French training school takes Scout

Mark Andy France has installed a six-colour Scout in the print training department of one of France’s oldest and most respected schools, cole Suprieure Estienne des Arts et Industries Graphiques, in Paris.  Founded in 1889 as a school for book printers with affiliations to typesetting and bookbinding, the establishment saw major changes with the switch from hot metal to phototypesetting.  More recently, in September 2003 it embraced flexography at the request of French printing companies, who acknowledge the technique as the fastest growing in the print world.

The new Scout, which is fitted with four print units with hot air dryers and two with UV curing, is the first roll to roll printing press at the school, and was chosen for the ease with which flexo printing and inline converting can be taught and demonstrated to students.  Three days is all it takes for 1st year students to become competent in the flexo process from platemaking to running the Scout.  Critical to the success of flexo, and different from offset litho, is the time required honing pre-press techniques.

M Michel Mathieu, Chef des travaux, explained the school’s development into flexo:  ‘We were under pressure from printing companies to provide training in an area that was developing fast, particularly in the field of package printing, where new substrates were being developed.’  From start to finish the programme was realised in three years, with assistance from a number of leading international companies.  As well as Mark Andy, these included Akzo Nobel, Praxair, Rotometrics, Flexocolor, and BASF.

The school is funded by the City of Paris, and the ‘Apprenticeship Tax’, which all companies pay.  It attracts students from France and other French speaking countries around the world, and currently has 600 on its roll with 100 teachers.  “Although apprenticeships still exist in France, most students prefer the broader scope of the school,” said M Ludovic Poyer, Professeur Industries Graphiques, and a former pupil at Ecole Estienne.

Students undertake a three-year general print course to Degree level and then two further years to specialise.  In principle, 600 hours is devoted to learning printing technology with hands-on skills, to which flexo adds an additional 200 hours.  Students enter the school between 16 and 18 years of age, with another intake at 24.  In addition, Ecole Estienne offers training courses for printing companies in-house or onsite as a service element.

Speaking for Mark Andy France, Managing Director Dieter Huck commented:  “We were delighted to install one of our flexo presses at Ecole Estienne, which has a long and proud heritage.  We believe the Scout combines all the elements of a modern workaday machine, and, by being simple to operate, is an ideal teaching aid.  It is vital that young people entering our industry have a solid background of knowledge combined with first hand experience of the technology they will encounter in their workplace.’