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Esko and Ryerson University’s School of Graphic Communications Management (GCM) yesterday announced that Esko has donated a significant amount of software and hardware to the university.  Celebrated on campus at a special ribbon-cutting ceremony overseen by Sheldon Levy, President of Ryerson University, the donation will facilitate Ryerson’s work in preparing students for careers as managers in the growing and dynamic printing and packaging industry. The gift also brings the university to $128 million of its $200-million goal for the Make Your Mark Campaign.  

“Esko is very active in the Toronto packaging market and it’s seldom that we have a customer or client who isn’t connected to Ryerson University in some way,” says Larry Moore, Esko’s director of software services in North America.  “Considering this, and the fact that Ryerson’s School of Graphic Communications Management is a leader in educating those in the packaging industry, donating this gift to Ryerson was a natural choice for us.”

The products donated to the school will give students access to cutting-edge applications for the design, visualization, proofing and production of packaging, allowing faculty and students to take on new curricular initiatives in printing and packaging.  The powerful, customizable workflow software and imaging systems are used by the majority of companies in the packaging industry, giving Ryerson students direct exposure to the latest industry-specific applications. The donation will also allow faculty to expand their professional expertise, and engage in new research activities.

As Canada’s only degree-granting program for future managers in the printing industries, the School of Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson recognizes the dynamic nature of technology and its relationship to the graphic communications industry, including valued partners such as Esko.

"The generous support of donors such as Esko strengthens Ryerson in its continued growth as a centre of teaching and research, at the forefront of career-focused university education in Canada," says Adam B. Kahan, Ryerson University's Vice-President, University Advancement. 

“Students in the School of Graphic Communications Management will benefit tremendously from this strengthening of our partnership with Esko,” remarks Ian Baitz, Chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management. “This major donation will allow our 500 GCM students to learn Esko’s industry-leading packaging design and prepress systems. We are thrilled to begin using Esko job management and automation modules, including tools such as DeskPack and ArtiosCAD. Our new Esko CDI Spark imagesetter will become a very important piece of equipment in our new prepress flexography workflow.”

GCM students, faculty and staff are thrilled to be using the Esko applications, which have been installed and incorporated into the curriculum. Students will use the workflow for first and third year premedia courses that focus on packaging and layout.

Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to more than 28,000 students, including 2,300 master's and PhD students, nearly 2,700 faculty and staff, and 140,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past five years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca and www.ryerson.ca/gcm

Make Your Mark is the university’s $200-million fundraising campaign to fuel teaching and research innovation, provide students with the very best opportunities for a distinctive and career-focused education, and support strategic capital growth that benefits both campus and city. For more information, please visit www.ryerson.ca/makeyourmark.

About Esko (www.esko.com)

Esko is a global supplier of integrated solutions for packaging, sign and display finishing, commercial printing and professional publishing. Esko products and services help customers raise productivity, reduce time-to-market, lower costs and expand business and improve profitability.

Portfolio

Esko is the worldwide market leader with software for artwork creation, structural design, pre-production, workflow automation, quality assurance and online collaboration. Esko solutions support and manage the packaging and print processes at brand owners, retailers, designers and packaging manufacturers.

CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers and Kongsberg digital finishing systems complete the portfolio for the packaging, label, signage and display industries.

Enfocus, with its suite of PDF tools for graphic designers and print production professionals, is part of Esko.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Johanna VanderMaas
Public Affairs
Ryerson University
Office: 416-979-5000 x 4630
johanna.vandermaas@ryerson.ca

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