Steve McKenzie, a Washington 285M scanner operator who scans most of the Graphic Communicator's photos for publication, checks an image on a Screen 8060 drum scanner.

New printing technology is being developed at mind-boggling speed, everyone involved in the printing and publishing industry agrees.

New technology, according to Kelly Co. Pres. Mike Kelly, is a "friend" – not foe – that must be embraced and used to its maximum advantage.

When new technology becomes available, Kelly believes that it should be acquired for Kelly Press or Editors Press – plants at separate Maryland locations near Washington, D.C. – that make up the Kelly Co. That way, Kelly Co. can stay competitive. Kelly Co. can also keep customers happy, grow, and build on its number of GCIU workers.

Kelly noted that equipment is bought new – not used. "We pride ourselves on maintaining our state-of-the art equipment with a union shop," Kelly said. Those GCIU workers are members of Washington 72C at Editors Press and Washington 285M at Kelly Press.

Kelly Co. is owned by four brothers and one sister. The company "has been committed to [organized] labor since our father started the business in the 1970s with printing the AFL-CIO's newspaper," Kelly observed. His business strategy is to provide top quality and dependable service to meet the needs of organized labor. Kathy, Paul, Danny, and Kevin – the other siblings comprising Kelly Co. – share Mike Kelly's business philosophy. And the company is growing.

Douglas Poss, left, a Washington 72C second pressman at Editors Press, and Bill Lauer, pressroom supervisor, check quality on a Graphic Communicator run.

Kelly Co. has printed the Graphic Communicator since 1990. Kelly Co. also prints the AFL-CIO magazine America @ Work, official publications for several other AFL-CIO affiliate unions, plus a wide range of special materials for unions.

Kelly Co. also competes in many areas of the printing market. For example, when Graphic Communicator staffers toured Kelly Co. plants, a run was just completed of the 52-page Vol. 1 No. 1 "premier issue" of the Backstreet Boys magazine.

Having state-of-the art printing equipment, operated and maintained by GCIU workers, is "an investment in the future," Mike Kelly said. He has a strong preference to hire union workers. He added that he does not hesitate to hire a non-union worker, if a union worker hasn't applied for the job. He adds that otherwise non-union worker to the payroll and has the new employee join the GCIU.

Brian Dunn, plant manager, said the level of skill is much higher with a union versus a non-union worker. He said the advantage with GCIU workers is the "level of competency." If necessary, a person without a union background may be hired. Dunn said in the latter case, the GCIU "provides an opportunity for younger people starting in the trade to look forward to a better pay level, benefits, and job security" than working non-union.

Graphic Communicator photo by Dennis B. Doris Jr.

James Bolden, Kelly Co. dispatcher for 10 years, assures that jobs are delivered or picked up. Bolden has worked out of the home Kelly Press plant in Cheverly, Md., for 19 years.

Dunn indicated that computers are methodically displacing direct hand work. Conventional stripping is still a part of the operation. But Dunn said digital workflow is taking over – from proofing to direct-to-plate to press.

Kelly Company's equipment list covers an extensive range of tasks – from scanning art to being able to economically produce high-quality material on short notice in a short press run with a Docutech publishing system. The equipment list fills an 8-1/2 by 11-inch page, using 9 or 8 point type. For example, Kelly said the company recently paid $2.5 million for a new Heidelberg press.

Regarding quick turn-around on a small job, Paul Kelly, Kelly Co. secretary-treasurer, said the Docutech system is very flexible. He said a union recently needed 200 copies of a four-color manual in a big hurry. After the job was printed, the file was saved on a computer disk. Making changes are simple and inexpensive. He said changes can be made, and more copies can be printed without extra charges for a short press run.

At the home Kelly Press plant in Cheverly, Md., Paul Kelly said it is "fun to work with digital files. We have the capability to do anything with a file – such as taking a file from CD-ROM to printing posters." With the capability to "print on demand," he said a customer can order "as few or as many" as the customer wants.

Alex Lawryczenko, Desktop Systems manager for both plants, cited a Docutech advantage: images can be e-mailed and the printing costs about 1/3 of what the job would cost on a conventional press. During the Boeing strike, for instance, Lawryczenko said Kelly Press produced posters overnight for the Machinists and got the posters delivered to the strikers in Seattle in a day.

Regarding the company, equipment, union workers, and marketing strategies, Mike Kelly observed: "All of these things are important pieces of a wheel that make the whole thing turn."

Graphic Communicator photo by Herald Grandstaff

Bobbie Scherl, left, a Kelly Press bindery worker, prepares a Numbermatic M121 to number raffle tickets. At right, Sue Kivett, a bookbinder journeywoman, keys a shipping order into a computer.