Visual Communications Journal 1999

Contents ii Acknowledgments iii Editor’s note 1 Preparing for a career in printing and publishing: An open letter to advisors and students Dr. Cynthia Carlton Gillispie and Dr. Vincent W. Childress 7 FileMaker Pro and the world wide web: Tools for estimating* Dr. Thomas Bates and Dr. Mark Snyder 13 Essential knowledge and skills to improve team effectiveness* Dr. Yung-Cheng Hsieh 19 Photography for reproduction* Dr. Chris Lantz 29 Training needs in the graphic arts industry Dr. Penny K. Osmond 33 Portable Document File: A versatile communications tool* Dr. Mark Snyder

Student articles 39 JetScreen technology Phillip Canville for Professor Jerry Waite 42 Direct to plate: Less dot gain and other benefits Geoffrey Anciano for Professor Jerry Waite 45 Digital workflow: Topics and trends in the graphics arts industry Harsha Paruchuri for Professor Len Leger 49 Six degrees of separation: A look at the hexachrome™ high fidelity color reproduction system Scott Fry for Professor Dan Wilson

54 Manuscript guidelines

* indicates juried article Visual Comm1999unications Journal Editor — Jerry Waite President Department of Industrial Technology Wanda F. Murphy University of Houston Central Piedmont Community College Houston, Texas 77204-4083 PO Box 35009 Charlotte, NC 28235 (704) 330-6794 [email protected]

Acknowledgments President-Elect Jurors: Ervin A. Dennis, Page Crouch, and Max Rabiee Dan T. McCluskey Cover Design: Amber Clark, student at Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, Willowbrook High School 1250 S. Ardmore Oregon, Dennis Bechtel instructor Villa Park, IL 60181 Cover Separations: Marlow Marchant, professor at Eastern Kentucky University (630) 530-3693 Typography, page design, scanning, and page makeup: Cheri Outler and Phillip Canville, [email protected] students at the University of Houston Printing, bindery, and distribution: Western Wisconsin Technical College—production First Vice-President assistants Joyce Holseth and Janet Sanden. David W. Dailey Eastern Kentucky University Potlatch Corporation for supplying the paper at reduced cost. 307 Whalin Technology Complex Richmond, KY 40475-3115 How we produced the Journal (606) 622-1190 [email protected] Articles were submitted in both hard-copy and disk formats. Photos and graphs were edited using Adobe Photoshop. Page layout and text editing were accomplished using Second Vice-President QuarkXPress. Text was set in Adobe Caslon, while heads were set in Caslon Openface. Gary E. Hinkle Final films were imageset using an Agfa Elan 500 imagesetter. Illinois Central College Graphic Arts Dept. East Peoria, IL 61635 About the Journal (309) 694-5141 The Visual Communications Journal serves as the official journal of the International [email protected] Graphic Arts Education Association, Inc., and provides a professional communicative link for educators and industry personnel associated with design, presentation, manage- Secretary Margo Booth ment, and reproduction of graphic forms of communication. Manuscripts submitted for McIntosh High School publication are subject to peer review by the Association, and the views and opinions 1211 Greer’s Trail expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or Peachtree City, Georgia 30269 views of the IGAEA. (770) 631-3232 ext. 202 [email protected]

Article submission Treasurer Submission of articles for review may be made throughout the year. Please refer to the Hans Kellogg Ball State University manuscript guidelines found on pages 54–56 of this publication. 1429 W. Washington Muncie, Indiana 47304-4932 Membership and subscription information (765) 281-0139 [email protected] Information about membership in the Association or subscription to the Journal should be directed to: Immediate Past-President Second Vice-President Janet L. Robison International Graphic Arts Education Association, Inc. Western Wisconsin Technical College 200 Deer Run Rd. 304 6th Street N. La Crosse, WI 54602-0908 Sewickley, PA 15143 (608) 789-6262 [email protected]

Page ii Editor’s note

All International Graphic Arts Education skilled users of language before they reach our class- Association (IGAEA) members can be justly proud rooms. Some students may be semi-literate or func- of this Visual Communications Journal. Two major tionally illiterate, while others may have difficulties changes were incorporated in this issue: papers writ- expressing themselves clearly and accurately. We owe ten by students of IGAEA members are now accept- it to our students to help them be literate and to ed for publication in the Journal, and professional express themselves accurately using words. In fact, articles submitted by IGAEA members are now sub- teaching the proper use of language is part of our ject to a rigorous jury review process. heritage. Piercy contends that “In the old days, when For several years, my goal has been to provide a people did not have money to send their children to forum in which students of IGAEA members may college, they would apprentice them to printers so publish. I strongly believe that professors and instruc- they could learn the English language. Significant tors of graphic arts should go beyond the teaching of among them were Thomas A. Edison, Marion F. ever-changing technology and instill in their students Hershey, and Wilbur and Orville Wright.” a deep admiration of language and the ideas it can I applaud graphic arts instructors and professors transmit. After all, printers provide a media through who must literally force their students to write. They which language flows. However, it is important to carry on the printers’ heritage of instilling the use of remember that printers provide more than just the language in their protégés. This volume includes media channel. In fact, Don Piercy, Director of the papers written by students of IGAEA members. Houston Museum of Printing History, stated They were reproduced as received: only the formats “Historically, printers have had the responsibility of were changed to match the design of the Journal. I printing the truth and printing it accurately—includ- think you will be proud of those papers. ing accurate grammatical construction.” To insure In past years, articles received for publication in this that ideas are accurately transmitted, printers and Journal were reviewed and accepted or rejected by the publishers have traditionally employed proofreaders editor. However, beginning with this issue, profession- to question and analyze content for grammatical con- al articles are now subject to juried review. Each arti- struction, readability, and accuracy. Today’s technolo- cle (with the exception of the articles that were gy does not eliminate printers’ responsibility: the received after the due date) was reviewed by a panel of accurate use of language is more important than ever. three objective jurors in addition to the editor. The The accurate use of language requires at least two reviewers voted to accept, reject, or request changes to skills: reading (literacy) and the ability to express each article. Articles that were judged to be inferior oneself through words (rhetoric). Literacy is probably were rejected, while others were strengthened when the more important of these skills and is considered writers incorporated the suggestions of the jurors. by many, including Piercy, to be the foundation of Overall, I am sure that the jury process improved the freedom and democracy. Concerned printers, includ- quality of this year’s articles. I am grateful to Ervin A. ing Professor Harvey Levenson of Cal Poly San Luis Dennis, Page Crouch, and Max Rabiee for serving as Obispo, argue that literacy is essential to the future of jurors this year. The authors and I appreciated their the printing industry. Indeed, illiteracy makes printed insight and suggestions. products—and the people who print them—unneces- Thanks to all those who wrote articles to share their sary. Unfortunately, the illiteracy rate is growing in knowledge with the IGAEA membership. Thanks the United States. That is why the Graphic Arts also to those faculty who contributed their students’ Literacy Alliance was formed. work. Once individuals become literate, the next step is to learn to express themselves using words—both written and oral. Many students do not become Page iii Preparing for a career in printing and publishing: An open letter to advisors and students

by Dr. Cynthia Carlton Gillispie and Dr. Vincent W. Childress

Where are you going? Where do you want to go? Printing and publishing majors often fail to identify what they would like to do upon graduation. A student who spends four to five years in a graphic communication program that deals extensively with the use of graphic processes and techniques should identify and prepare for a particular job field. Unless students prepare themselves by wisely selecting major courses and electives, participate in relevant activi- ties, and search out career information, they may experience diffi- culty getting a job and/or may need additional training. It is simi- lar to the old aphorism, “If you are not sure where you are going, you will most probably end up in another place.” Therefore, graph- ic communication students must research, plan, and specialize in appropriate fields of study as they take courses within the field.

Planning for related fields

The field of graphic communication is composed of several dis- ciplines, industries, and technical fields. Many of these fields are very specialized and support the overall graphic effort. Students can greatly enhance their career potential by identifying a field in which they wish to work and by taking appropriate courses. It is incum- bent upon the faculty advisor/counselor to continuously advise stu- dents about their career goals and the courses they should take. Early in their educational program, students must answer the ques- tion, “What do I want to do when I graduate?” The answer to this question will help the advisor suggest ways students can best pre- pare themselves to attain their goals. A student, however, will often answer the previous question with a question, “What options are

Visual Communications Journal 1999 Page 1 Prepress Production Management

Designer Offset press operator Marketing/sales representative Digital prepress operator Flexographic press operator Production manager Desktop publisher Screen printer Production supervisors (various depart- Web page designer Gravure press operator ments) Multimedia author Folder operator Quality control Screen printer Foil stamp operator Human resources specialist Estimator Collator/stitcher operator Public relations specialist Photographer Research and development Account specialist Scheduler Training specialist Computer animator Technical representative Copywriter Supplier Editor Teacher Proofreader Color specialist (from Flecker & Groff, 1998; National Scholarship Trust Fund, 1997; and Education Council of the Graphic Arts, 1997)

Table 1: Career possibilities in graphic communication available to me?” The answer is take courses in electronic imag- es its mood and style. An illus- that there are many possibilities ing, data entry and manipulation, trator creates drawings, charts, available, provided the students and print production. Students graphs, or full color artwork to have properly prepared. Some of interested in writing text for complement written words. A those possibilities are listed in printed pieces can be writers, page-layout artist uses a comput- Table l. copywriters, editors, proofreaders er to design artwork and the text Students can pursue many and/or public relations special- according to the designer’s lay- fields upon receiving a bachelor’s ists. Flecker and Groff (1998), out. Salary: $30,000–$60,000. degree in graphic communica- the National Scholarship Trust tion with a concentration in Fund (1997), and the Education Production supervisors printing and publishing. There is Council of the Graphic Arts enormous potential in graphic (1997) identify and describe the Supervisors generally have communication, because print- job titles mentioned above as managerial skills along with ing, media, and related compa- well as those below. strong mathematical and mech- nies employ a wide range of per- If students are planning their anical aptitudes. Salary: $30,000 sonnel (see Flecker & Groff, education paths in particular –$65,000. 1998; National Scholarship Trust directions, then they should con- Fund, 1997; Education Council sider adding additional courses Sales representatives of the Graphic Arts, 1997). The to their programs of study as sug- coursework required to prepare gested in Table 2. Sales representatives are usual- for a given field within graphic ly self-starters with excellent communication depends upon Graphic design and layout communication skills. They have the specific field. For example, a the ability to understand and student interested in printing A graphic designer plans the work well with people. Sales rep- management as a career should piece to be printed and establish- resentatives have a working

Page 2 Preparing for a career in printing and publishing knowledge of the entire publish- printing process. They are deci- filmmaking, video game devel- ing process and know how to sell sion makers and implement opment, accident reconstruction, all of the company’s services to company policy and plans for and multimedia. Other fields customers. Salary: $30,000– production and expansion. Pro- might include advertising, pub- $l00,000 and up. duction managers ultimately lishing, and business. After a supervise most production per- general education in graphic Estimator sonnel. Salary: $40,000–$60,000. communication, advanced train- ing in a specialty school that of- Estimators have knowledge of Marketing specialist fers animation courses is highly printing production and design. recommended. The period of Estimating is a liaison posi- Marketing specialists work in training may be six months to a tion—one of the links between public relations, advertising, or year. Training might also involve sales and manufacturing. The marketing. They are responsible an internship with a related com- estimator provides the informa- for promoting the work of a pany. Salary: $40,000–$60,000. tion that will help the salesper- company through the use of son bid competitively on a proj- advertising campaigns, bro- Color specialist ect. Salary: $25,000–$45,000. chures, print, television, radio, and public appearances. Salary: Color specialists understand Production manager/coordinator $35,000–$60,000. color theory as it relates to the printing process. A color special- Production managers or coor- Computer animator ist makes critical color judge- dinators are responsible for nor- ments and fine distinctions mal operation of the design and Computer animators work in among hues that enable impres-

Color specialist Computer animator Marketing specialist Photographer Educator

Computer technology Design Marketing Digital imaging Teaching methods

Color theory Fine art Management Color theory Curriculum development

Color management Computer graphics Accounting Videography Foundations of education

Graphic design Videography Advertising Art and design Laboratory management

Art Commercial art Public Relations Computer solids Student teaching modeling

Additional training Additional training Additional training Additional training Additional training or internship or internship or internship or internship or internship

Master’s degree Specialty school for Internship with Master’s degree in State licensure in graphic animation industries graphics requirement communication

Table 2: Courses that support given fields within graphic communication

Visual Communications Journal 1999 Page 3 sions to look like they were Table 2 do not comprise an realize that additional education intended. Salary: $40,000– exhaustive list of fields in which or training is necessary in order $60,000. printing and publishing gradu- to advance. The bachelor degree ates can work. However, the list could be an appropriate means Careers in does give students ideas from for them to acquire the needed governmental agencies which to select a specific field of qualifications for career advance- interest. Further, it emphasizes ment. Another example might be Local, state, and federal agen- the importance of specifically that the student takes a part time cies offer various career opportu- preparing oneself for a particular job and later is offered a perma- nities that require the creation graphic-related field. A degree in nent position that is contingent and storage of graphic informa- general printing and publishing upon the completion of a degree tion. Some examples include in- provides good preparation for program. The permanent posi- house government printing and numerous areas of work. How- tion may not deal directly with media services. Courses should ever, a general degree is not his or her chosen field of study. be selected in consultation with appropriate for some specific Examples of such permanent the advisor. Salary $30,000– career paths. Students should not positions might include $50,000. be misled, or allowed to mislead installing computer equipment, themselves, concerning what engineering support, or industri- Educator opportunities await them after al sales. graduation. Faculty advisors Educators are needed for must clearly advise their students Conclusion graphic communication pro- about the available career op- grams. Opportunities are avail- tions. For example, a particular Changes are inevitable in able in the public school system, career path might require a stu- technological fields. Because of community colleges, and univer- dent to opt for a double major. technological changes, em- sities as well as training and The student and advisor should ployees will be given tasks for development departments in carefully consider whether or not which they are not trained. firms. In order to teach at the the second major will assist in Therefore, students should be high school level, interested stu- meeting the student’s career prepared and understand that dents should enroll in a teacher goals, and whether the student change necessitates that they education program and obtain a will have the time and resources always strive to increase and teaching license. Salary: $21, 000 necessary to complete the addi- improve their knowledge. –$50,000. tional tasks. Students should also under- stand that the best way to avoid Resources A general education may be uncertainty at graduation is to appropriate in some cases explore and/or specialize in an There are many national re- area of concentration soon after sources that are available to assist There are exceptions to purs- entering the university. Table 3 in identifying career oppor- ing a specialized degree. It is not provides resources for career tunities. See Table 3 at the end of uncommon for individuals to opportunities in printing and this article. have completed an associate de- publishing. gree program in graphic commu- Caution nication (printing and publish- ing) and enter the workforce. The career fields shown in After a number of years, they

Page 4 Preparing for a career in printing and publishing American Forest & Paper Association National Association of Desktop Publishers American Institute of Graphic Arts National Association of Litho Clubs Association for Graphic Arts Training National Association of Printers & Lithographers Binding Industries of American Book Manufacturer National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers Institute National Association of Quick Printers Digital Distribution of Advertising for Publication National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Digital Printing & Imaging Association Communications Education Council of the Graphic Arts Industry National Scholarship Trust Fund Flexographic Technical Association National Computer Graphics Association Foil Stamping & Embossing Association Newspaper Association of America Graphic Artists Guild National North American Graphic Arts Supplier Association Graphic Arts Education & Research Foundation NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing & Graphic Arts Professionals Publishing Technologies Graphic Arts Sales Foundation Optical Publishing Association Graphic Arts Show Company Printing Industries of America Graphic Arts Technical Foundation Research & Engineering Council of the Graphic Arts Gravure Association of America Industry International Publishing Management Association Screenprinting & Graphic Imaging Association International IBFI International Association for Document & Society for Service Professionals in Printing Information Management Solutions Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute Inc. International Association of Printing House Craftsmen Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry International Digital Imaging Association Technical Association of the Graphic Arts International Graphic Arts Education Association, Inc. Waterless Printing Association International Prepress Association Xplor International: The Electronics Document Systems Association

(from Education Council of the Graphic Arts Industry, Inc, 1997; Flecker, S. A., & Groff, P. J., 1998)

Table 3: National resources for careers in graphic communication

References National Scholarship Trust ment of Graphic Communi- Education Council of the Fund. (1997). Careers in graphic cation Systems and Techno- Graphic Arts Industry, Inc communications: A counselor’s logical Studies at North Carolina (1997). Discover print in the guide. Sewickley, PA: Graphic Agricultural and Technical State world of graphic communications Arts Technical Foundation Press. University. [compact disc]. Reston, VA: Dr. Vincent W. Childress is author About the authors Assistant Professor of Technol- Flecker, S. A., & Groff, P. J. ogy Education at North Carolina (1998). Careers in graphic commu- Dr. Cynthia Gillispie is an A&T State University. nication. Sewickley, PA: Graphic Assistant Professor for Printing Arts Technical Foundation Press. and Publishing in the Depart-

Visual Communications Journal 1999 Page 5 Page 6 FileMaker Pro and the world wide web: Tools for estimating

by Dr. Thomas Bates and Dr. Mark Snyder

The process of estimating costs for printing production has evolved from being a manual process to one that is totally comput- erized. Today, instructors who would like to make a computerized estimating system available to their students have a number of avenues that they might follow. In this article, the authors will describe how Filemaker Pro can be interfaced with a browser to create an estimating system that can be accessed through the world wide web. With such a system, a user could enter certain job parameters then receive the estimated cost and the number of hours required to complete certain tasks. The authors focus on determin- ing prepress costs since this area is a major cost area for students of printing and graphic design. This article is not designed to be a step-by step guide on how such an estimating system would be created. Instead, it has been written as a description of the general procedures necessary in order to complete such a project.

Options

A number of options exist for instructors who want to teach esti- mating using computers. First, proprietary estimating systems are available, but they could run into the thousands of dollars to pur- chase. If more than one computer is required to access the system, the cost might be even higher. While proprietary systems may be cost prohibitive, and may not exactly match one’s needs, they do have the advantage of being the type of estimating system that a student would be likely to use in industry.

Visual Communications Journal 1999 Page 7 Electronic spreadsheets are a just that. (Electronic shopping is maker Pro and $49 for Home- great resource for creating an a good example of web pages that page. electronic estimating system. In- provide for information entry structors have already employed and return a result based on the Creating a web-based spreadsheets to create in-house entry.) Although several databas- estimating system estimating systems. Spreadsheets es exist that are capable of inter- have an advantage over program- facing a database and a web page, There are three major steps in ming in that they are relatively the most practical one for creating an estimating system easy to use and do not require instructors to use is Filemaker using Filemaker Pro and a web extensive time to create. The Pro. Filemaker Pro is available page. First, you must create the large physical size of spread- for both the Macintosh and Filemaker Pro file that will be sheets could be considered a dis- Windows platforms. used to store your job informa- advantage since they may be tion and process it. The second cumbersome with which to The advantages of step is to create the web page work. Each computer must be Filemaker Pro that will allow the user to submit equipped with the spreadsheet the information necessary for the program and the student must Filemaker Pro is a cross-plat- estimate to be processed by the know how to use it. form environment, while most database file. The final step is to Another approach would be to other popular database programs place the web page on an Inter- create a computerized estimating are specific to either Windows or net server. In the following para- system using a programming the Macintosh. Filemaker Pro is graphs, a general explanation of language such as Visual Basic. relatively easy to learn and it has each step will be provided. There may even be some stu- a built-in web server that makes dents majoring in computer sci- it simple to place web pages on Creating the Filemaker Pro file ence at your school who would the Internet. Creating a web esti- be willing to work on such a mating system requires more To ensure success, one must project on an independent study. than HTML programming. So, decide the parameters to be used Yet another choice would be to another advantage of Filemaker in estimating. For the purposes create an estimating program Pro is that it comes with its own of this article, an estimating pro- that could be accessed and used programming language that al- cedure for electronic prepress through the use of a web brows- lows the user to interface a data- functions was used as a guide. er. Using the web for this pur- base with a web page. This pro- The guide, a “schedule for cost pose would be ideal since most gramming language, called estimating desktop publishing students are provided access to “Claris Dynamic Markup Lan- and electronic prepress produc- the Internet, browsers are free, guage” (CDML), is not difficult tion” on page 410 of Printing and there would be no additional to learn and Filemaker Pro pro- Estimating (4th edition) by Philip charge for the classroom use of vides a number of templates to Ruggles, provides production such a system once it was in assist in the learning process. times for each prepress function. place. Alternatively, a program- Claris’ web-authoring tool, The creator of the estimating ming language could be used to Homepage, has tools designed to system must decide whether to engage a database program that allow the user to create web use these predetermined times or would interface with a browser— pages that use Filemaker Pro to allow users to input their own. anyone using a web page that databases. Academic pricing is Users must also decide if Rug- allows on-line shopping is doing approximately $119 for File- gles’ prepress cost production

Page 8 Tools for estimating is to create the layout for the pages: the first is a form which is database file. The layout is what used to submit the data to is seen by the individual creating Filemaker Pro, and the second is the estimating file, not the web a return form that dynamically user. Laying the fields out in a creates a page with the answers. logical manner can be helpful See Figure 3 for the submission when the web pages are being form and Figure 4 for the return created. Fourth, the file must be form. To create the web pages, made sharable over the Internet. Claris HomePage Version 3 was This is simply a matter of mak- used. HomePage provides good Figure 1: Defining fields ing a selection within Filemaker integration with Filemaker Pro Pro—an issue that will be dis- (making the coding less diffi- areas meet their needs or wheth- cussed later. Finally, the web cult), the program is inexpensive, er they need to create their own. pages must be created. and the program will run on Once this is decided, the next either PC or Macintosh plat- step is to create the database file. Creating the forms. To create the database file estimating web pages Figures 5 and 6 provide a there are five major steps must be quick illustration of some of the completed. First, determine the One of the reasons for using coding necessary for the files. type of field needed for each cal- Filemaker Pro as the basis for Figure 5 illustrates the coding culation or data entry. This is this estimating system is File- necessary to create the web page illustrated in Figure 1. maker Pro’s easily-learned CD- for the form, and Figure 6 shows Once field type is decided, the ML language that permits web- shows the codes necessary to cre- creator must establish the neces- pages to interact with a database. ate a reply page (a page returned sary formulas for the calculation CDML commands are used to to the user of the estimating pro- fields that require processing by access the database. The basic gram). Filemaker Pro. Figure 2 illus- procedure is to create two web In Figure 6, there are familiar trates a field that has formulas necessary to calculate a particular cost or production time. Once all of the calculations have been entered, the third step

Figure 2: Entering formulas Figure 3: Submission form

Visual Communications Journal 1999 Page 9 a static connection, the server task so long as there is a static must be connected to the In- connection. There are a number ternet by way of a network (nor- of web servers available—some mally your school’s network), not are free. A web server is part of by way of a modem. There is Macintosh System 8.X. Another normally no need to log on web server, MS Personal Web Figure 4: Return form unless your organization has its Server (a free download from own login procedures for its net- Microsoft), is available for both HTML codes as well as words work. A static connection makes the Macintosh and Windows such as “name=lay,” “value,” and the server available to anyone platforms. The installation pro- “input type.” These are the CD- else on the Internet as long as a cedure for each of these servers is ML commands that are unique web server is running and the covered in the server documenta- to Filemaker Pro and are not Internet address is known. tion and requires only a few min- applicable to other databases. In Setting up a web server on utes. Once the server has been Figure 6, there is a field named your computer is not a difficult set up and configured, web page “FMP-FIELD: phonenumber.”

This field, created in Filemaker