Imprenta comercial

A 90-minute, 4-round basic Express simulation for Spanish vocational training (Formacion Profesional), module 1538 Gestion de la produccion en la industria grafica of the Tecnico Superior en Diseno y Gestion de la Produccion Grafica (Real Decreto 175/2013).

The learner is Itziar Monedero, a newly qualified graphic-production technician who runs the production of a fictional commercial printer in Valladolid through 2027: a four-colour and a two-colour offset press, one production digital press and a finishing line, about 3,200 jobs a year, most of them short runs still printed on the offset by habit.

Four situations set the year's course: the spring order book, and how the jobs are routed between the offset and the digital press (every job by its run against the break-even run of its family) and how the offset is made ready (jobs grouped by paper and inks with a makeready allowance); the spring peak, and how the paper is bought (standard papers on a minimum and a maximum, specials by job) and what is done with the washes and the waste of the pressroom (low-solvent washes, the hazardous waste to an authorised manager); the autumn peak, and how the finishing line is scheduled (backwards from the delivery dates) and how the shifts cover it (a second shift on the offset with the twelve hours of rest kept); and a new machine, and which one the printer takes on (a second digital press leased after a break-even study) and how the year is accounted (a production account by job with the routing rule).

Two critical errors cap the round: solvent rags and ink cans thrown in the general rubbish, and shifts chained without the twelve hours of rest. KPIs: sales with margin, controllable cost, sheets spoiled or reprinted per 1,000 and jobs delivered late. Lesson: offset or digital is decided by the run, not by habit. Spanish primary, English parity. Fictional company, brand and people; real curriculum and rules cited.

An introductory simulation that assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, designed for undergraduate courses. It also works in vocational and high-school programmes and in onboarding sessions.