Big Picture - May 2017 - 8
A DIGITAL EDUCATION Juniors in the Digital Media Program at Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School (BOYCP) spent a day touring Chicago's Cushing (cushingco.com) print and display graphics company last month. The 22 students observed real day-today processes from file setup to flatbed printing and more, and then gathered in the conference room to interact with the shop's employees. Digital Media Teacher Bobby Anderson says students were hesitant, at first, when asked if they'd ever considered a career in print. But by the end of the day it seemed feelings had changed. "They were amazed at how many different materials are used that they see every day and what it takes to actually make that happen," he says. BOYCP is an international baccalaureate school, so the academics are rigorous, to say the least. "It's basically jumping from sophomore year of high school to freshman year of college," says Anderson. He helped start the Digital Media Program two years ago to offer an option for kids with more creative-centered interests and learning styles. By the end of their senior year, students are certified in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and have digital and print portfolios to showcase. They're responsible for printing their own projects, including wideformat pieces on an Epson SureColor P8000. The current passion of the junior class is a 5K relay race, says Anderson. They're producing all of the print materials, including a giant check to present the funds raised to a local shelter. Anderson says he always tells his students to "design with the end in mind." If you're designing for print, you have to consider color mode. If you're designing something that needs to be scalable, you'd better work in Illustrator. "The trip to Cushing helped reinforce that 'end in mind' design because they got to see what it's like to actually have clients come in." Another major theme of Anderson's curriculum is problem-solving. "If you can problem-solve, you can do almost anything anyone asks you to do," he says, and that was a great part of the experience of visiting Cushing. "That's one of the things that struck me as really exciting: how they problem-solve with different client requests, different materials. 'How can we get jobs done for anyone that comes in the door?'" A Print Buyer's Priorities Martine Padilla, VP of sales, Allen Press, polled 37 elite print buyers on LinkedIn: "What is most important to the success of your print buying role and the projects you manage?" BIG PICTURE May 2017 1 2 3 8 Speed to market from art file to delivery Cost reductions year after year Minimizing shipping costs through regional print and distribution solutions 4 Facility best practices (lean manufacturing, social responsibility, etc.) 5 Finishing and kit fulfillment onsite, not outsourced 6 Print partners who understand the demands of the business 7 Inspirational ideas; creative and engineering design 8 Color consistency between technologies 9 Substrate availability 10 Color management THE INAUGURAL DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING US CONFERENCE Smithers Pira has announced that the first Digital Textile Printing US conference will take place June 8-9 in Atlanta. As the digital textile printing market looks to grow to $2.6 billion by 2021, the conference aims to bring together textile printers, end users, and technology providers. The conference will be co-located with the inaugural 3D Printing for Industrial Applications conference (June 5) and the Digital Print for Packaging US conference (June 6-7). DOVER ACQUIRES CALDERA Dover has announced its acquisition of Caldera Graphics, a software company specializing in digital printing. Caldera will join MS Printing Solutions and the JK Group within Dover's Printing and Identification platform, in a reported $37 million transaction.
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