Ive got an employee issue. The guy is a good printer and works pretty dililgently, the problem is that his final product is only sub par. the prints are nice but the alignment on the shirts tends to be off, and I keep finding inky fingerprints all over the place on the items from where he grabs the shirts off of the palette. Anyone have any advice for what I should say or do to get him on track for printing at a better quality level?
dock his pay for every finger print! We all know it happens but it shouldn't happen that much, it's a rookie habit. I always stress the most important thing when you start out printing is to constantly check your hands. It's like a baker sticking his finger in the pie after it's done. If you continue to find prints on the shirt then he is not listening. Have him fold shirts the next time. It's a big problem, make it a big issue. Spot remover is not cheap! As for the registration....... tighten up! that's what a good printer is and what makes a quality product. Make sure it's not an art work issue or the screens.
__________________ "well, you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't."Bart Simpson www.wabangwear.wordpress.com
Last edited by PrintsCharming; August 31st, 2010 at 09:54 AM.
Reason: typo
First off, I am not trying to be mean here, but if his alignment is off and he's getting ink every where, how exactly is he a good printer? He doesn't sound very diligent to me. The best printers in the world are meticulous in their craft and detail oriented. Thats like saying someone is a great roofer, but it sometimes leaks when it rains.
Best way to handle it? Sounds like his head is elsewhere, ask him if he's really into what he's doing (in a non threatening way). Explain to him you are only as good as your staff, and for every mistake that he makes, that's time and money you waste having to pay for someone, or take your own time fixing it. Tell him part of his job is quality control, you can even write up a job description for him. That way, he understands all aspects of the job, not just getting a print somewhere on a shirt.
If he doesn't catch on, and this remains an issue, he is a liability and no longer valuable.
Try offering a reward for keeping misprinted and misaligned shirts to a minimum...When I first went into this business, our shop owner would by pizza on friday for everyone if we hit production goals and kept misprints under 1% per imprint for the week...And if we hit our goals for a month straight we got beer and pizza and occasionally got to leave early on a friday. Great motivator.
We all understand making mistakes every now and then, but to make the same mistake over and over again is inexcusable. Tell him it may cost him his job. Your shop can make it with out him, your reputation is on the line. When a customer complains, who do they talk to? Your paying him to do a job correctly the first time, but with these mistakes your paying him to do it the second time also.
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Mike
If you dig ditches be the best ditch digger you can be.
I bet it can be hard with employees, I am lucky that it is just me and my wife. She loads the shirts and I print, I sometimes have to load and print and occasionally do get some ink on the shirts. But when I do that I don't hear the end of it...
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After so many kinds of jobs... " ended up a screenprinter " Wouldn't trade it for any other job, well maybe...
getting ink everywhere 
