Cerulean Bee $(2005)$

Bob Bee is an artist who has chosen to make his living designing and printing

shirts and jerseys for various clubs and events. He named the company after himself

and his favorite color. Although he has been in business only a couple of

years, it has been successful. Several local clubs sponsor several events each year

and want commemorative apparel that they either give to everyone who registers

for the event or sell as a separate item. Either way, Bob makes money because he

is paid for the work regardless of the number of items that actually sell.

Artwork

Sometimes customers have only a vague idea of the artwork needed. Other times,

they come with computer$-$printed designs. In most cases, an artist still has to clean

up the artwork so that it will display reasonably well on the desired item. Ultimately,

the art must be color$-$separated so that each color has its own film. The

individual films are assigned to a single print color on the press, and the colors

are placed in layers on the final object. Registration, or matching the color separations

so the colors do not overlap and the separate layers align perfectly, is a key

element in creating a professional product. As shown in Figure $1,$ an individual

item, such as a shirt, could have art in several locations $($front$,$ back, sleeve, and so

on$).$ Each location requires a separate pass through the print process. Each color

requires a separate film and a separate imprint. Although the newer print systems

automatically rotate an object through several colors, each print station requires a

separate setup, so customers are charged by the number of artwork elements and

the number of colors. The total price of the artwork generally includes a setup fee

as well as the per item charges. Some organizations are given discounts, but these

are somewhat arbitrary and determined by Bob. Most customers create t$-$shirts

associated with some event, such as a festival, race, or bike ride. The artists work

the event$$s theme into the designs.

Artwork Order

Customer

Contact

Phone

Discount

Total Price

Order Date

Date Approved

Scheduled Print Date

Apparel$/$Item

Base Color

Maximum Colors

Event

Theme

Art Location Description

Cost Employee Date Complete

Colors

$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_$

$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_$

Art Location Description

Cost Employee Date Complete

Colors

$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_$

$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_$

Figure $1$

Project Descriptions $21$

As shown in Figure $2,$ all workers keep a log of the time spent on each project.

The most important times are the hours spent on the artwork, but the log does

include time spent running the printing press. The log is relatively simple, and

employees basically fill out a time card each day. Each major customer order is

given a project number, and employees enter this number into their logs$.$ So far,

the company does not have a standard method to identify the individual art items

for a project, so employees tend to make up descriptions.