San Luis Obispo – Xanté Corporation has given Cal Poly a Xanté ILUMINA Digital Production Press for use in the university's Graphic Communication Department.

After exploring alternatives, Cal Poly selected Xanté's technology as the best of its kind to educate students on using digital technology in specialty printing processes related to color business documents such as letterhead, envelopes, and small format color fliers.

Staying true to Cal Poly's learn-by-doing philosophy, the Graphic Communication Department will use the Xanté press to teach students through hands-on learning in a laboratory setting.

"As the graphic communication industry moves to specialty digital printing, it is important that our students acquire a wide range of experience using digital technologies that they will encounter in the industry," said Harvey Levenson, head of the Graphic Communication Department. "The Xanté ILUMINA is an important contribution to preparing the graphic communication industry's future leadership."

Robert Ross, CEO of Xanté, said the company is "pleased to present this gift to such a prestigious and forward-thinking, graphic communication learning institution."

"Cal Poly's wish to integrate our ILUMINA Digital Production Press is evidence of the faculty's awareness and involvement in the shifts taking place in the industry," Ross said. "We are grateful to have measured up to Cal Poly's standards and to have Xanté technology viewed as being instrumental to the education of the graphic arts professionals of the future."

The ILUMINA is a complete, high-production digital color system featuring 1200 x 1200 dpi color printing, high definition color technology, the iQueue intelligent color workflow, and a fast EFI Fiery processor. The press delivers fast full-color envelopes, sheets and cards and provides full-color printing on a wide variety of media and sheet sizes.

The press complements the Graphic Communication Department's Degrava DP8500 digital label press, also part of the Xanté family of specialty printing technology.

The ILUMINA will be used in a variety of classes and by Cal Poly's experiential, student-managed and -run printing and publishing company called University Graphic Systems (UGS), where students receive hands-on education producing real projects for the university. It will also be used in industry seminars and workshops to train those already in the field on the latest specialty printing digital technology.