For most college students, summer consists of taking a break from the hussle-and-bussle of the academic year. From catching up on sleep to having some home-cooked meals, students usually spend a majority of their time relaxing and hanging out with their friends.

RIT students, however, have a different agenda for those three months outside of Rochester. During those three summer months, most RIT students take a proactive step towards their future by engaging in a cooperative education experience.

The School of Print Media requires that all of its students complete a total of six months in such a position. Cooperative Education (or Co-op) is the hallmark of an RIT education and provides an opportunity to put classroom lectures, textbook theories and your personal initiative to the ultimate test—performance on the job.

SPM et cetera contacted three students who spent this past summer working at their respective coops to get their take on their experiences. From newspapers to packaging, we’ve sampled a variety of jobs for our readers. Finally, if you haven’t yet… start thinking about those coops!

Some of our own have been recognized for excellence in various competitions. Congratulations
must be extended to Adam Peck, Elizabeth Kovach, Aaron Bodell, and professor Scott Williams.

Adam and Elizabeth won honors for their entries into the Society for Technical Communications Kepner Award Competition.

Congratulations to Aaron Bodell for his research on “Dye aggregation initiated by inkjet.” Aaron won the student poster competition at TAPPI Coating conference 2006.

Scott Williams is also honored, for he mentored Aaron and two other students who traveled to the conference this year.

On Monday, April 17th, Canon Inc. came to RIT’s School of Print Media to give a presentation on its new high-end digital press, dubbed the imagePRESS “X,” which is now known as the imagePRESS C7000VP after its unveiling at IPEX 2006 in Europe.

SPM graduate and Product Marketing Associate for Canon Matthew Poliniak lead the presentation and explained the ins and outs of the machine. Poliniak stated that Canon is looking to compete with Xerox’s DocuColor 7000 and 8000 lines, as well as Kodak’s NexPress 2100. To do this, Canon is pulling some tricks out of its sleeve in order to give the competition a run for their money.

During PUB Access Week, Bill Towler, from Rochester’s fast-growing City
Newspaper, spoke about City and how the paper came to be. Towler discussed City’s history and how RIT played a pivotal role in the paper’s development. He explained that City works toward putting out the best possible Rochester newspaper that will focus on specific issues, while covering the local arts. Towler predicted that many papers will eventually grow to be free dailies or free Sunday issues.

In response to questions from PUB members, Towler answered that the City staff currently uses PageMaker to design the paper, but will move to using InDesign this spring. City Newspaper is located on Goodman Street near the Village Gate. To learn more about City or the possibility of an internship, contact Bill Towler at btowler@rochester-citynews.com.

The majority of the SPM et cetera staff is proud to be reporting, while attending the 58th Annual Technical Association of the Graphic Arts, or TAGA conference. This issue of SPM et cetera was assembled while attending the conference in Vancouver, B.C.

With over 160 registered members, including five student chapters comprising one-third of the total number of registrants. The turnout for the 2006 is greater than previous years. This year, TAGA members from around the world gather together to focus on the “future of printing.” Various speakers and industry experts address new issues and emerging technologies. Topics range from virtual proofing, the future of the newspaper industry, and cost-saving workflows, to color gamut optimization in gravure printing presented by School of Print Media professor Bob Chung.