Name: Abbe Tykwinski
Title: Print Production Coordinator
Website/Blog: abbetyk.blogspot.com
Location: Chicago, IL
Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I graduated in 2006 with a B.A. in Professional Writing from Michigan State University. My track was Editing & Publishing, but I took a lot of the Digital & Technical Writing classes as well. After college I moved to Chicago and got a job re-designing the website of a writing instructor, which I enjoyed. I maintained the website until I got a job at a small publishing company that produced pages for office supply catalogs. I had a temporary job there as a proofreader and when they hired me full-time, I was given the task of re-designing their website as well as managing their image database, reporting on catalog data, and even doing some page makeup. I’ve also done a little freelance web design.
Tell us about your current job.
I currently work at CVS Caremark through a marketing/design staffing agency called Aquent. I started working here in January 2009. I work with two other people to print and assemble proposals and presentations and also a variety of marketing collateral. We run this stuff on the four digital presses we have in house.
I’ve diverged from that job description a little bit by helping design new print request forms and revamping the department’s project tracking database. When I started this job, the database we used captured no useful data other than the names of the projects and who requested them. When the VP of Marketing started to request actual reports, it was obvious we needed to change our system. Our workload had lightened substantially and we had hired a third production coordinator, so I used my downtime to build a new database in Filemaker. I’d never used Filemaker before so it was a real learning experience. I’m happy to say that today we have a functional database that captures all the cost, supply usage, and workload information that we need.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I roll into work around 10 a.m. and check our database for any projects that have been assigned to me. When I receive word that the documents have gotten final approval, I print them according to the specifications given on the request form that every requester submits. My main production focus is on proposals, which tend to be all-day projects, rather than the quick turns for presentations and reports.
When I’m not printing anything, I’m working on our database. I create new reports, and I check to make sure that data is being captured accurately and that it’s organized in a useful way. I’m also working on writing a how-to manual for our database so the rest of the team can get more familiar with its capabilities.
What kinds of documents do you produce?
Proposals, presentations, and reports are our bread and butter. These range in size (15-1000 pages) and quantity (1-100) depending on the type and the purpose. These are spiral-bound or placed in three-ring binders.
Marketing collateral is the other piece of the pie. We print sell sheets, posters, flyers, brochures, raffle entry forms, you name it. This piece of the pie is a smaller one though because we only produce runs of 500 copies or less for these pieces. If a higher quantity is needed, we work with the designer to coordinate printing out of our corporate headquarters in Rhode Island.
What communication skills are needed for your job?
I think the most important skill is one anyone in the corporate world needs, and that is how to communicate with people at all levels of the corporate hierarchy, how to give criticism or request a change in behavior from higher-ups in a professional and respectful way.
I find it’s also important to know how to ask questions, to learn how to be specific enough to get the answers you need without wasting a lot of time.
How did you prepare for your job?
I didn’t. I was hired on short notice, thinking this would be a short-term position editing PDFs and PowerPoint presentations. Instead, I walked into a fast-paced print production environment and it was sink or swim. I’ve been here for 10 months — you just never know where you’ll end up!
That’s not to say that my background didn’t give me valuable skills for this job. Being able to navigate design programs and not being afraid to learn how to use new software was a big asset. My knowledge of usability and information architecture allowed me to succeed in designing request forms and the project tracking database. The technical writing skills I gained in college helped me write our department’s policies and procedures.
List three of your favorite professional resources/references/tools and tell us why they’re your favorite.
My favorite resources are all Filemaker related. I couldn’t have built our database without the people and resources at FMforums.com and FilemakerToday.com. Filemaker Pro 10: The Missing Manual from O’Reilly taught me a lot when I was unable to teach myself.
How do you stay up to date in your field?
I’m still trying to get up-to-date in my field! The database managing aspect of my job is where I feel most comfortable, but every day I’m trying to learn more about the printing industry. Being involved in meetings with paper and printer vendors has helped me gain a lot of knowledge about those aspects of the industry. Listening to designers and coworkers talk about outsourcing print jobs has helped me learn about offset printing. But I’m still in the uphill phase of learning this side of the printing world.
How would you define professional writing?
To me, it’s about conveying information through writing and design. You choose how to present information and how to organize it for the best possible result, which in most cases is your customer getting what you intended them to get out of your product.
Do you have any tips to share with other professional writers/editors/designers?
Don’t think because you don’t have a “creative” job that you can’t be creative. You make your own opportunities. If you feel underutilized, look for ways to go beyond your job description and showcase your talents.
Tags: In the Workplace, print production, technical writing, web design
[...] Don’t think because you don’t have a “creative” job that you can’t be creative. You make your own opportunities. If you feel underutilized, look for ways to go beyond your job description and showcase your talents. Abbe Tykwinski | Print Production Coordinator [...]