Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Taking inventory and providing quality control check.
Graphics mounted to three panels, ready to be installed.
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The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, in Lancaster County, PA, was totally redesigning its exhibits. There were hundreds of graphics that were designed, managed, and printed over the course of four years.
One category of graphics were phenolic, which is a high pressure laminate material. To print phenolics, the specialized printers needed at least an 8 week lead time. This meant keeping the designers and clients on a very tight schedule for a process that required all parties to make thorough review of each graphic file before submitting it to print. The designers submitted the files to the museum to review and approve the content. The museum would make edits or approve, and the designers would send updated files. This process would continue until all files were ready to print. Then I would check the digital files for set up and send them to the printer, noting sizes, quantities, timeline, and any special production notes. The specialized printer would send print proofs, which I checked against my spreadsheet of production notes. If there were errors, I requested revisions. When the proofs met my satisfaction, I sent them to the designers for design approval and the museum for content approval. If either party required any changes, the entire process would start over again until all parties were satisfied and gave approval to print. Eight weeks later, when the phenolic graphics arrived, I would compare the received graphics with the list of submitted files. I would also check size, quantity, and quality. Any blemish or missing items would require a reprint. Once I approved the deliverables, the shop would assemble and mount the graphics in preparation for installation. I had to know mounting details and location within the museum to answer questions about mounting, timeline, and specific assembly details. This overall process repeated for every other category of graphic: wallpapers, interactive pieces, floor stickers. For a gallery of images, see the museum's exhibit page. |