Written by Nicolaus Sherrill
TAGA, the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts, serves as the premier outlet for research and study in cutting-edge graphic arts technology. Research papers are submitted every year that focus on emerging technologies in workflow, production, and imaging methods. Additionally, it fosters university chapters worldwide, giving students an opportunity to compete in several competitions, get exposure to and learn from both industry professionals and the most relevant research in in graphic arts industry.
For their competitions, student chapters from around the world work tirelessly all year long to conceptualize, design, print, and produce a creative yet technical journal containing research papers submitted by their peers. Clemson University is fortunate enough to have a TAGA chapter and has put its best foot forward year after year in pursuit of winning the overall student competition.
This year marked the first year that Clemson was able to print our entire journal in house, thanks to Godfrey’s newest addition, the HP Indigo 5000 digital press. Using this press we printed the bulk of the content of our journal, while the remaining splash pages and cover pages were printed on the Omet Varyflex 530 flexographic press housed in the Sonoco Institute. As homage to the musical culture that emerged from Memphis, our journal featured popular Memphis landmarks and musicians who grew out of Memphis. Soft touch and high gloss varnishes were added to the artwork within the journal to create an engaging tactile experience.
In an ever-changing venue, TAGA was hosted in Memphis, Tennessee this year and myself, fellow TAGA chapter members Kelly Thompson, Kevin Talamantes, and Elizabeth Smith were fortunate enough to represent Clemson this year at the conference. This was my second year attending the conference and already having a general idea of what would be ahead of me over the next three days allowed me the opportunity to focus less on the structure of the conference and more on the information being presented.
The first day was filled with keynote presentations that covered a wide variety of topics, from advancements in digital textile printing to The Internet of Things. It quickly became apparent to me after these presentations and a quick scan of the remaining conference schedule that emerging digital printing technologies and integration of digital and traditional printing would be a common thread throughout the conference.
Refreshment breaks were placed between presentations and these brief moments provided most of the opportunities for the student chapters to interact with the industry professionals, show off their hard work, and impress the panel of judges. Having been to the conference before, I was able to focus less on talking about Clemson’s journal and transitioning into an actual dialogue with some of the other attendees, students and professionals alike. TAGA is a wonderful opportunity for students to interact with industry professionals leading fields of research and make important connections.
The remaining two days of the conference were filled with technical paper presentations and although a lot of the information was a bit beyond my scope of understanding it was an invaluable experience to be exposed to such a large overview of current and future trends within graphic communications. As I learned from my previous experience at TAGA, although something may not make sense at the time, it’s the moments later on in another class or project where the connections are made that make TAGA such a rewarding experience.
Although Clemson did not walk away the overall winner of the student competition, our journal was still awarded Best Design and Best Production Quality. Memphis was an incredible city and the TAGA conference was enriching and engaging. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of the team that put together such an excellent journal and be afforded the opportunity to obtain a broader understanding of the graphic communications industry. I highly encourage every graphic communications student to get involved with TAGA and make the trip to the conference to get the exposure to technologies outside of the classroom and make the lasting connections with both industry professionals and fellow peers. For more information on the TAGA conference, please visit TAGA’s website.
