Media technology specialist – Print finishing

Just as the profession of printers is undergoing a upheaval due to increasing digitalization, the demands on media technology specialists for print finishing are also growing. Using state-of-the-art industrial machines, tens of thousands of paper sheets per hour are folded, automatically gathered, glued or stitched, and then cut to the final format.

Video production: imagefilme.com, Filmproduktion für Imagefilme, https://www.imagefilme.com

Despite new technologies and an increasing degree of automation, the profession is still characterized by manual work. Media technology specialists for print finishing maintain machines, set them up, control and monitor the production processes, perform quality checks, and package intermediate and finished products in cartons and on pallets. They execute the complete finishing of the printed sheets—with all intermediate steps up to the final product. These can be simple flyers and posters, high-quality magazines and books, or complex products like advertising letters—so-called direct mailings—which, composed of various sub-products, must fit into an envelope at the end. And as diverse as the products and the machinery with which they are manufactured, the work in a modern bookbindery is highly varied.

Dual vocational training normally lasts three years. The company-based training is specified via modular training sections. For this purpose, up to three elective qualification units are selected, which form the focus of the training.

Due to the low number of trainees, there is no longer any vocational school for media technology specialists for print finishing in Saarland. The two nearest schools are in Luxembourg and Stuttgart, whereby the Johannes Gutenberg School Stuttgart has turned out to be the better choice due to transport connections and the division of the school weeks. Here, classes take place in blocks that are between two and three weeks long. Accommodation during the school weeks takes place in a supervised residential home in Stuttgart. Kern GmbH covers the costs for this for its trainees.

In the second year of training, an intermediate examination must be taken, which is a prerequisite for admission to the final examination in the third year. The final examination is divided into a written part and a practical part carried out in one's own company. Under the supervision of examiners, an examination piece is produced, and knowledge and skills are queried in a situational technical discussion.

Even if no specific school leaving certificate is prescribed for the profession, we recommend at least an intermediate school leaving certificate from experience. Applicants should bring manual dexterity, good technical understanding, diligence, as well as fun in working with machines and the medium of paper.

Print finishing at Kern

Working as a media technology specialist for print finishing at Kern GmbH goes far beyond just binding books. Paper and printed sheets are cut en bloc on guillotines. In folding machines, printed sheets are folded into leaflets or so-called signatures, which are subsequently bound automatically into brochures using a saddle stitcher or perfect binder. In direct mailing production, letters are personalized and enveloped. Machines from industry leaders are used for the work, always up to the latest state of the art. Through the diverse products, trainees at Kern gain to know the entire spectrum of the profession. Side by side with experienced machine operators, they actively participate in the team from the very beginning.

available apprenticeships