The Big Picture - October 2013 - (Page 14)

Accelerate Your Training Efforts A better educated staff will turbo-boost your shop. The old maxim, “If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward,” certainly applies to education and training. It’s all too easy to fall behind when striving to maintain your knowledge base. As the tools you utilize daily in your output, workﬂow, and ﬁnishing departments move and shift, your employees need to be able to keep up with this “technology drift.” If not, as the years progress, your shop is likely to see rapid downgrades in proﬁciency, eﬃciency, and, eventually, proﬁtability. There are opportunities throughout the graphic-arts marketplace to accelerate your training eﬀorts – sometimes, you just have dig for them. Across the industry, manufacturers and suppliers, associations, and tradeshow companies are recognizing the importance of a better educated workforce. So there’s no better time to get back to the classroom – even if that “classroom” is online – and hone your skills. Training from manufacturers and suppliers Nearly all industry companies oﬀer training on the speciﬁc hardware or software they produce and sell – either as part of the purchase price or for an additional fee. But many companies are now partnering with other manufacturers, suppliers, and associations, etc., to provide users with a broader range of knowledge and expertise. Here are some 14 THE BIG PICTURE OCTOBER 2013 of the companies that oﬀer training, education, and events beyond the basics. (Note: As you might guess, some of what manufacturers and suppliers oﬀer is company- and product-centric by its very nature.) Agfa Graphics (agfagraphics.com) is planning educational workshops and open houses for 2014 at which attendees will be able to learn about UV and solvent printing, rigid and ﬂexible media as well as inks, and related technology; dates and locales to be announced. The company also works with other industry suppliers and associations for educational events hitting topics such as color management and G7 training. Arlon’s (arlon.com) WrapItRight.com website oﬀers its Video Gallery, an array of free educational videos on various wrap topics, including: “Extreme Stretch Installation,” “Removing a Vinyl Wrap,” “Deep Channel Installation,” “Testing an Interior Wall” (for interior wall wraps), “Using a Knifeless Cutting Method,” “Wet Application of a Window Graphic,” and others. New this year from Avery Dennison (averygraphics.com) is its Supreme Wrapping Films Workshop series, featur- http://www.agfagraphics.com http://www.arlon.com http://www.WrapItRight.com http://www.averygraphics.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Big Picture - October 2013

The Big Picture - October 2013
Contents
InSight
Wide Angle
Up Front
Dynamic Signage
Accelerate Your Training Efforts
Wrap-n-Roll
Previewing SGIA Expo 2013
Hardcore Print
R+D
Explorer

The Big Picture - October 2013