Continuous training is essential to print-industry employees who want to thrive as printing technologies, applications, and markets continue to evolve. One convenient source of print-industry training is the iLEARNING+ e-learning platform.
Launched in 2022 by the PRINTING United Alliance, the platform offers relevant introductory, intermediate, and advanced-level courses to industry professionals, students, and educators worldwide. iLEARNING+ is now being used in over 35 countries.
“Training and education are paramount for companies to build and retain revenue, accelerate onboarding, drive engagement, boost productivity, and lower support costs,” says Joe Marin, Senior Vice President, Member Services, PRINTING United Alliance.
Below is just a sampling of the types of online courses offered.
Print 101: Introduction to the Printing Industry
Instructor: Joe Marin, Senior VP, Member Services, PRINTING United Alliance
This course is designed for newcomers to the industry, or any press operator, graphic designer, brand manager, or customer-service or sales rep who wants to update their overall knowledge.
Learn how printed jobs are produced from design to final printed product and gain a better understanding of print-industry jargon. Course content cover various printing processes (such as a flexography, gravure, screen printing, offset lithography, inkjet, and electrophotography (toner-based digital printing). It also discusses prepress software and tools, the basics of color management, and an overview of the materials, inks, and toners used by printing processes.
Enrollees in this course will also learn about finishing and binding options for converting printed materials into sellable products. Cost estimating and budgeted hourly rates are also determined.
Expanded Color Gamut Printing
Instructor: Ron Ellis, Owner, Ron Ellis Consulting
Expanded Color Gamut (ECG) Printing adds orange, green, and violet inks to the traditional cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) inks used in 4-color process printing. In this intermediate-level course, attendees will gain a greater understanding of how ECG printing works and the types of jobs that can benefit from ECG printing.
Creating PDFs for Print Production
Instructor: Joe Marin, Senior Vice President, Member Services, PRINTING United Alliance
Knowing how to correctly create print-ready PDF files for digital and offset print processes is critical to optimizing workflow efficiency and output quality. This course discusses the various PDF presets and explains how each setting affects PDF creation and final output.
Hazard Communication
Instructor: Gary Jones, Vice President, Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance.
This course equips print-industry staff with essential skills for mitigating workplace hazards, handling chemicals safely, and complying with OSHA health and safety regulations.
Other courses available through iLearning+ include:
- Sheetfed Offset Press Essentials
- Screen Printing Basics for Apparel
- Sublimation Printing Essentials
- Wide-Format Printing Essentials
- DTG/DTF Printing Technology Essentials
- Spot Color Management for Digital Printing
- Print Production for Designers
- How to Evaluate and Communicate Color
- Preparing Files for Digital Enhancement
- Augmented Reality and Interactive Print
For information on on iLEARNING+ courses, certifications, and other resources, visit: https://www.ilearningplus.org
About PRINTING United Alliance
The PRINTING United Alliance is a member-based printing and graphic arts association that serves industrial professionals with education and training, events, research, government and legislation representation, safety and environmental sustainability guidance, and media brands such as Printing Impressions, Packaging Impressions, Wide-Format Impressions, In-Plant Impressions, and Apparelist. For information on membership, visit: www.printing.org/membership.
Members of the Alliance of receive a 20% discount on iLEARNING+ courses. Educators and students have complimentary access to iLEARNING+ throughout the year.
The best way to see what the PRINTING United Alliance is all about is to visit the 2024 PRINTING United Expo, which will be held Sept. 10-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The PRINTING United Expo is an expansive display of technologies, supplies, and services available to professionals engaged in all types of printing, including offset, flexography, and screen printing as well as apparel decorating, inkjet printing, and electrophotographic (toner-based) printing.
In the PRINTING United Alliance booth at the Expo, you can get a free demo of the iLEARNING+ platform and learn more about the association’s other services and benefits.