case study
"Like many businesses, we have the so-called Babylon Babel effect of confusion and language barriers. You think everyone is doing the same thing; but, until someone lifts the veil, you really don't know. It's not what you do What's wrong; it's for everyone to agree and speak the same language." Michael Clark, president of Cedar Graphics New York-based Cedar Graphics, a subsidiary of EarthColor, provides commercial printing services. Therefore, the company needs to operate as efficiently as possible to remain competitive, according to President Michael Clark. "We were fortunate enough to see the 2008 downturn come and take appropriate steps to properly size the company before the recession," Clark said. "If we hadn't done that and focused on lean manufacturing, we probably wouldn't exist today. So we think we're lean and effective."
Clark changed his mind when he began discussions with X-Rite Pantone about the Pantone Certified Printing Enterprise program. "At Cedar Graphics, we firmly believe in the need for continuous improvement," he said. "The Pantone Certified Printing Business program presented us with a great opportunity to be even more effective, and that caught my attention."
Founded in 1970, Cedar Graphics produces folding cartons, display materials and high-end commercial printing, almost exclusively for the trade. The company also provides retouching services to clients. Such a mix-and-match job requires not only in-depth color knowledge, but also the use of sophisticated color measurement and management techniques.
at first......
The process of becoming a Pantone Certified Printer begins with a plant visit by Mark Gundlach, a G7 Certified X-Rite Color Service Professional. Gundlach performed a comprehensive audit of the company's color workflow, including evaluation of all color Measurement Instruments, ink room processes, paper types, and five Mitsubishi UV sheetfed presses ranging in size from 40” to 51” and from two to eight colors ).
"It's been an incredible experience working with Mark," Clark commented. “You think you’re running efficiently, you think the day shift and the night shift work the exact same way, but they don’t. They might get the same results, but they don’t do it the same way. It’s great to bring in someone like Mark from the outside, It really helped us to connect the cause and effect together."
Using the Tower of Babel as an analogy, Clark said, "The Tower of Babylon is supposed to reach heaven, but it can't because everyone speaks a different language. It's the same here. If everyone speaks a different language, you can build towers, but cannot reach the clouds."
won't stop there
"Maintaining authentic quality with the Pantone Certified Printing Enterprise program is a movie, not a fleeting snapshot," Clark commented. “We are very pleased with the results of the audit and to become a Pantone Certified Printing Company. It makes our company stronger and better. But we will never stop there.”
One element of maintaining the Pantone Certified Printing Business designation is the quarterly audit process. "It's like a mother checking her kid's homework," Clark said. “You know the professionals come in every quarter for inspections, and that’s motivating in itself, it’s about keeping up with the times, not doing it once and then forgetting about it. We look forward to the quarterly inspections, and each time we learn how to communicate better .”
