The People Who Work Here: Sherry Valentine, Pre-Press Manager

She makes it all look so easy. But when you are experienced and have seen the sea change in the printing industry as Sherry Valentine has seen it, then you know how to adapt and change.

 “The process known as ‘prepress” has changed significantly since I first started in the printing industry in the 1980s,” Sherry said. “But having something that not only saves me time, but saves the environment, that’s a real plus,” she said.

The something Sherry is talking about is the newest piece of equipment in Executive Press’ printing process, a Heidelberg Suprasetter. Executive Press is a full-service printing company based in Richardson, Texas, and has been in business these past 30 years.

Sherry is also the operator of the Canon digital press. So, she not only understands the traditional printing process, she gets the digital systems as well.

“A real plus to having me on the digital press,” Sherry said,” is that I can identify color and quality pretty readily because of my offset experience.”

Sherry has been a part of Executive Press since 2000 and in the printing industry since the mid 1980s. Married to a pressman, Sherry grew up in the industry. But her expertise is in prepress and the process.

 “From capturing or creating a file to proofing to making plates, I’ve done it all,” Sherry said. “I started out stripping negatives but that process is now not only easier and faster, it’s cleaner, too.”

Sherry is mom to two sons and attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

You can reach Sherry and the rest of the Executive Press team at 214-217-7000 or at their website.

Improving the Pre-Press Process

Having the latest and greatest equipment and tools at your disposal makes work go smoother and faster. But some things never change.

Process.

“Even in this age of faster processors and ever more demanding clients, we still follow a basic process when it comes to preparing and getting a project approved,” Sherry Valentine said. “It doesn’t matter how new, fast or cheap something is, quality workmanship boils down to process,” she said.

Sherry is in charge of pre-press and digital printing at Executive Press. Executive Press is a full-service printing company headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and has been in business since the early 1980s.

The pre-press process at Executive Press revolves around these four basic steps:

1. Design or file acceptance. “Whether we generate the file or the client delivers the file to us,” Sherry noted,” every project starts with an original.” 
2. Proof. Email or hard copy, the work has to be seen and approved by the client. 
3. Imposition. “This is the step where we make a plate or a master, in the case of the digital press,” Sherry said. “We are about ready to go to press.” 
4. Platemaking. “Once all is approved and proofed, we go into actual production and make a plate,” Sherry said. 

Recently, Executive Press upgraded their pre-press equipment. New Apple Macintoshes were installed to provide more memory, increase processing speed and handle the latest software applications.

It is a dream to work here now,” Sherry said. “This new equipment makes all the difference in the world when it comes to improving quality and saving time,” she said.

You can reach Sherry and the rest of the Executive Press team at 214-217-7000 or at their website.

Going Green: The Heidelberg Suprasetter Platemaker

Being green isn’t just a color or using recycled paper. Changing processes can make you green as well. Especially when you are a print shop.

“With the addition of the Heidelberg Suprasetter platemaker, our shop is now ‘greener’ than ever,” Dave Allen said. Not only is the process simpler, it’s faster, too,” he said.

Dave is part owner and operations manager of Executive Press, a full-service printing company headquartered in Richardson since 1981.

“Sherry Valentine in our pre-press department tells me the Heidelberg is a real gift,” Dave related. “Any time we can save our employees time and energy, we’re all for that.”

Sherry manages Executive Press’ pre-press operations and has been in the printing industry since the early 1980s. She also is an operator of the Canon digital press. So, she understands the whole process.

“Before this new machine arrived, it took a significant amount of time to make a plate,” Sherry said. “Now we can make 60 plates a day,” she said. “It was just like adding another printer into our pre-press area.”

Not only is the machine quick, it is also green. Relying on just a printer’s gum being applied to the plates, the Heidelberg does away with film and developer. Consequently, there is less waste fluid from the process and whatever waste there is minimal.

“Going back to my days of stripping negatives, this is a vast improvement both in process and quality,” Sherry said. “Besides, I can do more work in less time than I ever could before the machine arrived.

You can reach Dave, Sherry and the rest of the Executive Press team at 214-217-7000 or at their website.