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| About 60 students and faculty from the School
of Print Media spent Dec. 5 at Xerox’s Gil Hatch Center
for Customer Innovation. Print media grad student Adam Dewitz,
who interned at Xerox Corp. last year, helped organize the
event, which featured presentations and a panel discussion
with Xerox executives, product demonstrations and time for
students to network with Xerox experts. In the photo, Scott
Stevenson, color innovation specialist for Xerox Production
Systems Group, discusses the Xerox iGen3 110 Digital Production
Press with grad student Nutthavee “Noy” Poonbunditkul.
Also pictured are (from left) Yuen Wai Chow, Eugenio Carvajal,
Wimonrat “Pook” Boonprasit, Bernice Adjoa LeMaire,
and Natalie Russo, all print media grad students. |
About 50 students and faculty from RIT’s School of Print
Media gained valuable perspective on the evolving world of digital
printing and publishing during a day-long program at Xerox’s
Gil Hatch Center for Customer Innovation.
The event, which took place in December, included presentations
and a panel discussion with Xerox Corp. executives as well as
product demonstrations. Students learned about the latest Xerox
innovations including iGen3 Digital Production Press imaging technology
and also had the opportunity to see their projects produced live
on Xerox color and monochrome digital equipment in the production
lab.
“I thought it was a great opportunity for students to get
access to some of the expertise available right in our backyard,” says
Adam Dewitz, a print media graduate student who interned at Xerox
last summer and fall. Dewitz proposed the idea for the program
and helped organize the event. “The students had the chance
to talk to senior managers and top engineers and scientists at
Xerox, so this went well beyond a typical marketing event.”
H. Michael Riebesehl ’80 (printing management), project
manager for the Xerox iGen3 program, was one of several RIT grads
representing Xerox at the event. “We tried to treat the
students like they were customers. We told them to bring their
files, and we ran them on the iGen3 press. There were some very
cool projects, very creative,” says Riebesehl, who joined
Xerox eight years ago. “It’s really great to see
the young minds and what they’re thinking about.”
Fourth-year graphic media major Adam Peck believes the program
was very beneficial. “Xerox put a lot of effort into making
sure that we had access to all of the people that could answer
our questions,” he says. “Their presentation made
it obvious that Xerox gives a lot of respect to RIT students
and faculty.”
The Xerox participants also felt that the event was worthwhile. “We’re
already talking about doing it again,” says Riebesehl.
Since its opening in March 2005, the Gil Hatch Center for Customer
Innovation – a 100,000-square-foot showcase of digital products
for the graphic communications and printing markets – has
hosted more than 2,000 customers, industry leaders, press and others.
The center is named for the late Gil Hatch ’72, ’80
(mechanical engineering), a long-time Xerox executive and member
of the RIT Board of Trustees.
| Xerox donates state-of-the-art digital press to RIT |
Frank Cost |
RIT students now have a chance to work with the latest
Xerox digital printing technology without leaving campus.
Xerox Corp. has donated an iGen3 Digital Production Press
valued at $1.5 million to RIT in support of the company’s commitment
to applied research and learning.
The iGen3 enables new forms of business and personal communication that
present significant growth opportunities to the printing industry,” says
Frank Cost, professor of digital publishing and printing and associate dean of
the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. “The familiarity with this device
and its capabilities gained from working closely with it is of great value
to those who aspire to be part of a new generation of print communication
entrepreneurs.”” |
