SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly’s International Printing Week’s theme, “Back to the Future – How the Past is Prologue to the Future,” was demonstrated Jan. 31-Feb. 1 through a range of activities and events that “Benjamin Franklin himself would likely have applauded,” said Harvey Levenson, head of the university’s Graphic Communication Department. 

International Printing Week is a celebration of Franklin and the contributions he made to printing, publishing, freedom of the press, the production and distribution of information and knowledge, entrepreneurship, technology and critical thinking.

Hundreds of students, faculty, staff and industry visitors attended the four-day program that included seminars, dedications, a banquet, and a career fair. The highlight was the dedication of the Raymond J. Prince Shakespeare Press Museum Resource Room.

“Ray Prince is an industry icon – a technologist, writer, scholar, and advocate of education who has held leadership positions in industry and associations, Levenson said. Prince spearheaded an industrywide drive for Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department to become a resource for the industry’s collection of historical and rare books, journals and related publications.

The Shakespeare Press Museum has been housed at Cal Poly since the 1970s and is one of only two working printing museums west of the Rocky Mountains.

The four days of International Printing Week focused on:

– Packaging Day, featuring issues related to gravure and flexographic printing.

– Design Technology and Web and Digital Media Day, featuring presentations on website development, Internet publishing, file building and management, and design strategies for effective communication, including one-to-one marketing and variable data printing.

– Printed Electronics and Functional Imaging and History Day, featuring presentations on the growth of printed electronics as a major segment of the graphic communication industry.

– Career Day, one of three held at Cal Poly annually for graphic communication students. Companies were recruiting full-time employees and interns.

The day also included the winter meeting of the Graphic Communication Department’s advisory board composed of industry leaders representing major industry corporations around the nation and some international.

Events included the Resource Room dedication at which a proclamation was presented to Prince, followed by the premier showing of the feature-length movie “Linotype the Movie -- In Search of the Eighth Wonder of the World.” Before the showing of the movie, Jerry Hill, public printer of the State of California, spoke on how history provides a window to the future.

An awards banquet, held at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, sold out with 150 people attending. Prince was the keynote speaker and was honored for his 54 years in the industry and for his lifelong achievements in helping develop and improve the graphic communication industry. Three scholarships were awarded honoring late industry legends: Terry Bell (ColorGraphics), George Pure (Craftsman Press West), and Paul Kissel (Print-Equip News).

Cal Poly’s International Printing Week sponsors were also honored at the banquet. They include Adobe, Consolidated Graphics, Digital Technology Associates, EFI, Esko, Heidelberg, Hewlett Packard, Konica Minolta, OutputLinks, Ricoh, RR Donnelley, SAGE Publications, US Ink/Sun Chemical, and Utah Paper Box.

Seven beverage sponsors provided wine from some of Central California’s finest wineries.

“The week was magical, involving critical thinking and intellectual dialogue among industry speakers, students, faculty and staff,” Levenson said. “It is clear that the graphic communication industry is evolving, and we at Cal Poly are committed to staying ahead of the curve and representing a resource for industry as its companies explore new opportunities, new ways to solve old problems, and new ways to grow.”