Gettin' Comfy in the Client Lounge

Here we are, still sitting in the client lounge of the printshop, waiting for the word that things are ready to be signed off on. Nothing yet. We got here around 9:30am, and it’s now 12:20pm. (Sigh.) I just wish we could have slept in…

…fast forward to 3:50pm…

The printer said a proof was ready, and the boys were going back to check it, when Hubby said I should come along. I tagged behind, just wanting to see what it was all about. Quite interesting – lots of noise and the smell of ink and gasoline. As the boys were checking the proof, the printer guy gave me a tour. The machines are huge, almost as long as a tractor trailer truck.


Sheetfed offset Heidelberg press, from Heidelberg.com

The one Hubby’s project is on is an 8-plate Heidelberg, and the printer explained it’s offset printing – the plate (an aluminum sheet) transfers the image onto a rubber roller, which transfers the image onto the paper. Each plate has a different color on it, so of course everything has to line up perfectly as it goes through from roller to roller. Another machine they have runs continuous rolls of paper instead of the poster-sized sheets on the 8-plate machine. The paper-roll machine also prints on both sides of the paper simultaneously (the 8-plate machine only prints on one side, so they have to let the ink on that side dry for 24 hours before they can print the other side), then goes through an “oven” to heat-set it, a cooler to cool it back down, and finally a section that cuts and folds it. And all this happens so fast you can’t even see words on the pages as they fly by – you’re lucky to see fuzzy streaks of color.

This part of the building feels like a warehouse; there are two of the big 8-plate machines, one giant roll-paper machine (that one was easily twice as long as the 8-plate machine), and a few smaller less-automated machines. The place is spotless, not what I would have expected, and extraordinarily noisy. There’s an earplug dispensary on the wall just before you go through the doors. I can’t imagine working back there for a whole day – fifteen minutes after I went back there, I had to escape back to the client lounge to give my ears a rest. It’s impressive how much of a sound barrier the two sets of doors are, though – you can’t hear anything once you get into the lobby.

After a few minor adjustments, they decided the last tweaking could be done without Hubby, so we left. We got pizza at a place that’s been given a V.P.N. designation – that’s like the D.O.C. designations for wine regions – and then got gelato at Gelatiamo (it was closed yesterday when we finally found it). It’s such a cold and windy day – and it’s made even more so because of the wind coming off the water. It’d be okay walking along the streets downtown that run parallel to the waterfront, but as soon as you’d come to an intersection or have to walk toward or away from the water, you’d be absolutely chilled. I was thankful for my pashmina scarf…

We went from Gelatiamo (and yes, I realize the ridiculousness of getting ice cream in cold weather, but if Pacific Northwesterners didn’t eat ice cream in cold weather we’d hardly eat ice cream – and that’d be even more ridiculous) to Border’s to pick up the new Garbage album, and we grabbed a CD of Nek’s greatest hits as well. Then we hit Macy’s for a bathroom break before hitting the road for the long drive home.

So, while we didn’t get to “see” much of the touristy stuff of Seattle (we drove past the E.M.P. and Space Needle, neither of which I’ve ever been in), it was a nice getaway. And hey, if someone’s already paying for the hotel that Hubby’s going to stay in, I’ll tag along any day. (Besides, as Hubby pointed out yesterday, with me along he can use the H.O.V. lane, which saves loads of time. Glad I could help.)