In 1850, a group of journeymen printers gathered in the Tammany Hall in New York City to listen to the distinguished printer Horace Greeley discourse on training issues facing the industry at the time. “The curse of our trade is the ease of competition,” he said, and what was true then rings just as true today.
In a time when anyone can grab a digital machine and call himself a printer, we must continually defend our craft, and not only to those who would seek to replace print with radio, television, or the internet. We must also defend the craft of print when speaking to those looking to further their education in our industry.
Back when print was in its infancy, printers trained by becoming apprentices, or by working for their parents in the family print shop. From there, trade schools were established, and then college courses, and finally the university undergraduate, graduate, and even doctoral courses available today in the field of print. But is a degree in print the best educational investment for young people today? With so many other avenues available, is print the land of opportunity and creativity it once was?
The answers to these questions are so complex that I would not dream of suggesting that I know the answers, but they are nonetheless important questions to ask. To aid in answering these questions, I am working on a study regarding print workplace satisfaction, in conjunction with the Rochester Institute of Technology, which can be found at the following website: http://tinyurl.com/4dnnr6
I would be delighted to have as many Graphic Arts Magazine readers as possible filling out the survey, in order to help answer many important questions about education for the print workplace.
Once I have completed my research, I will be back with an article on my findings, but in the meantime I need to have findings to report on. If, at first glance, this survey looks similar to something you may have received as a Ryerson University GCM alumni, that’s because it is in fact the same survey. Alumni have received this survey through the Ryerson database, and if you have already completed it I thank you. If you aren’t a Ryerson alumni, I would still appreciate your participation. I want to see how graduates of established programs are doing and how their counterparts who have been educated in the workplace are doing.
We as an industry must understand our current state before we can make improvements in the future, and our education is the foundation on which we will build our future. By participating in this brief survey, you are helping me provide information back to you and to the industry as a whole. I thank you all in advance and I am looking forward to seeing the results just as much as you are.
If there are any questions please feel free to contact me at johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com.
