Some of the print technology of the future has been coming together with some of the designers of the future, as a top print and production company teams up with Amersham & Wycombe College. Students on the BA(Hons) in Graphic Design recently visited Lynx dpm in Charlgrove, Oxon, for a special training day, which included viewing the firm’s top of the range facilities.

“Our visit to Lynx dpm was a very inspiring journey through a wide range of highly professional facilities,” said course leader Matthias Hillner. “To see a ten-colour litho press running alongside one of the latest digital Xerox iGen digital print facilities, for example, is very impressive. The facilities at Lynx dpm push the boundaries of production and deployment technology and graphically illustrate what is achievable in the print world.”

The College has a longstanding reputation for the quality of its visual arts teaching. Ofsted rated the area outstanding in a 2007 inspection and the College is a national Centre of Excellence for Digital Arts, Design and Media. This reputation is increasingly being endorsed by employers. Over half the students who graduated last year found jobs within three months of leaving College, and two even started work before their course ended.

“Training in graphic design is hard work, but worth it,” says current student Tim Miller, aged 22 from Aylesbury. “Recently I have taken a great leap in my understanding of graphics and, thanks to enthusiastic tutors who equip you for industry, I feel I can take what I have learnt to the workplace with confidence.”

“It’s not unusual for students to conduct freelance work alongside their studies,” adds Matthias. “This reflects the industry orientated training at the College. Visits to professional design and production companies are part of that training and design education needs to go hand in hand with cultural and industrial developments. We also try to ensure that graduates are not only creative, but fully equipped with professional skills including IT, project management and presentation skills, to enable them to obtain professionally paid jobs at the end of their training.”

Amersham & Wycombe College runs Foundation Degree and one year progression BA(Hons) courses as well as BTEC National Diploma courses in Graphic Design at its Amersham Campus. For further details, call 0800 614016 or see www.amersham.ac.uk.