Esko organises Flexible Packaging Honours Class for young graduates

Packaging Solutions

Esko is proud to have hosted the Flexible Packaging Honours Class, an initiative of the Graphical and Digital Media department of the Artevelde University College Ghent. Intended for ambitious and talented students at the top of their university class, this two week programme focuses on the production of flexible packaging, including design, pre-press, file handling and plate making operations. The third edition of this course took place at Esko’s offices in Ghent, Belgium.

Jan De Roeck, Ddrector Solutions Management at Esko, explained: ‘The flexible packaging market is a continuously growing segment in the graphic arts industry. We are honoured to support educational institutes by facilitating comprehensive flexo pre-press and platemaking training programmes. As leaders in the packaging industry, our investment in education will help promote the future of flexible packaging, create enthusiasm and passion for the industry, and give young graduates an increased opportunity to find jobs as they begin their professional careers.’

The Honours Class enriches the formal university education with flexible packaging pre-press skills and knowledge. Using Esko Software Platform, students get intimately acquainted with each step of the workflow, including:

• Design and artwork creation.

• Virtual 3D prototyping.

• Prepress workflow automation, colour management and proofing.

• Supply chain collaboration, reviewing and approvals.

• Flexo plate making.

• Digital cutting of mock ups.

The training programme is complemented by three Esko customer visits to demonstrate the reality of production. The 2017 class had the opportunity to visit a label, shrinksleeve and small format flexible packaging converter, a wide format flexible packaging converter, and a flexible packaging provider and trade shop.

The school has opened the Honours Class to its educational partners from abroad, bringing peer to peer learning and exchange of best practices to an international level. The 2017 class had the pleasure of welcoming students from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, Linköping University in Sweden, and both Seneca College and Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.