Boeing - Soaring To Victory

Boeing's Chuck Okerlund was interviewed for this article a few weeks before his death. IPG is running this story as a tribute to him for his hard work and dedication.

by Bob Neubauer

When you work for an internationally recognized company like Boeing, you have to live up to tough quality standards—whether you're building the planes or printing the manuals and marketing materials that help keep them aloft.

Boeing's Precision Printing operation has made these standards its guiding light. Year after year the 28-employee operation, part of Boeing's printing and micrographic services department, has raked in scores of top prizes in the annual In-Print contest, sponsored by IPG and IPMA. This year Boeing took first place in both the four-color calendars and special projects categories. Even better, its calendar beat out all the other first place winners and was named Best of Show by the judges.

This is the fourth time in eight years that Boeing has won Best of Show in this contest. This is no easy feat, as Precision Printing manager Chuck Okerlund readily points out.

"The competition is [increasing] because there's more color coming into in-plant operations—which is good," he notes. That makes this award all the more satisfying for Okerlund and his staff. "It's a real morale booster for my employees," he says.

Overall, printing and micrographic services has about 120 employees. It is overseen by Derek Budworth and has a budget of $20 million. Precision Printing produces about a quarter of the in-plant's volume, and about half of its work is four-color process.

Printing The Winning Item

The prize-winning calendar is a 10x16-1⁄2˝ piece incorporating the work of Boeing's best photographers, who have captured Boeing's planes taking off, soaring through the clouds and resting on runways in various colorful locales. The calendars were given away by Boeing's marketing department to clients and business associates all over the world.

The fact that Boeing's marketing department entrusted the in-plant with this high-visibility marketing project says a lot about the in-plant's reputation. Okerlund notes that prior to 1995, the calendar was printed outside, but "the quality wasn't there." The in-plant was given its first shot at it last year. The results were impressive. The 1996 calendar won an honorable mention in In-Print 96.

"It got lots of favorable press, and that's why we got to do it again," Okerlund explains.

Planning for the 1997 calendar started well beforehand. Production planner Dave Huber brought Okerlund, designer Don Thoreby and representatives from the prepress, press and finishing departments together.

"We met probably three months prior to production," Okerlund says. "That's a real key as far as the quality and production success of this."

Boeing photographers Greg Thon, John Dibbs, Cliff Hollenbeck and James Peter Stuart sent their 35mm slides to the in-plant where they were scanned on a Scitex Smart flatbed scanner by Leanne Milligan. Thoreby then took over the design of the calendar. Film was output on the in-plant's Agfa SelectSet 5000 imagesetter. &019;Both Fuji film and Fuji plates were used for this project.

The calendar was printed with Flint ink on S.D. Warren Lustro Dull paper, using a four-color, 28x40˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster. In addition to process colors, the calendar contains a gray and a spot varnish, so it went through two passes. The press team produced 40,000 calendars in a week's time. Finishing was procured outside by Bill Kennedy.

The calendar was a big hit with the marketing department, and Okerlund is pleased with the attention it's gotten nationwide through In-Print 97.

"When you're recognized by your peers in the industry," he notes, "that's a real feather in your cap."