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Ghosts Inside The Machine - 3
November 6, 2007

In our last two episodes we talked about computer support issues in dual computer platform companies. Most graphic arts companies use PC’s for front office tasks and as servers as well as Macs in design and prepress. In our dual computer platform companies most people favor one computer platform over the other and as a result do a better job supporting one or the other. Someone who is great on the Windows platform may struggle to identify a permissions problem on the Mac and someone who is a Mac whiz may freeze as they walk into the server room when the performance slows because they do not understand that it is a memory problem that requires restart.

Graphic arts companies are no different then other companies that only have a limited number resources available for support. Most of our small companies may not be able to afford one, no less two computer support staff. This inevitably results in a list of priorities in which some problems always win and others usually lose. Front office servers or a down press are typical winners while design and prepress computers are usual losers. The thinking behind this decision is simple if you can’t quote jobs or print work you can’t get make any money.

The great irony is that a lack of computer support in the prepress area creates slowdowns in performance and exacerbate existing bottlenecks. It may not be as obvious as when the front office server goes down or when a press is idle but it has a dramatic effect on productivity. Lets not forget the conversation between Jonah and Alex Rogo in the book, “The Goal” which talks about how bottlenecks determine overall plant throughput and how the key to increasing productivity is to increase throughput through the bottleneck. If prepress is your bottleneck, and you are not in an emergency mode then you need to focus on your bottleneck.

Posted by Howie Fenton on November 6, 2007 | Comments (0)