GraphEXPO 2016: Print is NOT dead!

October 12, 2016

Written by: Meredith Wingate

Every year students from the Graphic Communications department at Clemson University travel to GraphEXPO, where the most innovative and exciting exhibitions of Digital, Inkjet, Offset, Flexo, Gravure, and Hybrid technologies are on display for a multitude of industries. Most commonly, the commercial, transactional, converting and package printing, publishing, mailing, in-plant, digital imaging, marketing and industrial printing are present at GraphEXPO. This year, a group of 30 students traveled to Orlando, Florida with Dr. Weiss, Dr. Leininger, Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Edelein, Dr. Woolbright, and Mrs. Jones to experience and work the Clemson booth. Set as a five-day exposition, there were many different exhibits to explore and experience as well as an opportunity to showcase our Graphic Communications department.

As a senior in Graphic Communications, it was very eye opening to see so many incredibly successful companies all in one place that are in their respective industry. Everyone from Canon and Epson to a family-owned business out of Orlando were showcasing their technology or practices. It was such a unique experience because there are so many industry professionals present at GraphEXPO and so few students. Initially, it was a little intimidating, but ultimately proved to be so valuable and insightful. We were able to walk around and hear from some of the most successful companies in the industry talk about their new technology and products.

A senior in the Graphic Communications department, Alexis Volpe, also shared a sense of excitement towards GraphEXPO, “It was a great experience! It taught me how all components of our industry come together to produce the utmost desirable products for customers.” With over 400 vendors present at this expo, it was a great way to see how each part of the graphics industry is interconnected with each other. One of the most beneficial parts of this expo were the different seminars that we were able to attend with industry professionals. One of my favorite seminars was the Print Media Centr’s Printerverse! Deborah Corn gave a series of panel style seminars throughout the week of the expo on a range of topics relating to the print industry. During the panel I attended, industry leaders in staffing, advertising, media, and printing talked about the different challenges our generation faces in the industry and how to overcome them. Deborah also led the conversation in how students can market themselves in a more competitive using tools like LinkedIn and Twitter. Some students went to the G7 summit and were able to hear from Don Hutcheson, the founder and innovator behind the G7 print standard. Listening to Hutcheson and other color experts explain G7 and their capability was so insightful and inspiring.

We were so fortunate to have been able to travel with the Graphic Communications department and become exposed to such incredible leaders in many different industries. One of our professors, Mrs. Walker, explained it perfectly be exclaiming that her favorite part of GraphEXPO was “reigniting industry, professional organization, and academic friendships and seeing what upcoming trends are in our industry so I can bring those back to Godfrey.” Through these new relationships, partnerships, and experiences, the students have been able to take so much away from this expo and more fully understand the graphics and print industry.