The first group of the newly launched Printing SA Digital Printing Course graduated on 15 April 2016 at a ceremony held at the Printing SA premises in Midrand.
During October 2015, Printing SA launched a Digital Printing Course developed for the digital sector, and this is, according to the organisation, the first course of its kind in the country. The course consists of seven stand alone modules, which allow people from the industry to select the modules they would like to attend instead of attending the full courses from one to seven.
The course had a total number of 17 candidates of which 14 where for the Digital Skills Pool initiative started by Printing SA to create a pool of candidates that are equipped with the theoretical knowledge for companies to select from and can advance their skills with the practical component.
Printing SA thanked the following companies that were involved in the development of the manuals and some companies for their additional support by providing them with lecturers for the modules: Avery Dennison, DigitalView, Kemtek, Konica Minolta South Africa, Midcomp, Tali Digital, Screenline, Maizey, Xerox, Minuteman Press Hatfield, Océ South Africa, Ricoh South Africa, Graphix Supply World and Intamarket.
Shallon Mphasane, National Training and Development Administrator at Printing SA said, 'The pilot project was a great success and Printing SA hopes to run this programme nationally from 2017. Printing SA would further like to thank Screenline and Midcomp for giving candidates the opportunity to see their production plants and machines.'
The aim of the course is to increase the flow of individuals into the industry through a Digital Skills Pool. Printing SA will manage the advertising, screening, selecting and recruitment of unemployed candidates to be taken through a computer test and then all modules from one to seven. Once they have completed the courses, they will be offered to the industry to be employed in the sector.
The modules include the following:
1. Introduction To Digital Printing
• This course will cover the brief history of developments in digital printing. It provides an overview of and introduction to the different digital printing processes and applications, including:
– History and Development in Digital Printing.
– Workflows.
– Digital Printing Processes.
– Origination.
– Colour.
– Machine types (wide/medium vs narrow format, inkjet and laser printers etc.).
– Media.
– Pre-handling and post-handling.
– Plastic sheeting/plastic film.
– Inks.
– Finishing.
– Occupations.
2. Colour
• Basics of colour including: colour matching, colour profiling applying colour profiles and understanding colour.
– Introduction to colour.
– Colour Perception.
– Temperature and Ink.
– Colour chart and standards.
• Split Between Wide/Medium Format and Narrow/Sheet Fed Digital
3. Media
– Different media types and uses (indoor and outdoor).
– Reel control.
– Stock rotation.
– Storage and maintenance.
– Environmental impact/footprint.
– Quality Control.
– Media and Substrates.
4. Inks
– Different types of inks.
– Application and matching to different media/machines.
– Health and safety – different inks on different media and possible health risks.
– Environmental impact/footprint (VOC emissions).
– Effects of Inks on finished products.
5. Overview Of Machines
– Various Machine types.
– Printer functions, capabilities and limitations.
– Maintenance.
– Life span.
– Safety.
– Quality control.
– Environmental impact/footprint.
6. Finishing
– Introduction to binding and booklet making.
– Cutting/Blades and other finishing products.
– In-line, off-line and near-line.
– Covering for narrow format finishing.
– Introduction to Quality control.
– Introduction to wide format finishing processes.
– Safety.
7. DTP and File Design
– Desktop publishing.
– Desktop tools and resources.
– File Format.
– RIPS (Raster Image Processor).
– Variable Data.
– Pre-flighting, impositioning and proofing.
The next round of the course dates will be announced soon. For more information, contact Shallon Mphasane at shallonm@printingsa.org.
