As a professional print buyer, you’re part of an elite group that operates below the radar. People outside of the graphics field don’t know what a print buyer is and won’t understand what it is you do.  Even your family and friends won’t “get” what it is you do. It’s as though you’re part of an underground workforce that handles secret projects. And you come from another planet.

Laypeople still think printing “just happens.” To most, a printer is what you plug into your home computer. Don’t try and fight it; I’ve been fighting it for 20-odd years (emphasis on the odd) and not making much headway.

This is one reason I’ve supported the development of a new professional name. Media buyer is too broad, and it still conjures up the person at an agency who sources ads for radio, TV and magazines.

Multichannel publishing professional sounds closer to the truth, when you consider that most traditional print buyers have seen their roles evolve since the great recession of 2008-9.

Anyway, the fact that outsiders don’t appreciate the skill and knowledge required to become an experienced, professional print buyer means the following:

– You are responsible for your own PR within your organization. Find ways to document your achievements and successes. Make sure your managers know.

– You should overhaul your resume. Make sure you have quantified how much you’ve saved your organization (in time and in money). Articulate just how you increased or improved efficiencies in programs or processes under your control.

– You need to take charge of your own professional development. Attend print buyer conferences. Get certification when and where it becomes available. Go to major trade shows like Graph Expo and On Demand to keep up with printing technology.

– You need to support print buyer organizations, both nationally and locally. In this field, there is truly power in numbers. Take advantage of opportunities to meet your peers face to face. Learn from one another and from industry leaders.

– You have to make yourself heard in the industry. Pen blogs or articles for trade and business publications, online and off. Make comments to blog postings from others in the field. Volunteer to serve on committees or work for local organizations that cater to print buyers and other media professionals.

Your fellow print buyers recognize the technical and business expertise you’ve developed. Finding ways to promote the field of print buying will help your career. Hiding your light under a bushel won’t help. Make some noise, in your company and elsewhere. When the opportunity presents itself, communicate what it is that print buyers do.

Develop a vocabulary that laypeople do understand, such as project management, budget analysis, quality control, process efficiencies, design specifications and development, vendor management, cost containment, and negotiating skills.

You’re a businessperson with expertise in a specific industry: the graphic arts. You arrange for, produce and manage commercially printed materials through a series of professionally recognized processes and practices.

On second thought: there’s nothing foreign about that.

(c) 2010 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. Your comments are welcome. No part of this Tip may be shared, used or sold without prior consent of the author.