THE NEW DEMANDS ON YOUR ART DEPARTMENT How does a screen-printing shop manage the trend toward smaller orders with more complex artwork? THOMAS TRIMINGHAM Y ou've seen it in your shop: Run sizes are falling and orders are becoming more complex. This dramatically changes the nature and volume of the artwork your creative team must produce. What changes do you need to make in your art department to adjust to the rise in lower-volume work? For many print shops today, the new reality of customers demanding intricate designs and faster turn times - with lower quantities - has already become a daily struggle. [Editor's note: Some shops add direct-togarment machines to potentially address some of the challenges of small, yet complex orders, but the focus of this article is on traditional screen printing. For more on implementing DTG, check out articles in Screen Printing's April/May and June/July 2017 issues.] Your art department staff can feel overwhelmed by having to satisfy competing demands from the customer and the production department. Often a client will want more colors at a lower cost in a small order, while the printing department will ask for lower screen counts, faster setups, and fewer on-press revisions. These seemingly disparate demands can slowly build up and cause increased job stress, lower morale, and eventually higher turnover in your art department if steps are not taken to address these changes. 14 SCREENPRINTING