Mimaki’s UK and Irish distributor, Hybrid Services, has played host for the second year running to graphic design students from South Cheshire College. The 16-18 year olds were given free run of the company’s showroom and the sign and graphics and industrial products portfolio of Mimaki printers in order to create finished products from their own designs.
Hybrid national sales manager for sign and graphics, John de la Roche, said: “We are proud to continue to be a learning partner to South Cheshire College and it is a great opportunity for us to give experience in wide-format printing to the next generation of designers who may be coming into the industry over the next few years. It’s important to do our bit to preserve the future of print and show young people exactly what the current Mimaki technology is capable of and what this means for them in graphic design terms.
“This year the students each created a piece of design within the areas of surface pattern or digital imaging and the depth and range of the work achieved was outstanding,” added de la Roche. “It was fantastic to witness the responses of the students as they got to see everything from the newly released Mimaki CJV150-75 entry level printer-cutter up to the grand format JFX200 LED UV flatbed bring their designs to life. This real life experience is invaluable for them as they move on to further qualifications or out into the workplace.”
The Mimaki showroom at Hybrid is at its headquarters in Crewe and home to a raft of wide-format printers and cutters. The students brought their own designs along and, under the watchful eye of Hybrid’s print technicians and training team, worked through the entire printing process, from Mimaki’s Rasterlink Rip package through to printing and finishing.
Assistant director for the arts and media at South Cheshire College, Laura Sumner, commented on the value of the project for the students: “It has been a great opportunity for the graphic design students to see their ideas through to an end product. They have gained tremendous perspective from the experience at Hybrid and it has given them confidence to think further about where design can take them, especially in relation to the printing industry.”