BY DAVE PRINCE
OBERLIN, Ohio - Participants at the August 5-7 Active
Workers Conference here heard reports on the steps being
taken by Pathfinder's printshop to further advance the most
cost-effective and timely, high-quality Pathfinder book
production at the printing stage of producing the books. (see
coverage beginning on page 8).
This follows the revolution over the last half year at the prepress stage of producing Pathfinder books. Since December all Pathfinder books have been produced using advanced computer-to-plate technology, eliminating the need for a large highly skilled and labor intensive prepress department, making it possible to reduce the size of the printshop from 47 in July of last year to 32 today.
The entire Pathfinder list is being put into digital form by more than 100 Pathfinder volunteers around the world.
Twenty-two participants in the conference contributed $82,000, in contributions ranging from $1,000 to $30,000, toward the $300,000 needed for the next stage. The first goal is to raise the $175,000 needed to carry out, by the end of the year, the long postponed capital project to create a single press room.
This will advance productivity on the presses by eliminating the wall which separates the two Heidelberg sheetfed presses - used to print the text and covers for Pathfinder books - and Web press, used to print the Militant. They will be integrated into a single press room with the necessary air conditioning, humidity, and dust control. This will result in dramatically improved working conditions.
With that completed, the printshop will schedule an overdue upgrade of the lighting with new fixtures and factory windows, an industrial cleaning and painting of the pressroom, and repair the floor.
This appeal follows the tremendous response over the last 12 months by 151 contributors who gave $848,000, with contributions ranging from $1,000 to $91,000, to purchase the computer-to-plate equipment, the infrastructure needed for a digital workflow, and a computer network on the production floor with computers at each machine to help advance productivity and quality through accurate and timely information.
As well, a part of the capital has been deferred to operating expenses as the shop increases sales and margins needed going through the transition, and then regenerate the capital.
For more information on how you can help, write the Capital Fund, 410 West St., New York, NY 10014.