Summer plans

[Riefnu]

I'm basically going to have from june 10th until sometime late august with NOTHING to do.

So I thought I'd ask for some recommended reading/tutorials/ideas for what would be good to help me learn more about being a graphic designer.

I already got one from a while back watching PrintDriver rant.

Summer goal #1 = learn Prepress!

Because school won't teach me anything about it.

"Shcool R gud 4er meh."

[Silence04]

you should try to get an internship with a printer in your area, i'm sure they could use some free help. Great way to soak up some real world knowledge that books and schools can't provide.

[CkretAjint]

GREAT idea Silence!

What about learning some CSS to build yourself a promo website?

[budafist]

That is a great idea.

Plus once you become one of the "family" you will get great deals on printing for your own clients. Which you can mark up if you please. You can view your internship as paid considering what you might make on this in the future.

[Ferraribabe]

I'm about to graduate from the Digital Graphics and Communications course and its honestly the best course to take. You learn everything from how to communicate with the client ie. being specific in your questions and so forth to pre-press. Its basically a hands on course. We have about 4 Press machines, 3 2 colour and 1 4 colour press. Its great because you also do a lot of designing as well..I've made so many business cards, calenders, cd covers, posters etc. (I know its noobish stuff but its awesome) You also learn webdesign...I love it and I cant wait to get out there and put my skills to the test.

[budafist]

That's great to hear FB. There's not a lot of design courses that teach prepress. Not a lot at all.

[Riefnu]

Where do I find this Mecca of Graphic Design school?

[PanToshi]

Wow! A school that teaches prepress AND has presses for you to use? Where? Where?

[Sphynx]

um dull question maybe: whats prepress?

[mojoprime]

^^seriously?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepress

[captain spanky]

top idea silence! i was thinking myself that next year, i'm saving for my wedding and won't be able to go away for a holiday... so i thought i'd try and find a printers or something similar and see if i could get some practical experience in that area... i've been a designer for nigh on 15 years now but i love going back to basics and refreshing my head (and besides, i've never actually been involved in the print process apart from ordering stuff) :)

[Sphynx]

^^seriously?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepress

lol that was my first page i turned to - but the context here made it sound like its a program not a - what you call it? - process?

[budafist]

It's all the stuff you need to know to get your designs to print properly. Basically.

Your designs aren't much good if you can't get them to print properly or if you need to pay someone else to fix all your files so that they do print properly.

Schools generally don't teach it (at least not to a point where you are employable without plenty of on the job training). It's quite involved, but necessary if you are a designer doing stuff for print.

[Sweet Tee]

It would be fantastic if schools taught more about this aspect of design.

I've learned so much just working at a paper and going to press-checks. We have a massive printing business that shares a building with the local newspaper. We are located down the street, so we print with them. It's incredible to see those machines printing 69,000+ copies of publications! (super noisy too :()

[BJMRGTIVR6]

On a side note, many young GD start their job and besides not creating stunning magazine ads with white space, they also have trouble knowing why their files wont print properly. The key is to understand the pre-press and press aspects of it. Most schools teach design as an art on the front end...pre-press tells why things can and cannot get printed and why. a few co-workers felt like idiots when they started...I had to tell them it is of no real fault but that they were taught what looks nice or how the programs work and not how to get things output.

[budafist]

We did get a couple of classes at GD school but nothing in depth. Could it be that schools don't teach prepress in depth because of the fact that every printer is different? Maybe that is why what is taught is so very basic.

[Sphynx]

hmmmm is there any literature on the subject you could recommend?

i mean i am not even at school - yet - and i just have to pray that they do finance over 30year olds SOMEWHERE - but id like to at least know the material a bit :)

[Silence04]

i am suprised prepress isn't taught at all these design colleges... for some reason they are more often found at trade/technical schools.

The school i went to had a prepress class next to our graphic design class (with a 4cp press). Some GD student projects were sent over the prepress class for their students to print. it was almost like the Prepress class was our printing vendor.

[emucru]

I think a most courses touch on the prepress subject but its hard to grasp until you are "hands on". Working in prepress is the best and quickest way to learn. When the press is stopped, costing 100 bucks an hour and you have a crew breathing down your kneck you learn mighty quick.

I started at a web/sheet-fed printing company right out of college. I was paid just about minimum but I learned so much within the first few months. Well worth it!!

[budafist]

Working in prepress is the best and quickest way to learn. When the press is stopped, costing 100 bucks an hour and you have a crew breathing down your kneck you learn mighty quick.

I concur!

[Sphynx]

Thanks Budafist for explaining.
Hmmmm i am not sure if my school will teach that. But me wants to learn!