Raimundo's years in the lab

Raimundo has been working in the Laboratory area for 40 years and has already worked for our company for two decades. He came to tell us a little about how his work has evolved and what has changed over the years. 

Hi (José) Raimundo, thank you so much for taking the time to share some stories with us. It wasn't easy to convince you!

I don't mean it in a bad way, but I'm very private, I don't like to talk about myself.

Don't worry, we're going to focus more on the stories you can tell us about what you've experienced in these 40 years of "Laboratório". What do you think?

Sounds good to me. It wasn't 40 years of Contisystems, it all started at Paragon.....

So how did you end up at Paragon?

When I finished school in 1980, I applied for a job in accounting at Paragon. However, as I hadn't completed my military service, I couldn't go. This was overcome in the meantime and I joined the Territorial Reserve, but when I got there again, the position in Accounting had already been filled. But the Director of Operations liked me very much, he saw my CV, noticed that I had a 19.75 drawing and that caught his eye. They needed someone for the design area, so I did some tests and got in.

Wow, drawing really was a vocation!

Yes, I was very happy to go and work in an area that gave me so much pleasure.

What was it like starting work?

I was 19, everything was new to me. For three months I ran around all the departments. I was a machine helper, I did production control, I went through everything. It was great to get started and integrate, and it really helped me to understand how the whole flow of the printing business worked.

So what was it like working in the "design" field at the time?

Everything was done by hand. The mock-ups of the forms were built by hand on acetate, with decal letters and drawn lines. They were then photographed with special machines, and developed by hand with developer, fixer and water. If halftone effects were needed, they had to be given in the development. The result of all this was a photographic film with the design that was to be printed on it. The engraving part of the plate consisted of projecting the contents of the photographic film onto the offset plate. This contact was made in an ultraviolet press.

So it was an art... I imagine it's evolved a lot since then...

A process that takes an hour today could have taken a week back then. But it was all progressive, composition was no longer manual, text composition machines and photomontage systems partially replaced manual work. It was a brutal evolution, at the time it reduced our structure by 50%. But the boom really came when the PURUP system appeared, which at the time, around 1988, cost 60,000 escudos. Then everything was digitalized, the system built the models in color if necessary, and the proofs were output on paper, photographic film or offset plates. I remember it took 24 hours to make a backup!

But that's not what you work with anymore...

No, of course not. In the meantime, the Macintosh system appeared as we have it today, although less evolved of course.

So when does Contisystems come along?

In 2001, Paragon was integrated into Contiforme and I took on the same role.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Some things are boring, but I actually enjoy them because of the confidence, responsibility and security with which I carry them out. I'm very strict and I don't like to fail. I still love drawing, designing logos gives me special pleasure.

What do you think is essential for working in the lab?

Absolute concentration. We have to be totally focused on what we're doing, otherwise we'll screw up.

What's your focus in your personal life?

Apart from Sporting? Just kidding... I think as time goes by we all become more aware of the importance of the most basic things in life. I've been farming in the backyard and trying to spend more time with my family. I don't think I've enjoyed my daughters as much as I wanted to and I don't want the same to happen with the grandchildren. I'm very proud of the daughters we've raised and I want to give them and my grandchildren as much time as I can.

Thank you very much for your time Raimundo, it was great to talk to you!