Production Planner (Printing)Production planners in printing control and plan the flow of work to meet customer deadlines. They also check product specifications, make adjustments, oversee the work of other staff in the department, and monitor the quality of the product.
Production planners liaise with other production departments, customer account managers and with customers, for example to discuss changes to the specification. They also attend regular production meetings with the production manager and other planners.
Responsibilities and specific job titles can vary according to employer. For example, a production planner in printing may also be known as a print manager or print supervisor.
Typical work activities
In large companies, production planners work in six areas of the production cycle:
- administration – where orders are entered into a computerised management system that generates a specification for the product;
- origination – where artwork and digital images are generated;
- reprographic – where printing plates are produced;
- print – where the printing presses are run;
- bindery – where the product is bound and finished;
- despatch – where the product is packaged and distributed.
In smaller companies, departments may be combined, such as origination and reprographic functions, and a production planner may be responsible for one or more of the processes.
Typical tasks include:
- checking the accuracy of the product specification;
- making any adjustments using the computerised system;
- allocating work to, and overseeing the work of, departmental staff;
- checking the quality of material in production and on completion;
- managing production staff;
- supervising training;
- liaising with other departments, eg origination, print, bindery and despatch;
- liaising with customer account managers to advise on problems or delays;
- liaising with customers, eg to discuss changes to the specification;
- making recommendations for the smooth running of the department.
Range of typical starting salaries: £19,000 - £25,000 (salary data collected May 05).
Range of typical salaries at senior level/with experience (eg, after 10-15 years in the role): £34,500 - £45,000 (salary data collected May 05).
- Salaries for production planners vary depending on the company and range of responsibilities.
- Working hours vary. Large companies may operate a 24 hour, seven day week production cycle. In these firms, you may be required to work shifts, including early starts, late finishes, weekends and public holidays. In smaller firms, planners generally work nine to five, five days a week.
- Technological advances have speeded up print processes in all stages of production. One effect of this has been to increase customer expectations in terms of shorter deadlines. Planners, therefore, can expect to work under some pressure to continually meet deadlines, and must also be prepared to work extra hours from time to time to ensure orders are efficiently processed.
- Planners normally work from an office, where they have access to a computer and the usual office equipment. However, they may also spend a good deal of their time in production areas.
- When working on or near to machinery, planners must wear appropriate safety gear and observe health and safety regulations.
- Although there are a minority of females in the printing industry (6.5% of current trainees of The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) are women), this is changing fast.
- New technologies have opened up the sector. As machines have become more reliant on IT, this has removed some of the heavier physical aspects of the job.
- Most opportunities are with general printers.
- Jobs are available in most areas of the UK.
- Planners are not normally required to travel, though in some roles, for example in origination departments, you may make occasional visits to local customers.
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