Don't Call Yourselves Printers, Please

Dr. Harvey Robert Levenson, Ph.D, is a professor and department head of Graphic Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. He talked to Print Matters about jobs that young, qualified people graduating with degrees in printing are looking for and how you can hire them.

1. Printers say one of the major challenges they face today is hiring young people who are interested in the printing industry. What should they do to hire them?

Simple. Don't call it the "printing industry" because the term often brings thoughts of what the industry was like 40 years ago. While these thoughts may not initially be those of young students, they are often the thoughts of their parents, who frequently influence the direction of their children.

Today, we are in the communication profession, and dealing with some of the most modern technologies of any industry. We need to focus on this. However, the industry is its own worse enemy when it refers to itself as "shops," a "trade" or a "vocation." These are references that emit an image of a bygone era. The focus today is on service. And when a field, such as printing, reverts from a craft to service, it becomes a profession such as law, medicine, education, etc.

We need to focus on the fact that the profession involves print and non-print digital imaging, because any "commercial printing" company not looking to diversify into both areas probably won't be in business in the future. We need to project a positive image involving technologies and issues that reflect the present and future communication needs of society.

2. What courses do printing students study at Cal Poly State University?

Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department was founded in 1946. It maintains an enrollment of 300 students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Communication with concentrations in printing and imaging management, electronic publishing and imaging, design reproduction technology, packaging graphics, and individualized study in graphic communication.

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 background in printing, imaging and publishing. Additionally, the department offers an MBA with a focus on document systems management through the Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business.

Cal Poly is a very competitive university and Graphic Communication students are typically selected from among the top 10 percent to 15 percent of their high school or community college graduating classes. The department has more than 3,000 alumni, many of whom have reached positions of authority in the printing, publishing, and related fields. We have more than 33,000 square feet of modern laboratories and we offer one of the best-known programs of its kind in the nation and the largest one in the western United States.

There are four student organizations in the Graphic Communication Department. Mat Pica Pi is the department's traditional professional/social organization. University Graphic Systems is a student-managed and run experiential printing and publishing company that produces a daily newspaper and high-level graphics. Friends of Shakespeare Press Museum is for those students interested in the history of graphic communication and in producing printing on antique equipment. And, Cal Poly has the founding student chapter of the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) which is for students interested in research and scholarly activities related to the printing, publishing, and imaging industries.

3. How many students enroll in the department every year? What kinds of jobs do they opt for after graduating?

Our quota is 300 students among the approximately 18,000 students distributed over 52 departments in the university. Because Cal Poly is an "impacted" university (receiving more applications from qualified applicants than it can accept), we admit the "cream of the crop"-the future leadership of the graphic communication profession. Because Cal Poly receives over 30,000 applications a year for approximately 3,000 spots, our students are typically those who achieved 4.0 grade point averages in high school and extremely high SAT scores.

The jobs that our students take upon graduation range across most areas of graphic communication-marketing, sales, estimating, customer service, production management, and related areas. The companies that hire our graduates are typically in the fields of printing, publishing, packaging, software and hardware development. We have had an increasing number of companies in the digital area of web authoring pursue our students. Also, the graphic communication equipment and supply vendors hire our graduates.

5. As the department head, you work closely with students in the Graphic Communication Department. What are some of the things that interest these students in the printing industry?

They are very much attracted to new technologies that include print and non-print imaging. Our students at Cal Poly are highly computer literate and understand concepts related to web authoring, internet publishing, software applications, preflighting, file management, as well as traditional print concepts regarding lithography, flexography, gravure, screen printing, ink jet and electrophotograpic printing. They are interested in and understand prepress, press, and post-press issues. They are very much in tune with concepts regarding managing technology in the graphic communication field.

Next week, Levenson will discuss ways you can successfully offer digital printing and more.