KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

FACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLISHING STUDIES

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The department of publishing studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,
in its quest to educate and prepare students to identify appropriate opportunities and to integrate
on-the-job experience with theory prepare its students to achieve these important objectives; to
expose the students to the practical aspect of publishing, printing, design and illustration,
company administration and management, to give the students an insight into industrial practices
that relates to the book industry generally and his/her area of specification and finally to help the
student learn and acquire some skills through training on the job and also exercise skills acquired
at college in the company’s production scheme. The four year programmed therefore has one
semester in the third-year of study devoted to practical field training for students.

The department through the Ghana Development Council assigns students to various printing
and publishing companys here in Ghana and sometimes overseas.

Sakoa Press Limited, the company where I was assigned to is located at Mataheko, a suburb of
Accra in the Greater Accra Region. The company which started in 1976 with a few workers now
has about 31 employees. Some of which are permanent workers while others casual with 6 senior
staff members making up the management.

Sakoa Press Limited has a vision to become a company dedicated to efficient service delivery as
a contribution to national development. The company’s mission statement, to be one of the best
presses in Ghana relying on professionally trained and well-motivated staff using modern
technology to provide product and services to the satisfaction of its valued customers proves
beyond reasonable doubt that they are indeed determined to be mentioned among the best
printing press in Ghana and across Africa.

Basically, The Company is made up of five sections namely:

1. Pre Press department or computer room

 2. Darkroom

3. Printing Section

4. Binding or Finishing section

5. And Administration Section

Authority flows from top level to the bottom. Mr. Kwasi Sekyere, the Managing Director of the
company is also the Chief Executive Officer with Mr. Yiadom the General Manager, the
Accountant, Mr. Obisie, Acting Production Manager Mr. Ofori Atta who is as well the estimator
of the company form the Senior Staff of the company.

The departmental heads are; Mr. Padmore Nimako, head of the design department, Mr. Nunoo,
head of darkroom, Mr. Johnson, head of production department and Mrs. Kofi, head of finishing
department.

Sakoa Press Limited works with the following clients; West Africa Examination Council,
Methodist University, Mount Olivet, Accountant Generals, Ministry of Health, Accra and
Kofofridua, Tamale Polytechnic, University of Development Studies, Koforidua Polytechnic
New Nations University, Koforidua, University of Cape Coast, University of Winneba, Internal
Revenue Service, Western Union and host of others.

The company has very tight security systems to ensure that the degree of protection and safety
against customers’ jobs is enough to win their trust. The company has put in place measures to
ensure that customer’s works are in safe hands. The premise of the company is swamped with
security personnel and cameras to monitor the activities of the people and each job as it travels
along the production line.

Workers and visitors are thoroughly searched whenever they are coming in and going out of the
company. Workers of the company are entreated to leave their bags at the security room before
they are allowed into the premises. This is to ensure the enforcement of total security of
company properties as well as the prospective client’s.

Security cameras are placed in every department to pan, travel and zoom in all the activities of
workers within their respective offices. The pan attribute gives the camera the ability to move
round and it has long range of travel, so that it can capture images further away from its location.

With all this security systems in place, workers are afraid to either steal or avoid doing their
work as anticipated.
 CHAPTER TWO

My colleagues and I first reported at Sakoa Press Limited early in the morning on the 25th of
January, 2010 to wait on Mr. Yiadom, the General Manager of the company. When he arrived,
he took us round their various departments to introduce my colleagues and I to their workers.
First, he took us to the design department headed by Mr. Padmore Nimako and Mr. Alex Mensah
who are illustrator and marketing manager respectively. The company has only one designer and
one marketing staff and the two shares the same office.

Secondly, the General Manager took us to the company’s Darkroom headed by Mr. Nunoo and
Mr. Agyare. A very large room where film and plates are made after the design and colour
separation has been done. Mr. Yiadom later took us to the company’s Production department
where actual printing of jobs is done, to the estimating department and finally to the finishing
department where packaging, collating trimming, and any other finishing activity is carried out.

After the brief orientation, Mr. Yiadom assigned us all to the Production department to allow
him to graft a well-planned schedule that will direct us as to which department we have been
assigned to. According to Mr. Yiadom, as a normal routine, we were expected to visit the various
departments in turns. But later in the day, the Production Manager and estimator of the company,
Mr. Ofori Attah called us to his office. He asked us to choose which department we would like to
go first. He suggested that I first go to the design department for my other colleagues, William
and Ganiu to go to the company’s Darkroom and Production department respectively. So, each
one of us was anticipated to stay for a maximum of two weeks in each department. I was taken to
meet Mr. Padmore, the designer and after some interrogations we got acquainted.

DESIGN DEPARTMENT

25TH JANUARY TO 5th FEBUARY

The design department of Sakoa Press Limited is a large one. The department has two Apple
computers (imac), an hp computer, a scanner, one laser printer, software (CorelDraw, Indesign
and Photoshop) and a small network computer that serves the other departments within the
company.

Work in the design department starts when the estimator and planner of jobs, Mr. Ofori Attah has
brought in a job order form indicating the type of job, the client, specifications and other
essential details necessary to carry out the job. When the job is completed, it is incumbent on the
designer to send proofs to the editor, Mr. Mensah after which if the appropriate corrections have
been made he is expected to have a colour separation done outside the company (that is if
demanded). This is because the company has no colour separation machines. And where colour
separation is not needed especially with jobs that involve one colour like company receipts, order
forms, hospital cards and so on, positive films is made outright and sends to the lithographer for
plate to be made.

I worked in the design department of Sakoa Press Limited as an assistant to the only designer the
company had after two others have been sacked due to misconduct on their part.

The designer, in order to be sure that I was equal to the task, gave me a calendar to design. And
when he discovered I was good with the CorelDraw, I suddenly became the “starter” of all jobs
while he was the finisher. What this means is that, I was given the opportunity to start on each
job after which the designer would add a few touches and tricks to get the final work submitted
to the proofreader when necessary.

In all frankness, it wasn’t easy for me during the first week in the design department. This is
because the first job I worked on was a calendar brought by one Excel Oil Company. I didn’t
know how to start but the senior designer helped me a great deal. He first asked me to use
CorelDraw software because it was easier and has a template of calendars. All I needed to do
was to enter specifications for the kind of calendar format I wanted and that was it the software
would give me a sample to work with.

The client had brought pictures which must be used on the calendar and it was incumbent on me
to match the right colours to achieve the results expected. The calendar was supposed to be in an
A5 format, landscape and in comb binding. Due to this, bleeds, columns and slugs must be well
considered in order to achieve the best results. From time to time, I called on the designer for his
assistance. He was so patient and friendly. This made my work easier and enjoying.

I completed the work within two days, after which I printed a copy to show to the designer. He
was impressed and asked me to send a copy to the editor. My effort was commended and so I
carried out the subsequent jobs.

The second job was a call card for one Mr. Adusei and Mr. Agyare who are a carpenter and
physiotherapist respectively. Before this, I didn’t know the actual size of a call card and the
information that must appear on it. Secondly, I also didn’t know that the software has a default
size for a business card. So with the names and contact details of these clients available, I
managed to come up with a good design. I was also taught how to use pictures that shows what a
client does in the design. For instance, if a client is a carpenter, it is necessary to add a picture of
the things done by him.

I also worked on a funeral invitation card, funeral poster, a funeral program booklet, a receipt for
Excel Oil Company, labels to be printed on wedding cups, wedding invitation cards, cd labels
and a host of others. On a CD is a softcopy of all the works I did while in the design department.
Eventhough the designer of the company, Mr. Padmore Nimako is good with the CorelDraw; he
had no idea about the use of InDesign which is the best design program for book work. Due to
this, he often spent time on most of his jobs. I managed to help him ease his stress by teaching
him how to use the InDesign software and he was grateful.

DARKROOM

FREBRUARY 8TH TO 19TH

I started work at the company’s Darkroom on the 8th of February 2010. In the darkroom, Mr.
Nunoo, assisted by Mr. Agyare were together working in the darkroom as Lithographers. The
senior of the two, Mr. Nunoo showed me around the department and the equipments they have.

The room has three sections of which one is a store room. Another room for platemaking and the
other, a washing room for plates. The department has the old Repro master formally used in
making negative films, plate making machine, a cabinet where plates are kept for use, a screen
for registration of films on plate, a radiograph for making corrections on films and a redtape also
for deepening faint text on a positive film.

When jobs are brought to the darkroom for plates to be made, details of the job are entered in the
job receipt book indicating that a job has been received on a said date; this also makes available
an account for the use of materials known to the authorities when the need arises.

The senior lithographer told me that before the use of the computer and laser printer in making of
positive films, a machine called the Repro machine was used to make both negative and positive
films. This he said was cumbersome because a little mistake on the part of the lithographer could
damage the entire film.

He said that the Repro machine is made in such a way that, a glass plates is found both on top
and at the bottom of it. It has lens camera fixed in between the two plates. There are also two
covered lights at each side of the machine. Numbers are also inscribed on the machine to guide
the lithographer as to the time the process will start and complete.

According to him, before one starts the processing of film, all lights in the room must be
switched off. This prevents lights from passing through the sensitive film to destroy it. A red
light is rather switched on to aid the lithographer easily develop the negative film.

The image to be developed is placed on the bottom glass plate while the film is placed at the top
of the glass plate in opposite direction. There is a vacuum that fixes the image and the film
firmly to the glass to prevent any movement and air between them. And when the two lights are
switched on, the lens camera immediately shoots the images directly onto the film. When the
time set for the process has elapsed, the negative film developed is now removed and washed
with a chemical he usually calls negative film developer. This chemical helps the image areas on
the film to be seen and with the help of a red light a good or bad job could be determined. After
the film is made, a chemical called opaque is used to seal any holes (unwanted images) found on
the film. The film is now ready for the plate to be made.

But Sakoa Press Limited is well equipped with modern machines. A positive film is now used in
making plates. The designer of the company only has to print the image or text needed on a laser
after which the plate making process is easier with the use of the platemaking machine (plate
burner).

The positive film printed by the designer is measured accurately and registered on a screen
board. This board has florescent bulbs inside it that gives the lithographer a clear view of the
registration marks located on the film. After registration is done, the film is carefully pasted on
the plate with a help of a white sol tape and taken to the platemaking machine for the plates to be
made.

Images that are blare on the positive film are deepened with a redtape so that it can be properly
burnt onto the plate. The tape is red but when used on the positive film, it turns deep black
allowing the burning on plate to be successful. A pen called radiograph is also used to deepen the
blare parts of the image on film ready to be burnt on plate.

The plate burner in the darkroom can burn a maximum of three plates at the same time. During
this process, a nod is pressed at the right end of the machine to open it. The plate is put in after
which an inbuilt vacuum is pressed allowing air to occupy the space between the plate and the
cover of the burner. This prevents the movement of either the plate or the film and to avoid light
from passing the plate. This light can burn off the images on the film making part of it missing
on the burnt plate.

A regulator attached to the burner indicates the plate is ready to be burnt. A button is then
pressed for the light to switch. This light opens from a centigraph, a device hanging on top of the
burner. The open light transfers heat to the burner for the plates. The plate is allowed to burn for
a maximum of 3minutess after which the light is switched off and the plate removed. Thus the
image on the positive film is transferred onto the plate.

The plate is sent to the wash room for the non-image areas to be washed off. A diluted liquid
called the developer is used for this. The chemical (developer) is sometimes in a powdery form
or liquid depending on the type used. However, the powdery one always has to be diluted before
used.

After the plate is properly washed so that no ink is found on the plate, another chemical called
gum is used to clean the surface of the plate. This chemical is a preservative that preserves the
plate so that the image areas don’t fade out. If used, the plate can be stored for years and can till
be useful.

After this brief orientation from Mr. Nunoo, I automatically became his assistant. Mr. Agyare
was no more assisting him. So while I observed Mr. Nunoo worked on the registration of films
on the plate I did the plate burning and washing. My work was to observe him while he did the
registration after which I will take the registered film on plate to the plate burner.

I will first switch the power of the plate burner on, open and place the plate inside it. I will then
turn on the vacuum and wait a few seconds for air to fill it making sure the regulator attached to
the vacuum has stopped moving. This indicates that there is no air between the plate and the
positive film. Then, I will turn on the light (centigraph) and wait for about 2 to 3minutes for the
process to complete. When the image is burnt onto the plate, I will remove the film on it and then
take it to the washroom. I will wear gloves on my right hand to prevent contact with the chemical
(developer). After washing off the non-image areas of the plate I will clean it with gum for
preservation purposes.

Mr. Nunoo also taught me how to do a dummy for a book work as well as how to do imposition
based on the dummy created. Making a dummy is requires that a person know the total pages of
the book in question. Once this is known, papers a folded and numbered from one to the last
number of the book. So that after unfolding the papers the position of each page in the book will
easily be detected. This makes the arrangement of pages in a book correctly sequentially
ascertained.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

FEBRUARY 22ND TO 26TH

Marketing is a significant aspect of any business in today’s highly competitive printing industry
because those individuals who only look to product enhancement will fine themselves far and
away behind the power curve. The marketing manager of the company, Mr. Maxwell, an HND
holder and a formal student of Cape Coast Polytechnic is responsible for soliciting for jobs that
are profitable. This, according to him, can be fulfilled by providing the service needs of the
customer; determining the needs and wants of the target markets and giving the customer the
satisfaction they require.

Sakoa press Limited has its marketing department composed of three main target markets;
security, commercial and advertising agents market. The Security market is concerned with jobs
likes postal orders, stamps cheques, travel document to mention but a few. Its commercial
market deals with jobs like CD labels and any other labels, posters, stickers, skillets and stickers
whiles the advertising agent market is responsible for jobs such as calendars, annual reports,
handouts, books, company files, brochures and others. The marketing manager, in his quest to
achieve the satisfaction required by its clients also makes sure that customer’s goods are
delivered on time.

According to Mr. Maxwell, customer satisfaction is an important key to the success of every
entity. The importance of meeting customer delivery deadlines must also be envisaged. This can
be achieved by working hand in hand with the production manager to ensure that consumer
specifications are met and there are no deviations in the final work. This is because any deviation
on the part of the production team may bring about rejection of goods by the customer who
deems it unacceptable.

It is also the responsibility of the manager in determining the correct pricing policy for all their
clients. In doing so, the number of colours, type of ink, type of paper, number of copies, as well
as the type of job is taking into consideration as well. The marketing manager often takes pains
to research into the current market situations, technological changes and how it can help to boost
their sales in the competitive market. The department digs into how a product can be enhanced to
improve its current and future sales on the market as well as the capacity of their competitors,
their customers and their capacity to satisfy them. The manager said that the company does not
allow self-satisfaction to get the way of keeping their old clients satiated and wants to come for
more.

The department also ensures that the image of the company is acknowledged anytime they go on
canvassing. Brenya, an in-house distribution firm, is also responsible for all deliveries in the
house and supplies Sakoa Press Limited with needed stationeries. The use of personal selling as a
marketing strategy is helping the manager a great deal to make enough sales for the company.

After the brief introduction about what transpires at the department, I accompanied him on a few
occasions to solicit for jobs. We took with us the company brochure and an album that contains
samples of jobs and client whom the company serves. This is to convince the new client to
accept to go on contractual terms with us because we have the best client and our products are
off good quality. We first visited Excel Oil Company and asked if the company could be of any
help to them. We told them about Sakoa Press and how excellent our products. The Manager
taught me how to politely talk to will-be clients, how to talk to important personalities with
respect, and use of persuasive utterances.

After a brief orientation on our product, the company decided to offer us the contract. We were
to reproduce for them a receipt and a company calendar for their branch offices. And when we
visited the BNI the next day, we earned the contract to also reproduce their payroll book which
was a very large notebook.

I managed to also express my ideas anytime we visited a client. I will add a word or two
whenever I had an idea and during this time I leant enough to qualify for a marketing manager.
 ESTIMATION DEPARTMENT

MARCH 1ST TO 5TH

The estimator, Mr. Ofori Attah receives the solicited jobs brought by the marketing manager.
The estimator is responsible for given information about the total cost a jobs brought. He does
not computate for the actual cost of a job but rather brings out a closer cost that is neither too
high nor too low.

The estimator said he was previously making his calculations manually. This he said was
cumbersome and needed more attention and care as little mistakes could either lead to over or
under estimation. All the information now in the current software had to be taking into
consideration during calculation.

Software called the Optimus now aids the estimator in calculating for the cost of production. He
simply does this by keying in the required information according to the specification of the
clients who have ordered the job. The software gives an option from which to choose from. He
then prepares a work instruction ticket (WIT), which is passed on, to every stage of production.
This work instruction ticket contains the following information; the customer’s name and
address, quantity ordered, origination of the job, number of colours, order and date delivered,
Finishing description, description of the production process and Materials to be used among
others.

During the computation, the estimator also considers the speed of the various printing machines.
This he said is necessary to help him know the cost rate as well as the running rate of the
machines. It also assists him to know the rate to charge per hour. The number of plates to be used
is also considered as it’s directly related to the quantity to be printed. This implies that on the
average, the plate has to be changed 100,000 runs.

During my stay at the estimating department, I was giving a job to estimate. Using the manual
method of estimating, I simply filled in the required information on the forms. For instance, I
entered the name of the clients, the date the estimate request is being made, usually today’s date,
enter the name and telephone number of the clients.
I then entered a descriptive name for the job. If the title of the job was long or cumbersome, I
just enter a short name that we can use when talking about the estimate.

If this order is a revision or repeat of a previous order, I will enter the previous requisition
number and the date the job was last printed. If the previous job number assigned to the job is
known, I will enter that number as well. Then mark the appropriate box to indicate whether the
job is revised or a repeat. If the order is revised, I provide details of the revisions in the
"Additional Information" box. For example, only a phone number changes or new copy for all
but two pages of a book.

If this order is a new job that hasn’t been printed before, simply I mark the "New" box and move
on to the next item.

I will enter a specific month, day, and year when the completed print job will be due. I do not use
ASAP. If the client is requesting estimates for the job only, and do not have a due date for the
job, I will enter "N/A" to show that no due date is applicable. Short turnaround times can
increase the cost of a print order, so it’s important to let the estimator know if a reasonable
completion time will be available or not.

I will enter the number of finished copies ordered, and then mark the appropriate box to the right
indicating if the quantity given is for books, sheets, sets, or pads. I will also enter the finished
size of the printed piece. Enter the size with the width first, then the height. If the estimate is for
a bound book, the finished size is the dimensions of the closed book. The number of pages in
each book, set, or pad will also be considered. If the client is requesting an estimate for a book, I
will indicate whether the page count given includes the cover. I also make sure that each sheet of
paper contains two pages, one on the front and one on the back. If an odd number is entered in
this box, then it is assumed that one of the sheets is blank on the back.

I will enter the type of paper the client would like to use, including brand name, weight, and
color. If the client is requesting an estimate for a book that will use two different papers, I will
indicate which will be used for the inside pages and which will be for the cover. If the client
would like to compare costs if the job is printed on different types of paper, I will write the
information for up to three types of paper in the "Additional Information" box.

I will also specify the ink color number and name to be used. For example, "347-Green" is used
as the standard state color of green. If the client haven’t decided on the exact ink color yet,I will
indicate the number of different colors to be used. For example, "black + 1 color" or "3 colors".
If the estimate is for a full-color job, I simply write "4-color process".

I will indicate whether the order includes any bleeds, areas where the ink goes all the way off the
edge of the paper, and on how many sides of the paper this occurs. Also specify if there are
solids, areas of full ink coverage, and how large the solids are.

The box or boxes that indicate what type of artwork the client will furnish is considered. For
instance, "Copy" refers to raw text that must be typeset. "Art" is camera-ready graphics that must
be placed in the client’s order. "Layout" refers to an example showing the placement of text and
graphics. I will as many boxes as are applicable. I also indicate on the form if the order requires
typesetting, I will indicate the font style, size, etc.

I also will check "Yes" if the client needs to inspect a proof before printing begins. This refers to
either a blueline or a black-and-white laser proof. Any color proofs or press checks should be
indicated in the "Special Proofs" box. Mark the appropriate box for the type of special proof the
client is requesting. A color key is a full-color proof created before the job goes to press. A press
check is actually viewing samples of the job as it comes off the press. Both types of special
proofs are more expensive than standard blueline proofs, and can add to the time needed to
complete the order.If binding is required, I mark the appropriate box and, if necessary, provide
additional details such as binding location, color of comb binding, etc.

If special bundling is required, I mark the appropriate box and indicate the number of finished
pieces to be in each bundle. For example, I will check the shrinkwrap box and write "100" in the
line before "per package". If the job is going to mail, I will mark the box specifying whether it
will go first class or bulk rate, and note the number and format of the mailing addresses (self-
adhesive labels, disk, etc.) to be furnished. If the client is supplying items such as envelopes to
be used for the mailing, I will enter this information in the "Additional Information" section and
also indicate the address (or addresses) where the job is to be delivered.

After all this, I will enter the estimated cost of the job.

FINISHING DEPARTMENT

MARCH 9TH TO 26TH

At the finishing department, I assisted the women who are about 12 in number to go through all
the finishing operations or post press activities. The finishing department of Sakoa Press Limited
has only female workers some of which are casual workers while others work permanently. The
department has two perfect binding machines, stitching machines, folding and punching
machines.

Usually, jobs at the finishing department require more work to convert them into the final
products, some printed products may need images created by die cutting, embossing or foil
stamping. Large sheets may need cutting into individual pieces or folding to become parts of
books. Some sheets may need drilling, punching, stitching or some combination of a dozen
possible ending steps. Below are some of the finishing activities I did with the rest of the
finishing staff of Sakoa Press Limited.

Binding

Some of the jobs I assisted in bounding include bookwork, receipts, invoice, and so on. We did
this by putting together into one whole or body single sheets of printed paper or signatures.
Originally, binding was done to hold pages together and protect them. However, with time other
functions of binding have been identified. The people of Sakoa Press believe that binding is not
only done to protect but also to identify, attract or decorate works to capture the interest of the
intended audience.
Some of bindings we did are case binding, adhesive or perfect binding and mechanical binding.
Case binding is the conventional method of making a book. With this kind of binding, the
signatures or sections of the book are enclosed in a more or less rigid cover. We first prepare the
book block followed by the preparation of the case.

In preparing the book block, we first collate the sheets of papers in the right sequence according
to the pages of the book. We will fold the sheets together to form signatures. After that we will
sew the signatures together. We usually do this manually and the sewing is done following the
right page sequence. We observe the right folio sequence in order to avoid the pages of the book
being mix up.

Even though we sew the signatures tightly, the back or spine tends to loosen a little. To make the
book block more compact, glue is applied to hold the signature in place. The book is done put
under a press. This is done to compress the sewed and glued signatures together to allow the glue
dry.

We will then round and back the spine with a hammer so that a concave shape effect at the front
and spine of the book is produced. A coat of glue is done applied to the back and a strip of gauge
is placed on top, extending almost the length of the back about 1 inch over each side. On
completing of lining up, the book block is trimmed and ready to be inserted in the case.

We then prepare the case in which the book block will be put in. We prepare the case using a
hard card such as a straw board and a binder’s cloth. The card is cut a little bigger usually about
¼ than the length and breath of the trimmed book block, one for each side. The binder’s cloth is
cut a little bigger than the length and breadth of the entire book block to allow spacing for the
spine.

We glue to the binder’s cloth the hard card leaving the spine with no card. The cloth is used to
cover the edges of the card. The book block is placed inside the case and with the help of end
papers and gluing, the binding is completed.
I was also taught how to do perfect binding without the perfect binding machine. This is also
made from gathered signatures. The left side of the stack, the spine, is trimmed to get rid of the
folds and expose the edge of each page. The stack is then roughened and notched along the spine
to assure maximum surface for glue adhesion.

The perfect binding glue is applied along the spine. Glue is applied to the spine of the cover and
pressed against the spine of the book block. After the glue is dry, the assembled book is trimmed
on the remaining three sides. I also understood take adhesive binding is not advisable for very
bulky books and heavy grammage papers. Again, I leant that glue for perfect binding should be
used even, free from lumps and `not forced too deeply between the sheets. Glues must also
remain flexible when dry, allowing books to open easily and without cracking.

USING THE PERFECT BINDING MACHINE

On one occasion, I was asked to use the company’s perfect binding machine. This machine is
usually used for binding soft-back books. The machine has a clamp that takes paper ready to be
bound. Once the paper is secured in the machine, it slides the paper over a glue roller that applies
glue to the spine. This is the only step required if one is creating pads of paper.

I was asked to bind a book and add a cover. And when the collated paper was ready I put it into
the book holder that slides to where the glue is until the binding is done. The machine has a
nipper clamp that is used to bring the cover up to the glued spine, where it is crimped into place.
The end result is a professionally bound document with a soft-back cover. The book is solid and
papers are permanently bound to the cover.

I also assisted the woman in collating and gathering the jobs that has been brought by outsiders.
Sometimes Sakoa Press Limited gets sub-contracted jobs from other Presses. These jobs may
both be gathering and collating of papers, folding and stitching. When these jobs are brought in, I
assist them in doing it.
 PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

FEBRUARY 29TH TO APRIL 1ST

Today’s printer owes much to the Age of Science, particularly to electronics, computers,
chemistry, optics and mechanics and the printers of Sakoa Press Limited are no exception.
Modern printing has become highly sophisticated. While the mechanics of printing has not
changed greatly, the surrounding other technologies have. As new pre-press systems, plate,
electronic controls, and paper have been developed along with other products of modern science
and research, printing has gradually been transformed from an art to a science.

Printing is a means of graphic communications. It is the reproduction of quantities of images,

which can be seen or perceived visually. Regardless of the great number and variety of printed
products they all have one thing in common; each has the same visible image produced in
quantity.

Sakoa Press Limited has a large production room equipped with numerous modern printing
machines, offset duplicators like GTO and Commercial presses like MO. Some of these
machines and their uses are listed below:

MACHINE USES
1 GTO machine (5 colour)

3GTO machines (1 colour)

2 KORD machines

2 MO machines

2 HOLOGRAM machines

2 GUILLOTIN machines

2 BEIREN machines
THREE-WAY-TRIMMER machine

All the presses mentioned above are composed of four basic units: feeder, registration, printing,
and delivery. The Production manager, Mr. Johnson explained to me that it was important I
understand the process a sheet of paper goes through in its trip from the infeed pile through the
registration system to the printing unit and finally to the delivery pile.

THE FEEDING UNITS

The simplest and most common sheetfeeding system is Pilefeeding, he said. According to him,
with this system a pile of paper is placed on a feeder table while the press is off. As the press
begins to run, each sheet is removed from the pile and the press moves the table up so that the
top of the pile remains at a constant height. To feed the paper, most sheetfed presses today use
what is known as stream feeding. Stream feeder’s pickup and move the paper in a steady stream
with each sheet over lapping the other. An air blast is used to separate the top sheet from the rest
of the pile. This blast can be adjusted for papers of different weights and for different
atmospheric conditions. Once the top sheet has been slightly separated from the pile, a set of
sucker feet pick-up and begin to move the sheet into the registration board where the registration
unit takes over. The sucker feet are small vacuum tubes with rubber skirts. The amount of
vacuum in the sucker feet can be adjusted for the type and weight of paper being used.

In actual operation, the sucker feet grab the top sheet from the pile and move it forward a short
distance where it is picked up by pull-in wheels that put it squarely on a conveyer belt system on
the registration board. The press automatically controls the precise moment when the sucker feet
grab the top sheet, their movement toward the registration board, and the time when the vacuum
is cut off and the sheet enters the registration unit.

As the press removes paper from the infeed table, the height of the paper pile decreases. The
press automatically moves the infeed table up which then moves the pile closer to the sucker
feet. There are also usually additional tools to assist in the feeding of paper. Devices such as
sheet separators and blow tubes are usually attached. Sheet separators are small thin metal strips
which assist in the separating of the top sheet from the others. Blow tubes are side mounted near
the edge of the pile. Small blasts of air (from the blow tubes) also assist in separating the top
sheet from the others.

REGISTRATION SYSTEM

Registration is the process of controlling and directing the sheet as it enters the printing unit.
According to the supervisor Mr. Johnson, the main goal of registration is to ensure absolute
consistency of image position on every sheet printed. The term fit refers to the image position on
the press sheet. Registration refers to the consistency of the position of the printed image during
printing.

After leaving the infeed pile, the press sheet is moved along the registration board. The
registration board (also known as the feed table) consists of a conveyer belt system and some
type of registration system. The conveyer belts carry the paper to the registration unit, where it is
momentarily stopped and squared to the plate cylinder along the top edge by a headstop. At the
same time, it is either pushed or pulled slightly sideways and placed in the proper printing
position. The device to pull or push the sheet into position is known as a side guide. Adjustments
can be made on the side guide to affect or change the proper registration.

It is at this phase in the printing cycle that sheet squareness and stability is important. If the sheet
is not square, for example, the sheet will print fine on the first pass but if printing on the backside
the sheet will not line up front-to-back. This will mean the fold or cut marks and front to back
page alignment will be out. The result, of course, will be a rejection by the printer. The printer
can in some cases back-trim the sheets to square them up. Sheet porosity (Gurley) is also
important. To low porosity (Gurley 5) may cause problems as the feed suckers may pick up more
than one sheet due to the openness of the sheet.

PRINTING SYSTEMS

The manager also taught me how the printing is done. I leant that the printing unit places a water
solution (fountain) and ink on the offset plate, transfers the image to the blanket cylinder, then to
the paper. It then delivers the paper to the delivery unit. The printing unit must be adjusted so
that the proper amount of ink and fountain solution are deposited on the printing plate so that the
image is transferred accurately, evenly, and consistently to the printing paper. I also learnt that
every offset printing unit is made up of the following three parts:

• The cylinder system (plate, blanket and impression)

• The dampening system
• The inking system

And each of these systems serves an important function in the total image transfer system. The
plate cylinder holds image carrier (plate) and has some form of clamping: pin bar, serrated or bar
clamp. The plate is secured to the cylinder at its top and bottom. Afterward the plate is properly
clamped; an adjustment is made on the plate cylinder to remedy any registration problem.

The blanket cylinder takes the first impression from the inked plate. At this stage, the image on
the blanket is in the reverse form. The blanket is a hard spongy rubber and it can be damaged if
uneven materials such as wrinkled sheet go through it while it is on impression. When the press
is off impression, the blanket cylinder neither touches the plate or impression cylinder. Mr.
Johnson said that in order to get quality image, the blanket must be taken care of and be cleaned
after printing.

The impression cylinder then carries paper for the image on the blanket. The impression cylinder
applies the necessary pressure against the blanket and the paper to transfer the image from the
blanket to the paper.

According to Mr. Johnson, the gap between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder
affects the final print quality. The pressure should be sufficient to create the required image
quality than to cause smash and this can be done in accordance with the thickness of the paper to
print. The heavier the paper, the wider the gap between the blanket cylinder and the impression
cylinder.

INKING UNIT
I also leant how the inking system works. The function of any inking system is to place a
uniform layer of ink across every dimension of the printing plate. All the lithograpy printing
machines at Sakoa Press has its inking system made up of three main sections; ink fountain, and
fountain rollers, Ink distribution rollers and ink form rollers.

The ink fountain stores a quantiy of ink in a reservoir and feeds small amount of the ink to the
rest of the inking system from the fountain roller. The doctor roller picks the ink from the
fountain roller and then transfers it to the distribution rollers.

The distribution rollers consisting of two set of rollers (rotating and oscillating) receives ink and
work into a semi-liquid state that is uniformly delivered to the ink form rollers. A thin layer of
ink is then spread by the form rollers to the image areas on the plate.

The gap between the ink fountain and the fountain rollers can be controlled by adjusting the
screws beneath the ink fountain to vary the amount of ink flow. The ink flow can be restricted to
a particular area depending on the area where the ink is expected to cover. This is done by
closing the rest of the screws.

DAMPENING UNIT

Offset lithography operates on the basis of the antipathy of grease and water. In order for the ink
to adhere only to the image areas on the plate, water must first be supplied over the non image
areas on the plate. This is done by the dampening system as the press run.

The dampening fountain roller revolves in a fountain tray as the press is running. It picks up the
fountain solution and transfers it to the doctor roller which is further transferred to form roller to
deposit it onto the plate.

It was also important to know that the dampening volume controls include the dampening
fountain roller control knob which allows the operator to turn the dampener fountain roller by
hand. The dampening volume control regulates the amount of fountain solution delivered to the
dampening system and the form roller control lever controls the form roller by either dropping or
raising it from the plate.

DELIVERY UNIT

The delivery unit finally receives the printed paper from the printing unit. The printed sheets get
to the delivery table by gravity delivery or chain delivery. The chain delivery uses gripper to pull
the paper to the delivery while the gravity uses pressure to deliver the paper. The adjustment at
the delivery unit is almost the same as the feeding system according to Mr. Johnson.

I assisted the workers at the production room in cleaning the machines. My work was always to
clean the inking and dampening rollers after and before printing. Sometimes, Mr. Maxwell will
allow me to take of the ink on the machines using an ink knife. Before the printing starts, I will
wash the cylinder and wipe them off with an ink solvent and lubricate the parts.

Some other times, I will carry some of the printed works to the finishing department so that the
women in charge will collate, bind, and stitch them whichever is required. Again, I was always
responsible for carrying the plate from the darkroom to the production department. And anytime
they had a problem with a particular plate, I will be asked to call on either Mr. Nunoo or Mr.
Agyare to fix the problem before printing starts.

I was not allowed to mine the machine or print with it, however, I was taught how each of the
machines work and the process it goes through just like I have explained above.

CHAPTER FIVE
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

My work with Sakoa Press for the past two and half month has been enjoyable. Starting from the
design department where I leant how to design jobs like greeting cards, calendars, funeral posters
and programme designing, call cards, company receipts, company customer forms, billing forms
to mention but a few. My experience with design softwares like CorelDraw, Photoshop and
Indesign has improved graciously. Learning how to make impositions for book work, how to
scan a photograph or sample jobs to make it easier to produce a similar job, how to make a
positive film using the laser printer has improved my understanding on how easier it will if one
want to set up his/her own small business.

Not to mention my experience at the company’s darkroom. Using of radiograph and redtape to
deepen faint letters or illustrations on a film to achieve the best results during plate burning.
Learning how to burn plates using the modern plate burning machine called the plate burner.
Knowing how to make a dummy for a book with lots of volumes or pages and washing and
preserving a plate using the plate developer and gum respectively has given me enough
confidence to qualify to work in any printing or publishing firm.

The marketing department taught me how jobs are canvassed and solicited. I have also learnt
how to talk politely to client to win a contract. And also how to do a good biding to ensure that
the company is given a contract and not its competitors.

Making a good estimate for a client is very essential and very risky especially when the one
doing the estimate is not qualified enough. The estimator has however given me enough reason
to understand how delicate this is to a company how to draft a good estimate without either
overestimating or doing otherwise.

The company’s finishing department where packing, collating, gathering, perforating binding
and any other finishing or post press activities are carried out has also enlighten me on how to
bind a book, gather and collate papers ready to be bound, learning to use the perfect binding
machine, the guillotine machine and stitching machines.
I have also learnt a lot at the production department where actual printing is done. Ranging from
how to clean the press before actual printing is done to how to fix plate, how to wash the rollers
to how to jog papers for easier picking by the machine and how to adjust the machine to enable
clear and consistent registration.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTED DURING THE PROGRAMME

Sakoa Press Limited is a company that I will recommend for any seeking employment. This is
because the company is equipped with modern printing machines and working there is quite
forthcoming. However, the company has no canteen service or a room where its employees will
go to eat or relax after work. This made it difficult for me especially when I need a place to relax
or eat during lunch. Also, there is no proper drinking water, as a result I’ll have to carry with me
enough water to last me from morning till it is time for lunch and before closing since employees
are not allowed to go out during working hours. There are no litter bins in their offices. This
made it difficult to concentrate on the job. I will have to walk downstairs in other to dump off a
pour water sachet.

RECOMMENDATION

I recommend that the organizers of this internship programme, Publishing Studies, extend the
duration of the programme to say, six month so that students can spend more time learning at the
various departments of whichever company the student is assigned to. Hardly can a student learn
everything he/she needs to know in two weeks. Therefore, If the time for the attachment is
extended I think it will go along way to enable student learn all they need to know during this
period.

Also, during this time of attachment, company’s usually don’t get enough contract from their
clients this makes students sometimes idle whenever they is no job to do at the company. An
example is my experience when in Sakoa Press. There was a time when my colleagues and I will
have nothing to do simply because the company has not got any job yet. I will suggest that the
organizers of the programme shift the time of industrial attachment to a period when they know
printing or publishing houses usually have enough jobs to do.