Prepress Supervisor / Lead Production

About This Role

This Prepress Supervisor role involves overseeing daily operations within the digital prepress and flexographic plate making department. The position is crucial for bridging the gap between departmental strategy and daily execution, driving workflow automation, maintaining high-quality standards, and supporting the team to meet customer deadlines and company profitability goals. It offers an opportunity to provide direct supervision, technical leadership, and hands-on guidance to the prepress team, ensuring smooth, accurate, and efficient operations.

Responsibilities

• Supervise daily departmental operations, delegating, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments to ensure high-quality output and on-time delivery to the pressroom
• Oversee prepress file preparation, trapping, step-and-repeat layouts, distortion, and digital proof generation to ensure compliance with customer specifications and flexographic press profiles
• Serve as the initial technical escalation point for daily production issues, file errors, and equipment troubleshooting
• Coordinate the daily prepress and plate making schedule alongside the Prepress Coordinator, Production, Account Services, and Scheduling to accommodate production priorities
• Actively manage and optimize automated digital prepress workflows within an Esko-based environment
• Ensure the safe and efficient operation, calibration, and routine maintenance of all prepress workstations, proofer units, digital plate imaging equipment, exposure units, and processors
• Maintain rigorous color management protocols to ensure consistent pressroom color matching
• Partner with the Maintenance Supervisor and vendor representatives to coordinate preventive maintenance and timely repairs for all prepress hardware and software systems
• Monitor and manage department inventory for consumables, participating in monthly reporting, and supply recycling programs
• Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with company policies and applicable laws, including interviewing, onboard training, performance evaluation, and daily coaching
• Establish clear metrics and individual accountability for work accuracy, production throughput, and safety standard compliance
• Train direct reports on updated Esko software features, process instructions, standard operating procedures, flexographic plate making techniques, and quality control checkpoints
• Maintain positive employee relations, foster open communication, promote team engagement, and handle workplace conflicts or complaints in a fair and constructive manner
• Communicate daily with Account Service, Production Supervisors, Scheduling, Quality Assurance, and the Plant Manager on job statuses, priority shifts, and potential bottlenecks
• Recommend workflow enhancements, software upgrades, and process improvements to reduce cycle times and material waste