SAN LUIS OBISPO — A team of students from Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department won the Grand Prize Award for the first time in a decade at the Technical Association of Graphic Arts (TAGA) Annual Technical Conference held March 19-22 in Houston.  

The winning Cal Poly TAGA team was led by team president Mayra Mejia, of Lodi, Calif.; vice president and treasurer Jacqui Luis, of El Granada, Calif.; production team coordinator Amanda Ornelas of Torrance, Calif.; design team coordinator Jasper Lim of San Luis Obispo; digital team coordinator Alan Nguyen of Garden Grove, Calif.; marketing team coordinator Molly McCarthy of Shelburne, Vermont; and Peter Schlosser, the team’s advisor. This is the first time that Cal Poly has won the grand prize, the Helmut Kipphan Cup, in 10 years.

In order to compete, each student chapter submits a high-quality journal to showcase its technical papers. While some teams had to outsource some of the work, the Cal Poly students completed 100 percent of their journal in-house.

“Our team burst into tears of joy and amazement when our names were called to come up on stage,” Mejia said. “We could not help but think back to all the late nights, hard work and pure dedication it took to complete this journal. The process was stressful, and it may have tested our limits, but there was no way we were going to let broken machines and jammed presses get in our way.” 

Papers are invited on emerging science, technology, and applications of all forms of graphic technology and printing processes, including offset, flexo, gravure, digital, inkjet, pad and screen. The scope of the conference encompasses topics such as color management, materials, packaging, curing, process control, data management, workflow, security, nanotechnology, MEMS, electronics and fundamental science. 

“The quality of these student publications is truly impressive,” said Schlosser, an assistant professor in the Graphic Communication Department. “It’s clear that students from all teams put a considerable amount of time and energy into their work, and we are thrilled and proud that Cal Poly was recognized with the Kipphan Cup.”

Since the establishment of the TAGA Student Chapters in 1985, student chapters have produced technical publications to showcase their student research, and starting in 1993, the TAGA board of directors has awarded a Grand Prize Award to recognize their efforts in producing their TAGA Student Publications. Renamed in 2006 as the Helmut Kipphan Cup (after Dr. Helmut Kipphan for his time, support and advocacy of the TAGA Student Chapters), the award is now a traveling trophy that is presented to the school that has produced a student publication that excels in technical content, print quality and design.