Half the class is bummed out...

[jiarby]

My wife teaches graphics design, (and has a screen printing shop, sublimation, vinyl plotter, & a couple HP aqueous printers)

She just got some new Mac's... but only enough for half the class.
(the rest come next week)

So... half the kids have to keep using the P4 PC's and half get to use the i7 Macs.

She said there was alot if huffing & puffing from the PC kids!

 

[njshorts]

Gotta learn disappointment at some point... lol

 

[WrapperX]

Sounds like they are all SPOILED kids! I didn't have any of this sh*t when I was in school - College there was design school but you had to be a design major to take anything but the intro class. Screen printing was available but you had to be a print major. And Sublimation, vinyl and anything not specifically spoken of in a degree was unheard of.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

That is awesome. I'm jealous.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Sounds like they are all SPOILED kids! I didn't have any of this sh*t when I was in school - College there was design school but you had to be a design major to take anything but the intro class. Screen printing was available but you had to be a print major. And Sublimation, vinyl and anything not specifically spoken of in a degree was unheard of.

Pretty much the same here. You had to be majoring in it to have access to anything but the most basic intro level stuff. We didn't have sublimation etc either.

 

[HaroldDesign]

I wonder what power-user programs these kids are learning that require such nice computers. Don't get me wrong - I think It's great they are using nice stuff, but it would be like buying new BMW's for driver's ed.

 

[2972renfro]

I wonder what power-user programs these kids are learning that require such nice computers. Don't get me wrong - I think It's great they are using nice stuff, but it would be like buying new BMW's for driver's ed.

That is a bit of stretch don't you think. Actually the Macs will cost less in the long run, IMO. Why not learn on the best

I like to call it, lower cost of ownership. This will become a mac/pc debate again but at least they won't need some IT guy worrying about malware/spyware viruses etc and having to constantly babysit the computers too

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

It's better for the students to learn on new machines for when they get out of school and start trying to get a job as a designer. Ya don't want to put on your resume that you can use Windows 98. But I'm speaking from a students perspective so I'm a little biased.

 

[jiarby]

I wonder what power-user programs these kids are learning that require such nice computers

They are using Corel Draw x5, and Adobe Creative Suite CS5... all the latest gear.

Photoshop CS5 killed the PC's, with only 2gb RAM.

They have a Workhorse screen printing shop (Manual 6-4 Press, exposure unit, conveyor dryer, washout booth, pressure washer, heated screen drying rack), as well as a roland GX24, A 16x20 Knight swing away press, a mug press, a Ricoh GX7000 sublimation printer...

The only thing they don't have is a DTG, but the other HS in the district has a Brother DTG.

It is hard to get school club work with them doing it all internally now. They print shirts for the schools and use the money to pay for supplies for the class (shirt blanks, mugs, etc...)

 

[HaroldDesign]

That is a bit of stretch don't you think. Actually the Macs will cost less in the long run, IMO. Why not learn on the best

I like to call it, lower cost of ownership. This will become a mac/pc debate again but at least they won't need some IT guy worrying about malware/spyware viruses etc and having to constantly babysit the computers too

It probably is stretch of a comparison, but depending upon what they're actually being used for I might not be too far off.

 

[2972renfro]

Yeah the sign world is very PC biased unlike most every other creative field. Probably because plotters would not run on Macs due to the lack of proper ports or software in order to do so.

Most creative fields still prefer macs

 

[HaroldDesign]

They are using Corel Draw x5, and Adobe Creative Suite CS5... all the latest gear.

Photoshop CS5 killed the PC's, with only 2gb RAM.

They have a Workhorse screen printing shop (Manual 6-4 Press, exposure unit, conveyor dryer, washout booth, pressure washer, heated screen drying rack), as well as a roland GX24, A 16x20 Knight swing away press, a mug press, a Ricoh GX7000 sublimation printer...

The only thing they don't have is a DTG, but the other HS in the district has a Brother DTG.

It is hard to get school club work with them doing it all internally now. They print shirts for the schools and use the money to pay for supplies for the class (shirt blanks, mugs, etc...)

Well I stand corrected. I actually thought it was a grade-school classroom...

 

[Locals Find!]

They are teaching this stuff in High School?? Oh great a whole new generation of lowballers will come out of this. Probably some good designers but you know that at least some part of that class is going to get some money from some relative and start lowballing.

 

[signswi]

It's better for the students to learn on new machines for when they get out of school and start trying to get a job as a designer. Ya don't want to put on your resume that you can use Windows 98. But I'm speaking from a students perspective so I'm a little biased.

It's true and it's not like i7 iMacs are top-end anyway. Lot of bitter old men in here. Designers buy new rigs every other year, students should have something that can at least handle the latest CS decently. Nothing kills learning or creativity faster than fighting the equipment (though it's a good way to learn about the equipment!).

Honestly now the iMacs are a fraction of the cost of kitting out a workstation anyway, bulk CS licensing went up in cost significantly for version 5. 6 will probably be worse, and that's just one of many suites the average learning workstation needs (a friend of mine handles IT for the GD department at one of the larger universities in the US, we talk shop all the time). At least everyone has finally given up on Quark.

Also your wife teaches Graphic Design, not Graphics Design...the later doesn't exist.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Nothing kills learning or creativity faster than fighting the equipment (though it's a good way to learn about the equipment!).

That's assuming that the equipment even survives the fight. I know I hated it when it took 7 minutes when I would make the smallest change to an embroidery pattern, because the video card couldn't handle the 3D rendering.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

At least everyone has finally given up on Quark.

Also your wife teaches Graphic Design, not Graphics Design...the later doesn't exist.

God I hated Quark when I used it. I think the last version I used was v3 or v4. At the time they did not even have undo's. That's right, except for maybe 1 or 2 functions, if you made a mistake you could not undo your last move, not even once. I commend anyone that could get anything done on that software. At the time, Indesign version 1 came out and even though it was buggy it was already light years ahead of Quark. Quark was too slow and stupid to realize this (IMO) and took too long to adapt

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

How can I comment on this, being well out of schools and well into this profession by the time even PCs were introduced, .......other then kids are spoiled.

I pity your wife to have to deal with all the emotions. My self I would say you moan or boast or mistreat .. grab a pencil till all installed at least

 

[mark in tx]

I'm glad to see a high school that is teaching art classes with more equipment than paint, pencils and paper. That is getting very rare. Way back when, my junior high had a fully functioning wood and metal shop, and my high school had 3 year programs for electronics, metal, wood, and art. You used to be able to graduate high school and get a job as a welder, or machinist, electrician, mechanic, drafter, or illustrator,etc...
Not to mention the full AP classes and college prep.
Whatever happened?

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I'm glad to see a high school that is teaching art classes with more equipment than paint, pencils and paper.

Hey now, that's the world I came from and it wasnt' actually that long ago like some might think.

Way back when, my junior high had a fully functioning wood and metal shop, and my high school had 3 year programs for electronics, metal, wood, and art. You used to be able to graduate high school and get a job as a welder, or machinist, electrician, mechanic, drafter, or illustrator,etc...
Not to mention the full AP classes and college prep.
Whatever happened?

We had the college prep and AP classes, but we didn't have the trade classes to that degree.

 

[signswi]

How can I comment on this, being well out of schools and well into this profession by the time even PCs were introduced, .......other then kids are spoiled.

I pity your wife to have to deal with all the emotions. My self I would say you moan or boast or mistreat .. grab a pencil till all installed at least

Having computers doesn't make them spoiled, it makes them potentially prepared for the realities of their field. It's hardly "spoiling" when it's the norm. I suppose you think people that have indoor plumbing are spoiled too?

Now clearly hand skills are still very important and any good university design program will require them but really, is an "I'm an old codger!" post necessary in every thread?