Last Saturday, GotPrint was invited to the grand opening of Venice High School’s Super Shop 9, to celebrate the new $3 million state-of-the-art printing facility in the public school. So off we went to Venice High, to see what most call “the best equipped high school graphic communications program west of the Mississippi.” Who can miss this, right?
The upgrade can be attributed to the hard work of Art Lindauer, an instructor of the Super Shop 9, who applied for and won not only a $1.5 million Proposition 1D state grant in 2006, but lobbied for several years to win a $1.5 million grant from the L.A.U.S.D. Impressive!
The outdated (dating back to the 1970’s), non-automated equipment in the shop was replaced with 48 pieces of new equipment, including (and here’s where we get technical) a 4-color Speedmaster SM 74 perfector, a 2-color Printmaster QM 46, and POLAR 78X high-speed guillotine cutter. In addition, a graphic design computer lab was set up, equipped with Mac computers and a touch-screen HD TV for students.
But it’s not just about the equipment: Lindauer believes the focus should be on the education itself, which is why the grant money will also support lectures, field trips, demonstrations, and instructions on safety and machine usage.
This shop has been a part of the schools graphic communication’s program since its opening in 1956 by Jerry Greene. Students are offered an introduction to and training of the print industry, (all that fun stuff we do, from applying basic graphic design principles, to automatic plate-changing and binding), followed by advanced courses if they are further interested in the program. The shop focuses on graphic design, sheet-fed offset, digital and screen printing.
Former actor turned California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was invited to attend the tour and event, due to his support of Proposition 1D, which is a $20 billion bond measure for public school upgrades. Super Shop 9 instructor Art Lindauer was there to host the event, and thanked the former governor for his support for technical education, who in turn, commended the instructor for his relentless efforts in providing the most up-to-date hands-on training possible for technical careers. Also there for the event were students, faculty, family members, and printers (that’s us!).
According to Art Lindauer, “The Graphic Communications/Printing is the only industry I know where you are able to earn a good salary no matter what level of education you have.” And now, thanks to Art, students who graduate from Venice High will have all of the training to handle the print industry’s standard and latest equipment, and will have the opportunity to obtain high-paying, technical jobs.
