Esko Roadshow returns to Ryerson University

Last month, Ryerson University’s department of Graphic Communications Management (GCM) hosted the Esko Roadshow “Simplify Your Life” in the Heidelberg Centre.  Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the event attracted many companies with over 80 attendees, many of these being GCM graduates. “The Esko Roadshow is a great event to not only learn about but also interact with some Esko technology as well as reconnect with people in industry,” said Kyle McVey, Manager, Pre-press Design Services at Jones Packaging.

Esko is a market leader in packaging. Nine out of ten packages for brands worldwide are produced by Esko customers. Esko also partners with nearly 70 education centres around the world. With Ryerson University being one of them, the department was thrilled to be able to host such a high-profile event. Esko has continuously provided support and opportunities for the students in GCM and the department is grateful to have such a close connection with the organization.

Esko Account Manager Marc Raad organized the event, which began with an opening session from Steve Bennett, Esko Vice President of Sales in North America. Bennett shared some confidential drupa highlights with attendees. There are definitely some exciting advancements coming our way. We were especially impressed with some of the Kongsberg cutting table technology on the horizon. The full details are being released at drupa that’s taking place May 30th to June 10th in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The bulk of the event consisted of lecture and tutorial sessions led by Esko’s best technology experts. The lecture sessions were hosted by Julian Fernandez and focused on the benefits of expanded colour gamut and the latest in digital flexography – including HD Flexo, Full HD Flexo, and Digital Flexo Suite.

The hands-on tutorials were hosted by Bob Biskner and Julie Bauer. These sessions were held in Ryerson’s Premedia labs where Esko software is readily available to GCM students on Mac computers. This gave industry members the opportunity to explore some of the programs provided by Esko, including Studio, ArtiosCAD, Automation Engine and WebCenter. Having the computers available for the tutorials was a great way to have industry partners interact with the software.

Nearing the end of the day, attendees had the opportunity to tour the GCM facility and look at some of the Esko products that Ryerson had to offer. This was an interactive way to look at the processes up close and provided a great learning experience for companies considering investing in the technology. To accompany the tour portion of the afternoon, there were also question and answer periods with each of the Esko experts. This allowed companies to get all of the information they needed out of the sessions. Esko also raffled off a prize to attend their annual user group meeting, Esko World, which will be held in Orlando, Florida June 21st to 23rd.

Overall, the Esko Roadshow was a huge success that brought together numerous companies. The department of Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson was thrilled to have the opportunity to host such a well-received industry event, which also brought ample opportunities for industry networking. It was both an educational and enriching experience – and we’re excited to see what’s next from Esko during drupa this year.