For the City Times

More than two dozen publishing industry professionals graduated from intensive program about the book manufacturing process

STEVENS POINT  – Worzalla, an employee-owned printing company specializing in high-quality custom products, recently completed their second year of “Print University.” Held over the course of two three-day periods in April and May, Worzalla hosted more than two dozen publishing professionals at their headquarters in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, for an immersive program to educate those in the publishing industry about the book manufacturing process.

“After speaking with many of our customers, I noticed that many had never witnessed the book manufacturing process in person,” said Richard Letchinger, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Worzalla. “I knew that if we could offer our customers the opportunity to learn more about the work we do to get their books on bookshelves across the country, we could build more collaborative partnerships across the industry. Thus, Print University was born.”

The curriculum for Print University covers each step of the printing process from start to finish, including:

Pre-press which includes file prep, pre-flight and color theory.
Four-color web offset and sheetfed printing which include platemaking.
An overview of the paper making process as well as an introduction into the most common paper used in book manufacturing.
A complete review of book finish capabilities which includes perfect and hard case binding, case making, and foil stamping.
A review of Worzalla’s commitment to Environmental Health & Safety and social compliance corporate responsibility.
The first 2019 cohort of Print University graduates included a dozen industry professionals from a variety of publishers. The most recent class of graduates from Print University’s May session include Lynn Portnoff of Penguin Random House, Brianna Kelly of Penguin Random House, Jessica Clark of Dark Horse, Christina Quintero of Hachette, Celeste Joyce of Hachette, Zora Gilbert of Hachette, Katie Benezra of Hachette, Travis Hasenour of Sourcebooks, Allison Sundstrom of Sourcebooks, Danielle McNaughton of Sourcebooks, Alex Scott of Ramsey Solutions, Gretchen Hyer of Ramsey Solutions, Heather Eikel of Ramsey Solutions, Lisa D’Agostino of Granity, and Brigid Black of Simon and Schuster.

“I’m appreciative of all that I learned at Worzalla’s Print University,” said Lynn Portnoff of Penguin Random House. “The information I gained from Worzalla on the book manufacturing process will help me work more collaboratively with everyone involved in a project to create the best possible books.”

“Many people inside and outside the book industry don’t realize the intricacies and coordination it takes to bring a book to the bookshelf,” said Jim Fetherston, President of Worzalla. “Authors work with publishers to perfect their projects, then publishers work with printers like Worzalla to bring these books to life. By helping those in our industry better understand how this is done improves efficiency and collaboration among all parties.”

The first Worzalla Print University was organized in 2018. To date, 53 participants have graduated from the program. To learn more about Worzalla’s book manufacturing process, visit worzalla.com.