Cal Poly to Celebrate International Printing Week

Cal Poly’s 2012 International Printing Week is just two and a half weeks away. Titled “Expressive Technologies—A Look into the Future of Graphic Communication,” it will be held January 24-27, at the schools San Luis Obispo, Calif., campus.

This annual event commemorates Benjamin Franklin’s birthday and his contributions to printing, publishing and communication. The four-day event will include presentations by experts and industry leaders, a Graphic Communication Career Fair, and a banquet.

It is one of the largest and most comprehensive International Printing Week events in the nation, according to Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department. Presentations will cover trends and developments in graphic communication technology, management, design, printed electronics, packaging, hardware, software and printing processes. “Practical and intellectual twists that are helping to shape the future of the industry will be presented,” Levenson said. The program schedule is:

• Tuesday, Jan. 24 — Design Reproduction Technology and Web and Digital Media Day
  Linda Clarke of Continental Colorcraft, Patty Driskel and Mark Oliver of Mark Oliver Inc., and Derek Richmond of 180 Global will give presentations on design technology for print, packaging and websites. Also, a panel of professionals will discuss their industry experiences and visions in an open forum. A special feature will be a Battle of the Concentrations Game, in which students demonstrate their knowledge of Cal Poly’s graphic communication concentrations.
• Wednesday, Jan. 25 — Gravure and Packaging Day
  Val Sison of Insight Resource Group, Larry Moore of EskoArtwork, Tom Stokes and Sue Raleigh of the Flint Group, Sharon Eucce of Utah Paperbox, and Steve Upton of Chromix will talk on publishing, packaging and specialty gravure products including technical applications and management issues related to “lean” manufacturing costs and predicting the future of printing.
• Thursday, Jan. 26 — Expressive Technologies Day
  Technologies that are shaping the future of graphic communication will be highlighted including interactive mobile technology, printed electronics, and cross-media applications. Presenters are Ulrich Moosheimer of the University of Applied Sciences in Munich (who will be Skyped in from Germany), Mike Ciesinski of FlexTech, and John Grubb of EFI.
  A feature of the day will be an Expressive Technologies Forum co-chaired by Carl Joachim of Ricoh and David Gillette of Cal Poly’s Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies program.
  Representatives and faculty from computer science, architecture, and liberal arts and engineering studies will participate in a roundtable discussion on “Expressive Technologies—Issues, Trends, Challenges.”

• Thursday, Jan. 26 — International Printing Week Banquet at the San Luis Obispo Embassy Suites Main Ballroom
  Ralph Nappi, president of the Graphic Arts Show Co., the National Printing Equipment & Supply Association, and the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation will be the featured keynote speaker.
• Friday, Jan. 27 — the Graphic Communication Career Fair
  Employers will meet with prospective full-time employees and interns in the morning and conduct interviews in the afternoon.

Initial sponsors of International Print Week are EFI and RR Donnelley. For program and sponsorship information, contact Levenson at (805) 756-6151, (805) 756-1108 or hlevenso@calpoly.edu.

Members of the community may attend the banquet. It costs $79 a person, and reservations must be made by Jan. 23. Contact Korla McFall at kmcfall@calpoly.edu or 805-756-1108 if interested. For program details, visit the event website.