Last week, I attended a training program at Brown Printing Company, the printing company responsible for printing and distributing Global Traveler, and learned more about the company and the facets of production. Brown started operations in 1957, when Wayne Brown of Waseca, Minn., left his father’s newspaper printing company to produce catalogs, auction bills and other publications. It quickly grew and opened other locations: in 1978 in East Greenville, Penn., where GT is printed now, and in Woodstock, Ill., in 1997. Today, Brown is the third-largest magazine printer in the United States, printing popular titles like Time, Sports Illustrated and People and smaller publications like Modern Farmer.

As advertising and editorial coordinator, I serve as a liaison between advertisers booked in GT issues and the printing company, and my responsibilities include collecting and uploading creative materials to production. After I finish gathering ads and checking them for dimension and color errors, I approve them for production and Brown goes to print. During the program, I was introduced to all phases of production and learned exactly what happens after I release the ads to Brown.

To prepare for printing, the press operators at Brown have several duties, including loading the very large rolls of paper, inking the presses, adjusting the press to paper size and installing the gigantic printing plates (seen in the picture below). While at press side, I observed how meticulous their duties are. The operators were constantly monitoring the operation — feeding paper, adjusting margins and correcting uneven ink distribution. Seeing production in action was fascinating; I was amazed by how involved the process is and how fast the machines operate. 

Though the May issue of GT had gone to print before the program, I was still able to catch the binding process, one of the final steps before distribution. After binding, it is then sent to distribution and mailing and sent out! I highly recommend checking out a printing company if you get the chance; seeing the behind-the-scenes action was very interesting and insightful.

— Monique Barrett, advertising and editorial coordinator