SAN LUIS OBISPO -- MacDermid Graphic Arts Atlanta recently donated to Cal Poly a Flexceed FB 2430 Platemaking system, which brings state-of-the-art waterwash flexographic platemaking to the university's Graphic Communication Department. Flexography is a high-quality printing method used for packaging, pressure-sensitive labels, and other market sectors, according to Graphic Communication Professor Malcolm Keif. The Flexceed system, valued at $55,000, includes an exposure-drying unit, a washout unit, a filter module and a detack unit. The system will be used in several undergraduate courses to teach and research advanced flexography topics. It will also be used by the Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Institute for materials testing and industry workshops. "The Flexceed system has made an improvement in our platemaking area," Keif said. "In addition to upgraded plate quality, it provides the added benefit of being more environmentally sound than our previous system." Harvey Levenson, head of the Graphic Communication Department, said, "This gift from MacDermid Graphic Arts recognizes Cal Poly's longstanding commitment to educating students in their preparation to enter the growing and increasingly high-tech flexographic industry." The Flexceed system complements other Flexographic equipment at Cal Poly, including a six-unit Mark Andy 2200, a Mark Andy/Conversource video plate mounter, and a two-unit Bielloni flexo press. Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department offers one of the largest printing and imaging programs of its kind in the United States, with more than 33,000 square feet of modern laboratories. The department offers a bachelor's degree in graphic communication with concentrations in printing and imaging management, electronic publishing and imaging, design reproduction technology, and individualized study in graphic communication. The department has 300 undergraduate students and more than 2,500 alumni. Through the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly, the department offers a full complement of services for industry including research, testing, product evaluations, seminars, workshops and conferences.