Credit Union Times Couldn't Break Records Without Schumann Printers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – This record 140-page issue of Credit Union Times is the result of a true team effort by the editorial, advertising and production teams, but there’s one other vital behind-the-scenes player in the process – the printer. Credit Union Times’ main editorial and production office is located in West Palm Beach, Florida, but the publication is printed each week in Fall River, Wisconsin, a small town of about 900 people located approximately 30 miles northeast of Madison. Schumann Printers is a family-owned business started by Jack Schumann back in 1960. “One day I came home from work, threw my watch against the wall and splattered it and said `I will never work for anyone for the rest of my life’. I put on my suit and went down to the bank to get some money to buy my own press,” said Schumann who now serves as chairman. Schumann put his modest hand fed letter press in the basement of his home to save on expenses and opened his own printing company. His wife Arlene was his only employee so to speak. “We starved at first. I learned the value of how far oatmeal and popcorn will go. When we finally had our first $300 week I thought we had made it.” Fast forward 50 years and you have Schumann Printers, a state-of-the-art printer that employs 170 people, has $38 million in annual sales, and is still very much a family business. Jack’s sons Dan and Mark serve as President and Vice President respectively. The relationship between Credit Union Times and Schumann Printers started in the early `90s. It wasn’t exactly an account prospect that thrilled Schumann. “When Mike (Welch, Credit Union Times Publisher) approached me, I turned it down for over a year. I thought there’s no way I want to do that little publication and have to do it every week. I was so wrong. Credit Union Times has turned into a very, very important account. At first blush it seems like it doesn’t fit a $12 million printing press, but it doesn’t miss a beat,” he said. As a weekly publication, the turnaround time of Schumann Printers has to be lightning fast. Credit Union Times is printed each week in the early morning hours of Friday on a $12 million M-1000BE Heidelberg press that spans roughly 150-feet. Here’s how it all comes together. Schumann’s receives the ad materials each week by Wednesday morning. The ads are scanned and ready for plating. The editorial product is sent electronically over the Internet on Wednesday evenings. “We pre-flight and process over late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. It’s ready for viewing on Thursday morning. Credit Union Times does not see a hard proof at all at any time, which is rare. The proof is sent over the Internet and viewed using software called Renderview,” said Schumann. On Thursday morning Credit Union Times staffers in West Palm Beach view the electronic proof using Renderview and make any changes before the pages are plated. Schumann pointed out that all pictures published in Credit Union Times are done in 150 line screens, a very high screen value, which is what gives the images such crisp detail, he said. Once the electronic proof gets the go ahead of the West Palm office, the files are electronically placed in position and transmitted to a Creo platemaker to create thermal laser imaged plates made of aluminum (which are later recycled). Credit Union Times is most often printed in 16-page signatures, but sometimes eights and fours are used depending on issue size, inserts and other factors. A pressman bends the plates on to a cylinder and readies them for the print run. The last two steps are binding the issues and running them through an ink jet printer for address labels. In the early days, paper labels were used, but that like many things has evolved. The issues are shipped out to the Milwaukee post office on Friday morning. The whole printing process typically takes four hours. This day-and-a-half turnaround is even more difficult for an issue as large as this. No one knows that better than Sue Schulze, who has served as Credit Union Times’ customer service representative for 11 years. “Back when we first started with Credit Union Times it always came in on Wednesdays and was sent out on Fridays, but we’ve gone from 16 pages then to up to 140 pages now. We’re lucky if we see any issues under 48 pages. It’s a lot more work in the same time frame. It takes teamwork and organization to get it done,” said Schulze. A lot of things change on the printer’s side for an issue of this size. For example, it will be perfect bound instead of saddle stitched in order to ensure the pages don’t rip and all pages are even. The process is about as fast as saddle stitching, yet it costs about 50% more. Also, the ads for this issue will take approximately 10 hours of scan time compared to less than an hour, and the printing process will be roughly 12 hours compared to four. The work hours on Schumann’s end are more than doubled. Schumann credited Credit Union Times for forcing his company to raise the bar with technology. “Credit Union Times was the first customer we had to go from computer to plate. You were in step with technology and not afraid to grab onto it. Today you’re still ahead of the curve,” said Schumann. One thing Schumann Printers will continue to do is invest in the latest printing technology, said Schumann. It’s currently in the process of installing a next generation M-2000 Heidelberg printer. “We keep moving forward,” he said. Schumann said it can take six months to install a new press like the M-2000. Schumann also touted the company’s green factor. “Our air pollution system is top of the line; 98.6% pure air is going out of this facility. We do our part for the environment.” [email protected]