Pre-Press Operator

A to Z Media is a leading supplier of physical media products, packaging, apparel and branded merchandise to music labels, content creators, businesses and other organizations. We are seeking a Pre-Press Operator for our vinyl and CD business. This is an awesome opportunity for a customer-centric professional to contribute to our future growth and to ensure standards in product quality, delivery and customer service. A to Z has offices or staff in New York, Portland (OR), Milwaukee, San Francisco and elsewhere. This position will be based in our New York and Portland office.

The Pre-Press Operator works in the Art Department reporting to our Creative Director. The role requires previous experience preparing artwork for offset and silkscreen reproduction. The position is primarily responsible for adjusting clients supplied packaging designs for optimal commercial quality. Projects will each include creating proofs for client approval and supplying print-ready files to a network of production facilities. This is a technical desktop printing position with little room for creativity. Previous client interaction experience is a must and music industry experience a huge plus.

Responsibilities

Responsible for workflow / scheduling / output of art department including proofing, approvals & occasional design of projects
Sharing continuous feedback to staff as well as completing self-reviews
Available to assist on projects when needed
Contributes to the development of the Art Departments culture and quality standards in pursuit of elevating the art department output

Required Experience

Two plus years operating Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign in a production environment
Strong understanding of prepress and production graphic fundamentals (Templates, Bleed, Raster vs. Vector.)
Delivery of production-ready files for print quantities of 1000 and up
Mocking up product rendering in Photoshop
Familiarity with the Print Production features of Adobe Acrobat Pro
Print design experience is an extra positive (please provide a portfolio)

Technical Skills

Fundamental knowledge of commercial offset and silkscreen printing processes
Color separating artwork for spot color printing
Setting up common printing effects (overprints, embossing, stamping, custom varnish plates)
Previous experience submitting files to a Raster Image Processor (RIP)
Basic typesetting and type management skills
Understanding of common substrates
Working knowledge of MAC OSX, FTP programs

Competencies

Enthusiastic and level-headed
Good at managing time efficiently and functioning under pressure
Excellent computer skills
Ability to communicate confidently with a network of production partners
Self-motivated and great people skills
Previous experience in a media packaging environment is a plus
Ability to adapt to a fast paced continually changing business and work environment while managing multiple priorities