Feb. 28, 2002
Contact: Jo Ann Lloyd
(805) 756-1511
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Heidelberg Expands Digital Press Offerings at Cal Poly By Donating
Four-Color Printing Press
Students in Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department now have an advantage in
mastering the latest technology in four-color digital printing because of a
recent equipment donation from Heidelberg USA.
Heidelberg, a long-standing "partner in education" with Cal Poly,
installed a Quickmaster DI four-color digital printing press in the
university's department.
"This gift," said Graphic Communication Department Head Harvey
Levenson, "is yet another gesture on the part of Heidelberg to support
young men and women preparing to enter the printing and imaging
fields."
"The Heidelberg Quickmaster DI provides the opportunity to teach on
state-of-the-art technology resembling what the students will encounter
in industry when they graduate," Levenson said. "It provides an
understanding of technology used for short-run, high-quality color
printing."
The press, valued at $262,000, will be used in the department's regular
academic program and by the university's newly established Graphic
Communication Institute, which conducts seminars and workshops for
industry professionals and performs research, testing and product
evaluations.
The department's University Graphic Systems (UGS) division will also
use the new printing press. UGS is a student-run, full-service
"printing company" that teaches students the same business practices
and production procedures used by real printing companies, according
to Levenson.
"The students handle the marketing, sales and estimating functions,
and are also responsible for customer service, quality control and
assessment, inventory control, personnel relations, hiring and
sometimes firing, production and distribution," Levenson said. "They
produce real jobs for university departments and, in the process,
practice what they learn in the classroom and related laboratories."
Other Heidelberg technology at Cal Poly includes a 29-inch Speedmaster
74 with coating
tower and spectrophotometer, several single-color presses and a scanner.
The Quickmaster DI was dedicated during International Printing Week, at
which Gary Meinke, Heidelberg's vice president for western region, was
presented with a Partners in Education plaque and a framed dedication
poster printed on the press.
Founded in 1946, Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department maintains
an enrollment of approximately 300 students pursuing a Bachelor of
Science degree in graphic communication. The department offers
concentrations in printing and imaging management, electronic
publishing and imaging, design reproduction technology, and
individualized study in graphic communication, which allows students to
build their own specialties under faculty guidance.
The department also has a minor that provides students in other
disciplines with the opportunity to participate in a core of courses
providing entry-level education in printing and publishing.
"Cal Poly is a very competitive university, and our graphic
communication students are typically selected from among the top 10 to
15 percent of their high school or community college graduating
classes," Levenson said.
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