Quark Inc. announced today that Graphische Wien, Austria’s most respected school for printing and media technology, graphic and communication design, and photography, has decided to upgrade 600 workstations to the latest version of QuarkXPress to provide optimal training conditions for its students.
More than 1,000 students currently attend Graphische, which has been an established institution in printing and creative education for over a century. Since its founding, the school has aimed to discover and support talent in printing technology, photography, art, design and business. Its close relationship with industry, combined with the creative freedom of technical and artistic education, has produced numerous significant figures in printing, designers and independent artists.
Graphische and QuarkXPress – A Long-Standing Relationship
QuarkXPress has been used at the school since 1992. Graphische began integrating the layout and design software into its curriculum with version 3. In the Graphic Design department, the software is used in design, editorial design, corporate design and advertising.
Industry Standard
“The task of school-based professional development is above all to provide students with a broad range of software training,” says Karl Bernhard Kasché, a professor at Graphische who is responsible for software procurement. “Quark is one of the manufacturers that has made a major contribution to revolutionizing the work of prepress technicians and designers, because QuarkXPress is simply an industry standard. To guarantee the high standard of education in the future and, above all, to ensure that our students are not deprived of the program’s many new features, we decided to upgrade to QuarkXPress 7.”
Intuitive Tools
Learning QuarkXPress 7 is a fixed part of the curriculum at Graphische. “Both prepress technicians and graphic designers are expected to master QuarkXPress 7,” Kasché adds. “They will do so more easily the more intuitively they can use tools that simplify everyday professional work. Straightforward handling of transparency, drop shadows and PDF export, integration of layered PSD images, and the ability to use Unicode and OpenType fonts are among the especially useful features in daily work. I also definitely want to become familiar with Quark Interactive Designer.”
Quark’s New Education Initiative
At the beginning of 2008, Quark redesigned its education program. Students and lecturers can now purchase individual QuarkXPress 7 licenses for only EUR 125 plus VAT. Educational institutions with two or more users receive Lab-Paks for EUR 70 plus VAT per workstation. The new education initiative has been enthusiastically received by professors such as Kasché: “I believe Quark has recognized the signs of the times and has made a visible commitment in education toward reorientation around the customer of the future. We look forward to expanding this strong basis of communication between Quark and Graphische.”
Matthias Gilke, Marketing Manager for Quark Central Europe, explains: “Quark is committed to providing learners and educators with its award-winning layout and design software as affordably as possible. We have therefore assembled several new and extremely economical education packages to ensure that young designers are optimally equipped when entering the industry. We have also responded to growing requirements by filling the position of Education Manager. Oliver Wilke is available as a consultant, intermediary and direct contact in Central Europe for decision-makers at universities, schools and education resellers.”
