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  Nov. 28, 2005, with Liz Fedorowicz—Education was the major theme of the Association of Graphic Communications' (AGC) annual Graphic Communications Day on Nov. 16, at Pier 90 in New York City. The event featured seminars on a variety of subjects, giving attendees a chance to experience the breadth and depth of the organization's education program.
Additionally, an expo with 70 vendors provided ample opportunity for vendors to display their technology and products, while attendees perused the show floor. Exhibitors included Adobe, EFI, Quark, and Xerox among the manufacturers, as well as Tanaseybert, L.P. Thebault Co., Jaguar Graphics, and Hatteras Press on the printer/services side of the business. According to AGC, 1,200 attendees took advantage of the day-long event.
Susie Greenwood, president and CEO of the AGC, opened the program noting that, "Graphic Communications Day is unique in that if offers a place where decision makers can network with peers in a stimulating, educational setting. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, printers, prepress houses, trade binders, corporate communicators, publishers, ad agencies, designers, and print buyers will focus on new technology, ideas, and strategies to discover new ways to grow business."
Changing Times
To kick off the day, keynote speaker Barry Meinerth, senior vice president, production, Time Inc., touched on some of the problems the print industry faces, and how they have, in a way, contributed to those problems.
Mr. Meinerth implored graphic communications companies to stop devaluing their brands, discounting things such as magazines to the point where subscribers and advertisers believe the brand has no worth. How, he asked, can the industry expect its customers to appreciate what it offers if the industry itself gives the product so little value?
Keeping Pace
The keynote speech led to the first panel discussion of the day, titled "Charting
a Course for the Future: An Industry Outlook." Moderated by David Luke, New
York sales director for The Form House, and co-chair of the event, the panel included
Kevin Joyce, managing director, United States and Canada, Kodak Graphic Communications
Group; Jann Levesque, group publisher, Cygnus Business Media; Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief,
Printing Impressions magazine; Tom Wetjen, president, Worldwide Graphic Communications
Industry Business, Xerox; and Susan Wittner, director of marketing, Agfa.
The panel focused on how the industry is changing and growing, with panelists noting that what keeps them up at night includes the ever-changing body of specifications, the pace the industry is moving at, and how to stay relevant in this fast-paced world.
When it came to education, all agreed that companies today can't underestimate its importance. Suggestions as to how any graphic arts shop can make education a regular part of the business included:
- Create a formal action plan for employees to follow, with financial consequences to not meeting basic standards.
- Host regular meetings where employees can learn from experts and/or share knowledge.
- Make online courses available to all employees.
- Encourage the reading of trade publications and materials from associations and educational bodies.
- Work with vendors to establish training programs.
Working with Technology
Seminar programs offered yet another option for printers looking to learn. Topics ranged from cross-media publishing, to direct mail, to digital photography.
Designing Across the Board
"Cross-Media Publishing: Preparing Content for Print and the Internet" was taught by Melody Reed, an instructor at the Pratt Institute as well as for the AGC. The session was targeted at designers, with an in-depth look at how graphics for the two media are different.
Ms. Reed noted that while most designers are used to working with high-resolution files and having a great deal of control over the look and feel of the final product, the Internet doesn't work in quite the same way. For one thing, graphics must be lower-resolution (around 72 dpi as opposed to an average of 300 dpi for print) to allow for fast download speeds. In addition, the universe of type choices open to print design is limited to a handful of options for online use.
Multi-media options will only continue to grow and become more prominent parts of campaigns.
Further complicating the problem online is that every viewer will see something different, so designers must build in back-up choices for fonts, and choose colors that will either not look good on many screens or, again, limit themselves to a small range of options.
However, technology is advancing in this realm, as well, with Cascading Style Sheets offering designers a myriad of choices, with more control over the look and feel of the final page.
As noted in several of the panel discussions throughout the day, the graphic arts industry can't afford to think of itself as working just with print anymore. Multi-media options will only continue to grow and become more prominent parts of campaigns, and those printers who understand the technology and how to use it to a client's best interests will be the ones who thrive in the future.
Ms. Reed also taught a seminar on digital photography for designers. The session encouraged designers to become digital photographers by creating their own stock photography library. This, she explained, allows a designer to provide additional services for their customers.
Digital photography is a natural fit for designers; the flexibility and low cost of creating photos is an extension of their creative skills. The camera should be viewed as a sketch pad where one can collect images and combine them to create a library.
Decisions to get into this aspect of the business include what type of camera to purchase?ultra compact, compact, SLR-like, or DSLR. Some important considerations include the quality of the photo, amount of flexibility the camera offers, and of course, price.
Ms. Reed encouraged designers to use tools that are available on the Internet to research a camera and the accessories needed to create your own stock photography library. To start, she recommended visiting www.dpreview.com. This Web site offers a long list of selection criteria to narrow the options. Another tool is www.photographyblog.com. This site offers some search capability, as well as reviews and comments.
By adding a digital photography stock library, designers can offer their customers quick turnaround on projects and charge for the additional service. Designers will also be more likely to experiment with different ideas and develop better products by including their own photography.
Learn from Your Mistakes
The perfectly titled "How To Avoid Costly Printing Mistakes" session attracted many printers who are trying to do just that. They received some good advice from AGC instructor Steve Davidson, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years and has held management positions in publishing and commercial printing.
Mr. Davidson told attendees that regardless of the production process used, there are certain questions a printer must ask a client in order to ensure quality, determine cost, and keep the job on schedule.
They include: What are the project's objectives? Who is the target audience? How should the piece look? How will your readers use your piece? How will other processes handle your piece? How much do you want to spend? Where else might you use the content of your piece?
Mr. Davidson explained that the answers to these and other questions will help you make the right choices concerning the point size and opacity of the paper, printing process, and finishing requirements of the piece.
Record Response Rates
The "Record Breaking Direct-Mail" session was moderated by Harvey Hirsch, founder of Digital Dimension 3 Inc. He explained to attendees how three-dimensional direct-mail pieces could dramatically change direct mail.
"Right now you're probably getting a half of 1 percent response rate on your direct-mail postcards. I can get as much as 80 percent response rates with 3-D or shaped direct-mail pieces," he told attendees, explaining that his die-cut mailers and personalized messages were the reason. "I die cut first and then print," he noted, adding that his printing is done on a Sharp copier not on a press. "I'm able to put through a full sheet of die-cut material and have it stay in one piece through the copier because there's no drum like [as with] offset press."
Looking to the Future
While attendees soaked up knowledge on how to improve their day-to-day business operations, Metro-area public high school students showed off their expertise in the graphic arts. The students received significant recognition for their creative work during a special educational awards ceremony.
Forty-three teams from 16 area schools entered AGC's Third Annual Graphic Arts Design Competition. The competition emphasizes the importance of education and teamwork in graphic arts and production.
Each team, mentored separately by professional executives from the advertising, publishing, and graphic design communities, created posters for The Actors' Fund through a collaborative partnership with AGC. The Actor's Fund, a 123-year old non-profit organization for members of the entertainment industry, will use the winning poster to promote its many programs and services.
Submissions were judged by a second group of industry professionals from the same communities, along with executives from The Actors' Fund and AGC. "Culling down the entries to only a few choices was particularly difficult, given the exceptional caliber of the work," noted AGC Vice President for Education and Chief Learning Officer Diane Chavan.
Manhattan's High School of Graphic Communication Arts received first-place honors. Student team members included Luis Lozada, Arturo Delgado, Holmi Molina, and Omar Millan. In addition to the public recognition, each student received a pair of VIP tickets to a Broadway show, and a pair of tickets to the opening day of the Newark Bears baseball team, where their winning poster will be projected on a screen.
The second-place winner was Flushing High School, Flushing, N.Y. Team members included Wendy Wong, Dianyll Santana, Belal Zaracz, and Jasmine Chong. Third place went to Morris County School of Technology, Denville, N.J. Team members included Katherine Smiecinski, Desmond Murdock, and Sam Krajkowski.
This year, AGC inaugurated three special categories of awards.They included: Judges' Special Merit Award to Wayne Valley High School, Wayne, N.J.; Technical Excellence Award to Samuel Gompers Career & Technical High School, Bronx, N.Y.; Most Innovative Award to Bushwick High School, Brooklyn, N.Y.
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