WINDSOR – For those Bertie County Schools students looking for a place to learn graphic communications, the best place is close to home.

During a recent meeting of the Bertie County Board of Education, two graduates of the William A. Krueger School of Graphic Communications at Chowan University presented a detailed look at the school.

Jessie Storey and Anna Parker presented a combined report to the board giving information about graphic communications as a whole and specifically about the world-class education offered locally at Chowan University.

Graphic Communications is a family of industries contributing to the reproduction of words, design or pictures. It includes transferring the image onto a substrate such as paper, cloth, metal or wood.

At Chowan University, students are offered education in offset lithography, screen printing, flexography and digital printing.

Those courses allow students to do anything from magazines, brochures, calendars and letterheads to making t-shirts, fabrics and curtains. They can also learn to make potato chip bags, foil packages, labels, poster, flyers and variable data personalized items.

“Graphic communications is America’s most geographically dispersed manufacturing industry and is a major force in the economy of every state,” Parker said. “Every state has at least 60 printing plants, over 1,000 employees and over $190 million in production.”

The top 10 states for graphic communication, according to the information provided, are California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey and Michigan.

Parker and Storey talked about the Graph Expo 2008 which they each attended in Chicago. They said the event allowed them to network with graphic communications providers throughout the country. The event had the largest array of equipment for digital republishing, prepress, printing, bindery, wide format and more.

In addition to providing information about the Krueger School of Graphic Communications, the two also gave statistics about job outlook for those who enter the field.

According to their report there is expected to be:

a 5.6 percent growth in production jobs;

a 9.6 percent growth in supervisors and managers;

an 8.1 percent growth in job printers; and

a 14.2 percent growth in bindery workers.

“Check out the Graphic Communication industry,” Storey said. “It is continuously growing and expanding with new and exciting technology and tools. The Chowan University William A. Krueger School of Graphic Communications prepares students for what the industry will bring them.

“Not only do the students get the knowledge and training as they would anywhere else, but they also get a leg-up on the competition,” Parker added. “At least 97 percent, if not 100 percent of the Graphic Communications graduates have a job lined up before graduating, have a job after graduating or continue with a higher Graphic Communications education such as a master’s degree.”

Following the report, Bertie School Board Chairman Rickey Freeman thanked the young ladies for their report and the information it shared about a local university.