Field Trip to UFT Toggle navigation

UFT

On May 7th, our class had a field trip to the united Federation of Teachers on Broadway in Manhattan, New York. The purpose of this trip was to get a close-up look into the world of a print shop, and to learn about the different kinds of machines, paper, ink, etc, that are used there. The reason this part of advertising/graphic design is useful to know about, is because it can greatly assist in cost and time reduction of printing, and will also keep you ahead of the game if you are previously informed to the kinds of printing available to you.
The first machine we were showed was a poster-sized one, that can only print documents with minimum measurements of 11” by 17” in color or black and white. The next was a machine used to print newspaper-type articles with the option of front and back. This machine used oil-based ink and produces a medium-quality picture. The third printing machine we saw was an extremely large one of the ryobi series, used to print large quantities of large-sized documents. This machine used a soy-based ink because of the type of paper that it print on. If you used regular ink, it would not imbed into the paper, almost in an oil-water type of situation. Our tour guide then showed us how you can turn a document into a negative using certain metal plates and a high-powered light.
From there, we were shown a very large machine that prints off of a gigantic paper roll, instead of by individual sheets. This paper would need to be cut after printing, and there is a cutting machine right next to the paper roll machine. This cutting machine can be adjusted so you can cut at any size. Our guide showed us how to minimize the time it takes to cut by always cutting from the back.
We were brought to a different room that had several machines used for different things. One was an organizer that would arrange your documents in order. Next we were shown how we can use self-mailing on a paper you want to mail. What this means is, you can mail a piece of paper without using an envelope. You fold the paper and use a sticker to keep it sealed, and then right on the outside of it as if it were an envelope. There was also an envelope maker which seemed quite complex. The tour guide showed us a special machine used for printing high-quality posters and such. The machine was given to the shop for free so that it can be tested, and the results sent back to Japan where it was made.
Overall this experience was helpful, yet just a glimpse into the depths of printing. Not only did we learn about a few different kinds of printing machines, but we also learned about the kinds of jobs the shop gets. Jobs such as making bookmarks or protest poster, envelopes, newspapers, large posters, books, etc. Anything requiring something that needs to be printed in bulk is done at shops like these. Our guide was managing the shop for 37 years and has done countless printing jobs. He stressed that sometimes you run into complications, but the bottom line is to get the job out on time.