Production)
Duties and responsibilities: During my first six years with News International, I worked in Ad Production. I was promoted to deputy supervisor and was very involved in managing production within the department. My major achievement in this position was to organise and manage the writing of software called ‘ClassPage’, written for the classified pages of the Times. I liaised with technicians and software writers, testing and making suggestions as necessary and implemented its first use.
Supervised team of seven; Scheduled work; Progress chased; Typeset and displayed adverts; Liaised with other departments; Ensured that the system was running properly, fixed problems as necessary, and obtained outside help where appropriate.
1991 – 1992 PLANNER (Times Ad Production)
Duties and responsibilities: I was promoted from typesetter to planner, which consisted mainly of production controlling. Planned and pasted up pages; Liaised with sales and editorial teams; Drew up flat plans, distributing them to all departments.
1988 – 1991 TYPESETTER (Times Ad Production)
Duties and responsibilities: I was employed to shift work within the ad production department of the Times Group of newspapers at News International. During my years in ad production I used the Atex Newspaper Publishing Systems, Xenotron and in later years, ClassPage a software program written in Unix for the Times Newspapers using a Sun Micro station (see above). Typesetting adverts, using both artists’ visuals and my own flair and expertise; Paste-up of adverts and advertising pages .
1987 – 1988 SUPERCHROME STUDIOS PRODUCTION CONTROLLER
Duties and responsibilities: Superchrome was a professional photographic lab that Fotofast used for producing Cibachrome prints and posters and very high quality photographic work. I worked with this company for just over a year. I moved on as I wanted to get back into the print business and was offered the opportunity to work for the Times at News International.
Front reception work, client liaison; Supervision of six in house couriers; Follow-ups with clients, working with the sales team; Used the P22 cameras to develop and print; Liaison with five departments, controlling work between them .
1986 – 1987 FOTOFAST SHOP MANAGER
Duties and responsibilities: I worked with this company for 18 months as a ‘floating’ shop manager, providing cover, managing different shops in the group during vacancies. Management of up to three staff, client liaison; Banking and bookwork, stock control; Processing of films, sending films to labs and studios.
1986 – 1986 GILDER GROVE STUDIOS STUDIO MANAGER (LONDON OFFICE)
Duties and responsibilities: Gilder Grove was a Liverpool design agency that wished to expand and approached me to set up their London branch. I worked for the company for six months. As I discovered later, the company hadn’t been doing too well in Liverpool and decided that London was where all the work was. They had overstretched themselves, shut the London office after six months, and their Liverpool studio folded shortly afterwards.
Found premises and liaised with landlord; Researched and bought studio equipment; Employed and supervised staff; Liaised with Liverpool studio and directors; Managed scheduling, internal budgets and invoicing; Liaised with suppliers; Progress chasing
1985 – 1986 PRINT THINGS PRODUCTION MANAGER
Duties and responsibilities: The company was a contract publishers / design studio. I was made redundant due to a downturn in business.
Client liaison; Scheduling and allocation of work; Supervision of staff and progress chasing; Liaising with editorial, production teams, publishing houses and suppliers
1979 – 1985 HAYMARKET PUBLISHING
1984 – 1985 GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER
Duties and responsibilities: I joined Haymarket Publishing straight from school as a filing clerk, but within four months was promoted to Production Assistant., having proved myself a keen and capable worker. In six years at Haymarket, I was fortunate enough to learn a great deal about the publishing world and was eventually promoted to Group Production Manager. I wanted a new challenge and was delighted when I was offered the opportunity to work for a design studio.
Responsible for nine titles: two weeklies, six monthlies and one bi-monthly; Scheduling and allocation of work; Supervision of eight staff; Print buying and supplier liaison; Liaison with editors, sales team and typesetters; Quality control: checking film, cromalins, wetproofs and doing press passes
1983 – 1984 PRODUCTION MANAGER
Duties and responsibilities: I was promoted to this position after four years’ in-house training as a production assistant. My duties were the same as above, but I was responsible for less titles: i.e.– four: one weekly and three monthlies.
1979 – 1983 PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Duties and responsibilities: Originally hired as an office junior, I was promoted after three months’ employment, because the company felt I showed promise. I was trained up in all aspects of production, and later promoted to production manager.
Liaison with typesetters, editors and sales teams; Supplier liaison; Copy chasing; Drawing up flat plans and impositions, neg opaquing; Pasting-up pages and adverts; Layout and copyfitting pages
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email: seonaid.lewis@xtra.co.nz
