Continuous Improvement October 2025
End-of-Day Cleanup Keeps Production Running Smoothly
Every evening, the Bindery team takes time to clean the floors, wipe down machines, and prep the workspace so the morning crew can get started right away. This daily habit not only boosts efficiency and safety but also reflects our team’s pride and professionalism. As they like to say—“Leave your area better than you found it!”
Pre-Filled FedEx Form Speeds Up Shipping
The Shipping team created a pre-filled FedEx form, one of our largest and most frequent clients. With only the Courier Graphics’ information included, plus space for the date, job number, and job details, the form saves significant time on every shipment. This streamlined process reduces repetitive data entry, speeds up high-volume shipping, and keeps jobs moving efficiently through our production workflow.
Technical Maintenance Keeps Press Running Smoothly
The Web team, with a technician visiting from Germany, is performing critical maintenance on the press cameras to ensure accurate registration, consistent color, and proper paper speeds. They are also addressing water pump repairs to keep the press running efficiently. These technical improvements enhance print quality, reduce downtime, and support Courier Graphics’ commitment to high-quality, reliable commercial printing operations.
Guru Cards Created for Key Clients
The CSR team began developing Guru cards for major clients like Toyota, consolidating all key account details—such as label formats, shipping notes, and project specifications—into one easy-to-access location. This improvement ensures that anyone across the plant can efficiently handle client requests, maintain accuracy, and keep our commercial printing workflow consistent and reliable.
Shared Shift Calendar Improves Communication
Gabe in Shipping created a shared calendar to track daily deliveries and pickups, accessible to both 1st and 2nd shifts. This ensures everyone is aware of all incoming and outgoing shipments each day, improves communication between shifts, reduces confusion, and helps maintain a smooth, efficient workflow for Courier Graphics’ commercial printing operations.
Dual Plate Dividers Added
Prepress expanded their plate storage system by adding new divider sections that hold two sets of plates instead of one. This smart setup saves space, reduces time spent fetching new plates, and keeps production running efficiently during busy press schedules.
Packing Slips Now Scanned & Sent Digitally
Shipping switched from paper packing slips to a digital system—scanning and emailing them directly to Accounting at the end of each day. This streamlined process eliminates paper trails, reduces the chance of lost documents, and speeds up job tracking and record updates while saving time and resources.
Freight Calculator Simplifies Shipping Estimates
Shipping created a custom spreadsheet to calculate freight costs automatically based on the number of boxes, each weighing 40 lbs. This eliminates manual calculations, improves accuracy, and speeds up the process so shipments move out faster and with less hassle.
Job Ticket Labels Keep Workflow Organized
CSR added clearly labeled sections for job tickets—New Jobs, Changes to Jobs, and Scheduling Requests. With this organized system, tickets are always stored in a designated area, making it easy to locate projects, track their status, and keep the workflow running smoothly even during busy scheduling periods.
Label Boxes Now Clearly Marked for Easy Access
Prepress added custom labels to the outside of Uline label boxes to identify what’s inside. Since all the boxes look the same, this quick fix saves time and confusion—making it easy to grab the right colored label for each job without opening multiple boxes to find the correct one.
