Prepress research

[BeauchampT]

Beauchamp, I made the comment you referred to but you are taking it out of context. Formal education is very important but it depends on where you get it. I was specifically referring to graphic arts oriented education which is a problem.

You seem to have the idea that formal eduction is of little value and I would just say that is a damaging view. OK you may not want to spend the time to get a formal education and want to learn what you think you can learn on your own. This may work out very well for you but it is a risky path. Most people will not put the effort in learning. Learning on ones own is not as efficient as a formal education. Learning on the internet is a hit or miss situation.

An education is only a starting point and not a final point. An education is something you get so you can learn more as time goes on.

@Erik
Sorry for taking your quote out of context...my mistake.

To clarify, I don't believe formal education is unnecessary. The calculus I learned in school, the physics and chemistry, english comprehension - all of it has been necessary in order for me to learn. At times, I recognize that a deeper understanding of these things (perhaps gained through post-secondary education) would make it easier. So please don't take my comments as an attack on education. It is needed.

However, my point is more that formal education frequently fails to produce intelligent workers. Good workers start out as good workers; education equips them. Education seldom can change a poor worker into a good one. Searching for affirmation from accredited educational facilities won't always lead to good results because we work in an industry that evolves so quickly and is constantly leading into new technologies (and resultant problems)

Educational programs need people who know the work well to create them. And it can't just be a few (a couple of teachers or profs don't understand the ENTIRE realm of printing and pre-press). That's why I say that for a formal education system to work, it needs to be intially created (and then maintained) by the printing community.

Perhaps an unrealisitic view, but then again, I'm young

And yes, I am very fortunate to be where I am

 

[Deleted member 16349]

@Erik
Sorry for taking your quote out of context...my mistake.

To clarify, I don't believe formal education is unnecessary.

However, my point is more that formal education frequently fails to produce intelligent workers.

That's why I say that for a formal education system to work, it needs to be intially created (and then maintained) by the printing community.

Perhaps an unrealisitic view, but then again, I'm young

Thanks for the clarification. I was worried that other young people in the industry might get the wrong idea about the need for education.

 

[Kaoticor]

However, my point is more that formal education frequently fails to produce intelligent workers. Good workers start out as good workers; education equips them. Education seldom can change a poor worker into a good one.

I agree. While I would love more education and research for myself, I feel that teaching people to "work" is the much harder task nowadays. A motivated and diligent person will almost always learn what they need to know. Education is a bonus for them. But for a lazy or self-centered person, it seems that the education doesn't really accomplish much. But hey, thats not just printing, thats any field...

 

[CathieH]

Formal education in prepress is virtually non-existant. In fact, just finding one single class for Pitstop Pro is like searching for a diamond in my laundry hamper.

The fact is, I've been doing graphic design/prepress since I graduated from high school, as my father was a commercial artist, thus I was borne into the "business". I began on an IBM Selectric, moved on to a Compugraphic and eventually worked with Pagemaker and Adobe Illustrator on the first Mac Plus ever put out to the public. In the years that followed, I've worked with more programs than I could count on both hands and feet, including CS4, Acrobat Pro, RIP systems, Micropresses, Creos, etc. - you get the picture.

What does this say to my employer or potential employer? That I'm old. It doesn't say that I'm able to work out complex prepress problems, that you can put me in front of virtually any program and I'll be more proficient at it in less time than some kid straight out of art school. It doesn't say that I can troubleshoot like crazy and in fact love that part of my job.

All I can do is hope that it is proven through my work and its ultimate outcome, although I doubt anyone around me is able to understand how much work it takes to accomplish certain difficult tasks, what it may take to make a file print, or how much time I spent making sure that I get some crappy file to look beautiful when it comes out of the press. But if you have a supervisor that's savvy enough to see how important your skill set and previous experience is (like the one that hired me in February), then you'll have opportunities in your future based on what you can do, not because someone in academia taught it to you.

I do wish I had been to college because there are a lot of degree snobs out there that will hire you as a graphic designer if you've got a degree in recreation, just because "it shows you have discipline". However, I know for a fact that it would have done nothing for me in the intellectual prepress sense and all that goes with it.

 

[CathieH]

I just found the Rochester Institute of Technology that has a Media Arts and Technology program that provides students with an indepth understanding of technical printing and imaging concepts as well as exposure to high-level research methods. It says that undergraduate and graduate programs are designed to offer broad exposure to the graphic communications industry, allowing students the opportunity to specialize in a relevant technical or business area. The program targets those in technical and management positions within the printing and publishing industry, offering flexibility in tailoring programs to meet individual needs, including premedia software, hardware and workflow integration from digial input to proof, print and press.

You can read about this at Welcome to DPS Magazine.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Thanks CathieH,

Glad for you you found a supervisor who appreciates your skill set. I find the more I look that we in society measure what is easy to measure, and plot it on nice graphs as a truth revealed, when infact the truth that is hidden between the lines is ignored because it's easier that way. But as our eyes are opened we need to do what is in our power to change things. Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it.

/Lukas

 

[CathieH]

Lukas, yes, it's easier to ignore the truth between the lines because, although we know what this truth is, most others look at it as a foreign language. They have no idea what it means.

Your only chance is if you talk to someone and get to use words and phrases they couldn't possibly understand but seem extremely impressive, such as sepiatone, RGB vs. CMYK, 4-color process, typography, Benguat, clipping path, preflight, and the importance of layers in Photoshop.