Hiring Letterpress Printer & Shop Manager (Greater Boston)

WE ARE HIRING: LETTERPRESS PRINTER & PRINT SHOP MANAGER
Smudge Ink is a small band of illustrators, printers, and wordsmiths brought together by an inexplicable devotion to snail mail. We create lighthearted, punchy greetings with a knack for making you grin. From the initial sketch to the umpteenth print run, we live by creativity, color, and craftsmanship. Our happy place is a mailbox stuffed with real mail. We love that what we do helps others connect, celebrate, and have fun!

Come join us and help us continue to grow by bringing your printing skills, humor, enthusiasm, and attention to detail.

Hours: 20 – 30 hours/week

Location: Charlestown, MA and/or Acton, MA

Start date: ASAP, July 2019 preferred

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Taking ownership of the print schedule and adjusting as needed. The schedule is shared with and influenced by the office and fulfillment staff. Changes and updates must be communicated clearly.
Printing 2-color letterpress greeting cards on 10×15 Heidelberg Windmills. A good balance of quality control and timeliness is imperative.

Printing and managing more complex custom projects. These can often be completed on the Windmills, but we also have a Vandercook that can be used for these projects. Management includes coordinating with outside vendors for special services like foil, digital printing, duplexing, or bindery. Time management will be crucial to meet deadlines and turn-times while keeping up with the regular day-to-day management of our wholesale greeting card line.

Tracking inventory and ordering print shop supplies as needed to keep up with production.

Maintenance of the presses, industrial cutter, and other machinery. Including the ability to troubleshoot small issues and adapt as needed.

Working with and managing our Print Shop Assistant to make sure the print shop is being run as efficiently as possible. You will assist each other in order to maintain a tidy, pleasant, and organized workspace.

Papercutting, die-cutting, edge painting, and related tasks.

Managing the print schedule and communicating with the office and fulfillment staff about the status of products, custom projects, and special requests.

We have three product releases per year as well as some internal projects that need to be worked into the print schedule in a manageable and timely way.

Mixing ink and paint using a scale and by eye. We use Pantone colors for both our wholesale line and for custom projects. Color matching and print quality consistency between print runs are very important in commercial printing.

QUALIFICATIONS
-Letterpress printing experience on 10×15 Heidelberg Windmill required.
-Experience color-matching using the Pantone system.
-Experience in a working, commercial studio is strongly preferred.
-Strong organizational and communication skills.

HOW TO APPLY
To apply for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to april@smudgeink.com. Use the subject line LETTERPRESS PRINTER.

As part of the application process, anyone considered for the position will be asked to demonstrate some print runs in our studio.

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