Teresa Campbell and Janie Morris with PIA MidAmerica recently joined Xerox Business Solutions Southwest at their location in Coppell, TX to meet with area school districts and secondary schools looking to add print production curriculum to their programs. (Yes! That makes us so excited to see the next generation gaining exposure to our exciting and continuously evolving industry!)
Many of these programs already had student-run print shops that serve as in-plant production facilities for their districts and included hands-on experience with large format, sublimation, and some digital printing services. It was exciting to hear from these educators about their career journeys that brought them to teaching as well as both the challenges and opportunities they see in expanding their programs.
As part of the discussion, PIA MidAmerica took the group through a day in print from the moment someone wakes up to brush their teeth, the print on their clothing, the buttons on the microwave, all the way to the road signs on the way to work and then, of course, the grocery store and the countless of branded collateral they receive down to the Amazon-branded tape on the boxes at the door. PIA MidAmerica shared industry insights including industry trends, sustainability, career pathways, and different categories of print ranging from commercial and digital printing to promotional and industrial printing. Print is certainly alive and we are excited that so many schools in our region are looking to provide this type of technical education.
Our Print is Everywhere Campaign can be found at https://piamidam.org/print-is-everywhere/ and our 2022 Career Guide can be downloaded here. PIA MidAmerica with PIM and ChannelReady developed these resources and is working on adding more.
