On April 15 – 17, 2024, Friesens hosted visitors from publishing houses across North America for a Publishers Seminar. Our guests were taken on in-depth tours of the Friesens facilities and with the help of various employee-owners crafted a book of their own from start to finish as a memento of their time in Altona.
Day One started with tours and a conversation about what our publishers are seeing in the market that are of interest (or are challenges) to them. After lunch, we were joined by Brad Schmidt, Tech Support Specialist, and Gerald Gerbrandt, Friesens Image Editor, to talk all things MyBooks and Colour Management.
It was a full day on Day Two, where our guests started the process of creating their books, preparing their files with Brad, learning about the various papers with Purchasing Manager Richard Friesen, plate making with PrePress Manager Wally Thiessen, and finally printing and press checks with Mark Bennett, Production Manager at our Printers Way facility.
Day Three was all about our bindery department with our Industrial Park facility Production Manager Paul Brunet, who took our guests on a trip through covers, lamination, and cover decorations. They learned that folding without the help of a fancy machine was more challenging than it looks, and Printers Way Operation Manager Steve Voth helped them understand the pros and cons between inkjet and toner as it relates to print jobs. After lunch our publishers spent the afternoon at IP putting the final touches on their books, which were then presented at the windup dinner, along with Publishers Seminar “Certificates of Completion” by our Trade Books Sales Manager Doug Symington and Byron Loeppky, Friesens Senior Vice-President of Books.
Of the seminar, Kate Panek of Penguin Random House Canada had this to say, “The seminar is great! Last night was the press check, so a long day, but it was so interesting to see how the sheet printer runs. I’m tempted to apply for a job running one…and everyone has been so welcoming and helpful – Erin and I are having a great time.” Kate’s colleague Erin echoed those sentiments, “Seconding Kate’s sentiments on a great seminar. Lots of useful information packed into those 3 days, and having the book-making project to tie everything together was very cool; such an amazing experience to grab something we made hot off the line…”
Pictured left – Kate Panek receiving her “Certificate of Completion”
PARTICIPANTS:
- Michelle van der Merwe – UBC Press
- Emma Grant – Sourcebooks/Callisto
- Stephen Horowitz – Fodor’s Travel/Internet Brands
- Erin Cooper – Penguin Random House Canada
- Kate Panek – Penguin Random House Canada
- Sasha Bouché – Portage & Main Press
- Eise Gochberg – Friesens Sales Representative
- John Richardson – Friesens Sales Representative
