Magic behind the curtain: GTMO printing

Photo By Staff Sgt. LeAnne Withrow | “The Wire” is collated by hand, an impressive weekly feat by Cameron Hunt, the Defense Logistics Agency print shop director, and his team.  

CUBA

01.29.2016

Story by Sgt. LeAnne Withrow 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - It is a Thursday afternoon at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Defense Logistics Agency Print Shop. The smells of ink and warm paper pervade the high-ceiling rooms as copy after copy of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo publication “The Wire” prints from an industrial size printer. Hot off the press, they are sent through a massive folding machine, then hand collated by industrious workers, with hundreds of copies to be made ready for distribution just 20 hours later. A herculean effort made by the three-man staff and one they make every week.

But wait, there’s more. The print shop staff tackles not only the massive jobs of printing and assembling the local publications such as “The Wire” and “The Gazette,” but also the various other printing needs of GTMO residents and JTF Troopers. From creating pamphlets to field manuals, teaching aides to personal projects, the DLA has GTMO covered.

“The print shop helps the command element specifically for the change of command and retirement ceremonies,” said Navy Chief Petty Officer Dana Clayton, flag writer for Navy Rear Adm. Peter J. Clarke, the JTF commander. Aside from the JTF command elements, the print shop has a wide variety of customers. “We support the Sexual Assault (Response Coordinator), public affairs, port operations, the Fleet and Family Services Center, the Navy Exchange, as well as the general populace,” said Cameron Hunt, director of the print shop and retired Navy Petty Officer 1st Class.

While “The Gazette” and “The Wire” are the DLA’s biggest weekly jobs, the shop is kept busy with various personal and professional projects from the residents here, Hunt said.

The shop has the capability to print materials 11 by 17 inches and smaller, he said. Larger products can be made, but they have to be constructed in pieces by hand and then laminated for stability, said Hunt.

Services available include printing, photo printing, duplication, graphic design, lamination and some binding services. Special projects that require either paper not on hand or large format print jobs are produced at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, in Jacksonville, Florida and shipped here, said Hunt. “If we can augment your mission, we will,” said Hunt. Currently the staff are busy taking inventory of the outdated equipment that the shop has on hand, while trying to secure newer equipment. In participating, he hopes to procure a large format printer, as well as an automated collator for the shop in the near future to offer more capabilities to GTMO. Nonetheless, the crew is able to tackle projects even on tight deadlines.

“Our requests are short fused,” said Clayton. “The turn-around time is under 48 hours and the quality is very good.”

One of the biggest hurdles the print shop has is a lack of public awareness of the services, said Hunt. “We’re available for any size job, there’s no limit,” said Hunt. “Whether you need to laminate a business card or print 50 technical manuals.” The print shop provides exceptional value and great customer service, said Clayton.

The sky is the limit in terms of projects, so long as the material to be printed is not copyrighted, said Hunt.

Paying for the services provided by the shop is done through the NEX and Hunt is available to run through the pricing sheet with prospective customers, to help them understand what is required to ensure the project get’s done right, he continued.

Interested parties can visit the print shop, located behind McDonald’s on Sherman Avenue, during their business hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and can view an easy-to-read spreadsheet of prices and services.

• Date Taken: 01.29.2016
• Date Posted: 03.01.2016 11:53
• Story ID: 190673
• Location: CU