HP  appointments  printing - digital 
Southbank Institute’s Queensland School of Printing and Graphic Arts (QSPGA), located at Morningside, has become the first print school in Australia to equip apprentices with skills in driving the Hewlett Packard Indigo digital printing system. Craig Sherrin, Institute director says the QSPGA has now teamed with Queensland Government printer Goprint to provide third-year apprentices with formal training in digital printing, from manipulating electronic files to printing complex documents.

"The advancements in printing technologies are encouraging more printers to expand into digital printing," Sherrin says.

"Apprentices with well-developed skills in digital systems are assets to print companies. I commend the QSPGA for helping ensure the industry is better equipped to take advantage of technological change."

The apprentices undertake prepress training at the QSPGA using Macintosh computers, which ensures they can work with files created by the professional graphic design community.

After learning how to manipulate files, the apprentices split into pairs for a week of practical training at Goprint, where they use the Indigo system.

There, the apprentices adapt their skills in paper feeding and delivery, colour analysis and press maintenance to digital printing.

After the pre-press and digital print training, each apprentice prepares a 2000-word report detailing their findings into research on digital print systems.

The QSPGA offers digital training as an elective in the third year of its apprenticeship.

"By working in partnership with Goprint, the QSPGA has launched an innovative way of delivering digital print training to all who require it," Sherrin says.