Communication: Graphic Comm I

|Communication||Graphic Comm I||Graphic Comm II||Comm Technology|

This is an introductory course designed to familiarize students with the basic vocabulary, tools, materials, and procedures of graphic communication. General introductions to the processes of graphic communication are covered.

• Computer Aided Publishing
  • Intro. to Macintosh/Hardware & Software: MS-Word, AppleWorks, Photoshop, PageMaker, PowerPoint, Acrobat, etc.
• Telecommunications (Eudora, Netscape, etc.)
• Offset Lithography
  • Design principles, page layout (PageMaker), image capture (scanning, digital photography), photomechanical processes, image assembly, offset presswork
• Continuous Tone Photography (B&W)
  • 35mm SLR camera handling, copy stand work, exposure, processing, contacting, enlarging, dry mounting
• Screen Printing
  • Photoposterization, stencil preparation, screen printing
• Technical Presentation
  • PowerPoint presentation and accompanying technical paper
• Web-based Portfolio Development
  • Web editors (HomePage, PageMill, Composer, etc), preparing images for the Web (Photoshop), creating PDF's (Acrobat), etc.
    
    

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. describe the underlying principles of seven major graphic processes - offset lithography, gravure, flexography, screen printing, electrostatic, letterpress, and inkjet printing;
2. design and produce a variety of products using a Macintosh computer-aided publishing system (AppleWorks, MS Word, PageMaker, Photoshop, Acrobat, etc.);
3. demonstrate basic layout and design procedures, including thumbnails, roughs, and comprehensives;
4. define and apply fundamental design and typographic understandings;
5. demonstrate a variety of electronic composition techniques
6. develop a technical presentation with PowerPoint
7. expose and process line negatives;
8. execute all phases of an offset lithographic job, from design through printing;
9. execute all phases of a multicolor photographic screen printing job;
10. expose and process black and white photographic films and prints and dry mount finished photographs; and
11. design and produce a Web-based portfolio to include all work from the course.
    
    

For this course, there are four laboratory-based projects: offset lithography, screen printing, continuous tone photography, and computer-aided publishing. Each student will present their labwork at the end of the semester in a portfolio.

Computer-Aided Publishing:
From the 1960s through the mid-1980s, virtually all text composition intended for graphic reproduction was done on phototypesetting systems. These systems consisted of a keyboard, computer (large mainframe or microcomputer) and a photographic output device. By the mid-1980s, "desktop" computers with laser printer output were producing relatively high quality output using an electrostatic (photocopy-like) process, rather than a photographic process. This new hardware, combined with sophisticated software, has made it possible to compose both text and graphics on equipment costing a fraction of the cost of most typesetting systems. In addition, the text and graphics created on these so called "desktop publishing" systems can be output on a photographic typesetter, as well as less expensive (and lower quality) laser printers. As a result, "computer-aided publishing" has become a reality for anyone who can afford a microcomputer and the software!

For this course, activities include creating a MacPaint self-portrait, generating a MS Word résumé, developing a MacDraw graphic illustration, scanning with Photoshop, and designing and producing a business card, letterhead, and class handout with PageMaker.

Screen Printing:
Screen printing is the process of forcing ink through a stencil affixed to a screen. Primitive cultures cut holes in banana leaves to create stencils, medieval artisans screen printed playing cards, and during the first World War, industry adopted the process to print signs and illustrations. Modern day stencils are typically adhered to screens made of plastic or metal fibers, which is why "silk screen" is a misnomer.

For this course, activities include developing photo-posterization positives, creating a capillary indirect stencil, printing the final product, and "reclaiming" the screen.

Offset Lithography:
In 1798, Bavarian playwright Alois Senfelder, in search of an inexpensive means of publishing his plays, discovered/invented the process of lithography. Senfelder began by writing or drawing an image onto a smoothly polished slab of Bavarian limestone. He followed this with a thin film of water and a layer of ink applied with a rubber roller. The greasy image areas on the stone tended to repel the water, while the ungreased areas readily accepted the water and in turn repelled the ink. Paper was then laid over the stone and pressure applied to the back side of the paper caused the ink to transfer from the stone to the paper. The basic principle that grease and water do not mix remains the basis of offset lithography, the most widely used printing process in the world today. A more modern-day, technical definition is that offset lithography incorporates a printing press design which transfers an image from a plate to a rubber blanket that moves the image to the press sheet by chemistry.

For this course, activities include designing a product to be printed; creating a camera-ready mechanical with PageMaker; converting the mechanical to a line negative; and stripping, platemaking, and printing the job with an offset press.

Continuous Tone Photography:
The word "photography," literally translated from its Greek roots, means "light drawing". It is an extremely versatile mode of graphic communications ranging from a highly technical tool for the researcher to a very creative medium for the artist. "Continuous tone" photography refers to the type of photography most familiar to the lay-person as simply "black and white photography." It is the process of recording images that show varying shades of gray or different hues of color.

For this course, activities include exposing and developing 35mm negatives, generating contact prints, producing 5"x7" or larger prints from multiple rolls of film, and dry-mounting photographs.

 Web-based Portfolio
Web-based portfolios are an excellent way to display all sorts of work, inlcuding text, graphics, and multimedia. Throughout the course, students convert both conventional products and digital assignments into "Web-viewable" file formats, and assemble these into a Web-based Portfolio that communicates about the work completed during the course.

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