Staying Ship Shape

The in-plant aboard the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner has a heavy workload. But the fringe benefits are sure nice.

By Mark Michelson

William Neugebauer plans out his print shop's workload—and the required paper and consumables needed—well in advance. Four months in advance, to be precise.

As chief printer in charge of the in-plant on board the new Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) graduate carefully coordinates the shipment of supplies to faraway ports where the vessel docks.

"A ship is not very ideal for printing," he notes. Chemicals slosh around in the plate processor while the Queen Mary 2 is at sea, making it hard to ascertain their optimum levels, Neugebauer says. And paper handling can also be a real problem. A moist, tropical environment may be great for a vacationer, but it can cause havoc when the paper stock is then used in the much cooler and dryer print shop located deep in the bowels of the ship.

His second biggest fear? Equipment breakdowns.

"We run extremely tight deadlines with limited manpower and equipment," explains Neugebauer. Armed with a two-color Printmaster QM 46-2 press, a Quicksetter CTP device for outputting polyester plates, a Polar 66 cutter and a Quickfolder T 34, the all-Heidelberg facility cannot afford any downtime. As such, a Riso duplicator is also kept on board.

All of the printing equipment was ordered new through Heidelberg USA and was shipped to France, where the Queen Mary 2 was built.

"They had to disassemble some of the machinery just to get everything on board," Neugebauer recalls. "Weighing 11,000 kilos, the Printmaster had to be stripped of all its covers, control panel and second printing unit."

The items Neugebauer and his assistant, Jared Unterborn, print include:

• 1,500 copies of daily programs distributed in cabins to the roughly 2,600 passengers.

• More than 1,700 menus for the three main dining rooms and seven alternative venues.

• Personalized name cards for special occasions.

• Eight-page versions of U.S. and British daily newspapers (downloaded by satellite).

Digital Workflow

Files fly through the shop digitally with Prinect workflow software. All proofing is done via PDF files that are approved electronically. For some jobs, a Baltimore printer supplies preprinted shells and then the in-plant prints the blanks.

Their workload doesn't give Unterborn and Neugebauer much time to lounge on deck.

"We were working 18-hour days initially but now, with both port and sea days, we're putting in 10 to 12 hours," reveals Unterborn, an RIT graduate and now a master's candidate. "The flexibility of the hours is great for a student. We do most of our press work at sea so that we have the luxury to spend quality time exploring the various ports. And it's great to get school credit and be able to travel around the world at the same time."

RIT has been running co-op programs for its students on a cruise ship since 1987. Following a 10-week training course at RIT's Rochester, N.Y., campus, students are assigned to the ship for six months. Both Unterborn and Neugebauer worked on the Queen Elizabeth 2 before their current tour of duty. They have no expenses for lodging, meals, travel, laundry, etc. They need only spending money for their trips ashore.

Unterborn will be completing his contract and leaving the ship this month to continue his education. Neugebauer replaced the former chief printer when he retired and has now been employed with Cunard for the past seven years. As a full-time employee, he works 41⁄2 months straight and then has one month off.

Neugebauer caught the printing bug after taking a vo-tech course in high school.

"It was one of the best experiences of my life," he relates. "I just fell in love with the graphic arts...the creativity, the technology—it's a fascinating industry."

And, stretching nearly four football fields in length and towering 200 feet above the waterline, the Queen Mary 2 is truly a fascinating ship.