A solid management team and timely equipment investments gives The Journeyman Press a bright future
By Pamela Mieth

The economic downturn of the past few years has been a financial tornado, whirling through the commercial printing landscape, taking with it many smaller, and some larger, firms and forcing the consolidation of many others.

At least one company, however, The Journeyman Press in Newburyport, Mass., is emerging in even bigger-and-better shape, much as it did when a real tornado hit in 1989. That calamity left the company without a home and much of its equipment.

At that time, owner Steve Silverstein opted to keep going, moving into 12,000 square feet of nearby space and rebuilding into what eventually became Journeyman’s 50,000-square-foot facility on Malcolm Hoyt Drive in an industrial office park just a short hop off Interstate 95.

In the face of the current tornado, The Journeyman Press is developing into an independent regional powerhouse, focusing on its mission of high-quality printing, while continuing to invest in new equipment and aggressively mining the regional markets of metropolitan Boston and New England.

Those efforts are paying off. The company showed a profit for the year just ended and it has experienced, on average, 10 percent sales growth in each of the past three years, according to Bill Dunnigan, Journeyman’s vice president of sales, bringing it to roughly $8.1 million in annual sales.

Indeed, during a recent interview, Sales Manager Bob McCaughey was called away briefly and returned to announce the close of a deal the company had been working on, which will bring in an estimated $500,000 to $1 million a year.

Started as a two-color shop in a Rowley garage
The Journeyman Press started life as Letchmere Lithograph in 1980 in a garage in nearby Rowley, Mass. It moved to somewhat larger quarters in Amesbury and Newburyport, but had remained primarily a two-color shop until Silverstein bought it in 1987. “Along with a name change,” notes a history of Journeyman on the company’s web site, “Steve instilled a new attitude of quality and competitiveness to the company.”

Silverstein is a colorful, no nonsense leader. He boasts a quick wit and has a history of doing what is right by his employees, which, not so coincidentally, is also right by his company. Like many of those who work here, Silverstein comes from a family of printers, following his father into the family business before venturing out on his own.

Though Silverstein quips that the company had nine employees when he started and only five a week later, 24 of Journeyman’s 47 employees have been there more than five years, eight of them more than 10 years, and one, Vice President of Manufacturing Peter Fisher, predates even Silverstein, with his tenure going back to the garage days.

The company also has a number of employees who left for the greener pastures of larger national companies, only to return later having discovered there were many trade-offs for that shade of green. One of those was McCaughey, who spent five years working for a national printing firm.

A solid management team
Two years ago, Silverstein initiated the conversation that brought McCaughey back. Although Journeyman had managed well in the intervening years, the company was excited to see familiar faces with fresh perspectives. Journeyman now has in place a solid management team and support staff dedicated to bringing the company to the next level while maintaining the company’s work ethic and business practices.

The Journeyman Press is a union shop whose wages “represent the very top of the union compensation scale,” the company notes. Where that might send shivers down the spines of some in the industry, Journeyman Press’ web site states, it “means only the very best professionals in their field will be working on your project. It also means that our highly trained and talented people stay with us, ensuring that our quality will stay consistent for your next job. We’re proud to offer union quality at competitive pricing.” In fact, the name Journeyman was coined from the definition of a fully trained, accomplished craftsperson.

Journeyman’s location in Newburyport is one of the company’s strategic assets. Only 45 minutes to Boston, an hour to Worcester, and even less to Manchester and Portsmouth, N.H., and also very close to Portland, Maine, Journeyman can tap into the Boston-based market while also being conveniently located to those in the burgeoning locales farther a field.

“There are very few printers our size in this area,” McCaughey said, thus allowing opportunity for Journeyman to expand and extend its service capacity.

Journeyman Press has three vans and a full truck to deliver completed jobs, Dunnigan said, and everyone is linked by Nextel phone so communication is seamless from job onset to final delivery. Dunnigan added that many customers prefer the personal customer service Journeyman provides, and the fact that their job is printed locally instead of some other part of the country.

Staying the course
McCaughey states a key factor to the company’s success is a strong commitment to primary printing. That is, providing clients the latest information, technology and craftsmanship for their printed project. Dunnigan agreed, noting Journeyman has not tried to diversify. “We’re printers. That’s what we’re good at,” he said. “Did we look at all the technology out there? You bet. If it was good for sheetfed printing, we bought it.” As an example, realizing the downsizing and targeted nature of direct mail needs, the decision to purchase a new Heidelberg DI was made.

Adding the right equipment at the right time
During 2003, Pressroom Supervisor Dan Piranian knew exactly how to staff his new Heidelberg QuickMaster DI press that allows for four-color process and direct imaging technology with perfect register. He would complement the state-of-the-art press with craftsmen from his existing staff: the new press would be expected to live up to Journeyman’s quality standards. Along with the press purchase in 2003, a new proofing system was added. The Fuji Final Proof now gives Journeyman’s clients the option of three different proofing systems, depending on their needs.

During the prior year, a Heidelberg Polar System 2, a completely automated 54-inch cutting system with Compucut, was added. The latter piece was added after a longtime employee said he was going to have to retire as he could no longer handle the heavy paper lifts, looking into it, Silverstein saw there was equipment that would solve the employee’s problem and be a good investment for the company in the long run. Another recent purchase was in the electronic prepress department, a Heidelberg Topsetter 102 computer to plate, bought new in 2002.

“We’ve added the right equipment at the right time,” said Dunnigan, noting the DI has “exceeded anticipated sales.” Conversely, it is the breadth of Journeyman’s equipment and the depth of its employees’ knowledge, by having the right press for the job and knowing which is the most efficient and economical, that helps the company help its customers save money.

Digital will represent more and more of the printing industry’s business in the future, Fisher believes, as nowadays, anyone with a good laser printer can fancy himself a printer. Those in the business will have to maintain their traditional expertise and craftsmanship, Fisher said, while being just a little bit better and faster to compete on the new playing field.

In addition to the new equipment, Journeyman has a Heidelberg 102 SP six-color 40-inch Speedmaster, with Grafix infrared drying system, electronic inking and auto registration; a Heidelberg 102 VP four-color, 40-inch Speedmaster with infrared drying system, electronic inking; a Heidelberg GTOV-P sheetfed, four-color 20-inch press, all with perfecting capability after second unit; a Heidelberg SORS-Z, two color, 40-inch press; and a Heidelberg SORD-Z, stream-fed, two-color, 36-inch press.

In prepress, Journeyman also has a Heidelberg Quasar Imagesetter, film output to 20.7 by 19.9-inches; a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner, maximum original format of 17.5 by 18.5-inches; a Heidelberg Delta RIP technology with Inline Delta trapping and Signastation digital imposition; the new Fuji Final Proof an HP Design Jet 5000 and 750C Proofer; a Fuji Pictro Proof digital color proofer; Macintosh and Windows platform computers with Supermatch color-calibrated PressView 21-inch monitors, capable of supporting all major desktop publishing software suitable for commercial printing, a high-speed dedicated T-1 connection and an FTP (file transfer protocol) site.

A Heidelberg shop front end to back end
In bindery, Martin Smith, manager of bindery services, evokes the can do attitude and no nonsense feel of the plant. Along with the new cutting system, Smith’s bindery also has a Polar 45-inch programmable cutter; a Heidelberg Prosetter 562 Saddle Binder with six pocket plus cover feeder and heavy-duty trimmer with two-up capabilities; a Muller Martini Minuteman Saddle Binder System with four pockets, cover feeder and small book attachment; three Stahl folding machines up to 26 by 40-inches continuous feed, single-fold through double gate, with rotocrease, score and inline perforation and inline fugitive gluing available; shrink-wrapping, fulfillment and delivery services available.

The repeated Heidelberg name is no fluke. Journeyman is, as its web site notes, “a Heidelberg shop — front end to back end.”

Heidelberg has a well-deserved reputation of “best-in-the-industry” quality meaning less down-time due to equipment failures, the company said, and the advantages include that having always been a Heidelberg shop, “The Journeyman Press has unmatched experience with the best equipment and takes full advantage of what a completely integrated Heidelberg workflow has to offer.”

To get jobs out the door on time, Journeyman runs on two shifts, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on standard business days. A tour of the plant quickly shows stringent quality control in place. Each job is preflighted, re-checked and signed off on by a customer service representative. The CSR’s monitor every stage in production so clients can know exactly where a job is in the production cycle. All jobs are not complete until signed off by a supervisor. Piranian and Smith along with their second shift supervisors conduct quality control checks on each project throughout their respective departments.

Most recently, Journeyman Press has focused on sales, adding four new salespeople and a customer service representative. The company is now looking to add another experienced customer service person and more people in production.

Journeyman’s major customers have long been print management companies, Dunnigan said, and while Journeyman works to maintain that important segment of its business, the company realized it needed to diversify. With the recent addition of experienced sales representatives, Journeyman has added several graphic design and major advertising agencies as well as end users such as publishing firms, financial institutions and higher education institutions

As sales goals and profit margins have been met and exceeded for fiscal year 2003. And along with the projected improvement in fiscal 2004, Silverstein, Dunnigan and Fisher have begun the analysis of adding either an additional six-color or possibly an eight-color, both with perfecting capability. If the decision to add the new press is made it would not be in operation until the last quarter of 2004 .The acquisition of an eight-color would allow the company to expand market share and reach new markets.

Journeyman Press should do well wherever it chooses to go with its commitment to craft and quality from Silverstein on down to the workers on shift.

“We really only have one set of quality standards,” said Silverstein, “and they’re top-notch.” More than printing, he added, Journeyman sells “confidence and competence.” It sells all three, apparently, in abundance.

About the author: Pam Mieth is a freelance writer living in Cambridge, Mass.