The Power Behind the Print

Drawing thousands of spectators to Los Angeles each spring, the Lineman’s Rodeo is a spectacle to behold. Hosted by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the event pits utility line workers against one another in various challenging events that test their technical and athletic prowess. They compete in utility pole climbing races, assemble and connect electrical infrastructure atop power poles, navigate obstacle courses, and even conduct mock rescues from the tops of poles.

Signage printed by the in-plant for the Lineman’s Rodeo.

As exciting as it is to watch, the Lineman’s Rodeo wouldn’t look nearly as good without the support of LADWP’s Print Shop and Reprographics operation. The 10-employee in-plant printed the graphics that appeared all over LADWP’s Truesdale Training Center during the May competition.

“Reprographics printed a 40x80-ft. wall mount that was mounted at the exhibit, along with other banners and posters to promote the event,” says Printing Services Supervisor Rafael Pena.

The in-plant’s work is an integral part of other city events as well, such as the recent LADWP-sponsored Pride Parade, for which it printed vehicle decals and banners held by participants. The shop’s graphics were also featured in the Kingdom Day parade.

The Reprographics team (from left): Robert Silva, Johny Guevara, Oskar Solares, and Jerry Loukatos.

Wide-format jobs like these are an evolution of the in-plant’s historic role at LADWP as a printer of drawings, designs, and maps for engineering projects. But printing wide-format displays for parades, recruitment events, community fairs, and internal events isn’t the in-plant’s only expertise. The print shop also produces long-run cut-sheet jobs, such as flyers for LADWP’s Level Pay program, to introduce customers to a program that makes paying bills more manageable. The in-plant prints about 60,000 of these variable data mailers a month, often under a tight deadline. The shop got the order for the most recent flyer on a Thursday.

The Print Shop team stands with the shop’s Xerox PrimeLink B9136. From left: Joe Martinez, Maurice Harrington, Ellen DuVan, and Kaycee Tinsman.

“We were able to get it out on Monday morning,” says Pena.

Tight deadline jobs like this are not an obstacle for the in-plant, he insists.

“A lot of times they’ll tell us one day before, ‘Hey, we’re having a meeting tomorrow morning. We need 100 books for the meeting.’ So we tell them ‘OK, send us a PDF and we’ll take care of it.’ And we always do,” Pena says. “They know they can count on us.”

Wide Scope of Work

Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the in-plant is housed in two adjacent basement facilities totaling approximately 11,800 sq. ft. It is split into two operations, both overseen by Pena.

• Reprographics prints and mounts items larger than 11x17” on paper, canvas, or vinyl using several HP wide-format printers, the largest of which can print 60” wide. These items include engineering drawings, decals, pull-up banners, presentation boards, backdrops, and floor-to-wall displays.
• The Print Shop handles jobs up to 11x17” using toner equipment. That work includes business cards, letterhead, mailers, training manuals, reports, bid notices, books, and reports, such as LADWP’s Water Quality Report.

Ellen DuVan sets up a job on the Xerox Versant 280.

To print that work, the in-plant relies on a pair of Xerox Versant 4100s with in-line Plockmatic finishing, a Xerox Versant 280, and two black-and-white Xerox PrimeLink B9136 printers.

“The volume has gone up for color work, and black-and-white has diminished,” Pena notes.

For wide-format jobs, the shop uses an HP DesignJet  Z9+ Pro, an HP Latex 570, and two older HP printers. The shop is also soon to add an HP Latex 830.

Oskar Solares, senior Reprographics operator.

The Print Shop works closely with Reprographics, as many projects require work from each.

“Twenty percent of the requests for printing may involve some posters or banners and also at the same time some brochures or postcards to go along with the event,” notes Pena.

Though the operation has implemented the MarketDirect StoreFront (formerly Digital StoreFront) Web-to-print system, it still sees 20-30 walk-in customers on busy days who arrive with job files in hand. An office clerk, Andrew Minjares, helps them submit those jobs through the StoreFront using a computer set up in the office for that purpose.

“We are encouraging everyone to use the digital storefront store,” remarks Pena. “Because of our digital storefront, our volume of work has more than doubled.”

LADWP’s in-plant printed vehicle graphics and signage for the Pride Parade.

Keeping Up With Technology

Pena, a 47-year print industry veteran, started at LADWP in 2016 after seven years at the City of Los Angeles’ in-plant. He’s seen a lot of changes over the years, including the move away from offset. The shop stopped using its two-color Ryobi presses three years ago in favor of digital presses.

Joe Martinez sets up a job in the Print Shop.

The in-plant recently replaced two aging paper cutters with a new programable model, and also added an automated Baum tabletop folder.

Keeping up with changes in technology is important to LADWP’s in-plant, which is why Pena sent two team members to PRINTING United Expo in Las Vegas last year.

“They came back with invaluable information in regards to new equipment out there,” he says. “We’re always in pursuit of being educated as far as new equipment … because we’re always trying to be up to date … We don’t want to fall behind.”

Jerry Loukatos runs the laminator.

That desire also inspired one of his team members, Maurice Harrington, to join PRINTING United Alliance and take iLearning courses. He keeps Pena informed about developments in the industry.

Pena says the in-plant plans to move in the fall to a facility about five miles away. LADWP appreciates the benefits of having an in-house print department, he says, which include “better control over the printing process, cost savings, turnaround time, and quality control.”

And, of course, LADWP loves the chief benefit the in-plant provides: “The ability to take any given job and turn it around in a timely manner,” Pena says.