SAN LUIS OBISPO - The Xerox Corp. has awarded a team of Cal Poly graphic communication students a silver medal for a digital book of student graphic designers' work. Graphic communication assistant professor Lorraine Donegan attended the 2005 Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (PIXI) Awards ceremony in Chicago to accept the award for Digital Books and Manuals on behalf of her students. The winning entry, "4-forty Magazine: A Compilation of Student Work," is a digitally printed magazine designed to showcase student work in a collaborative project. The students created the entry as part of a class in magazine and newspaper design technology. The winning entry focused on magazine design and production, as well as file preparation for digital printing. The magazine was produced on a Xerox DocuColor digital press that was given to Cal Poly. "Without the support of our partners in education, such as Xerox, this magazine would not be possible," Donegan said. "Students work on the collaborative project for seven weeks, and then our department technician, Bob Pinkin and I begin the process of printing each project." Students enrolled in the Graphic Communication Department's design reproduction technology concentration, which Donegan coordinates, learn the entire design process, including prepress, press and bindery. They can adhere to detailed specifications, and they understand the intricacies involved in submitting clean digital files to a print provider, Donegan said. The PIXI Awards recognize excellence and innovation in digital printing. The competition included Xerox customers in Canada, Latin America and the United States. The winners were selected by a team of graphic communication professionals and were judged on degree of innovation, use of digital technology, and overall aesthetics and effectiveness. "It was a great honor for an educational institution to be recognized among commercial printers and designers for quality, design and innovation," Donegan said.