Ep 57: Bringing the Next Generation Into Print with Andy and Julie Plata

How do we introduce a new generation to careers in print and packaging?

In this episode of Taktiful Tuesdays, Eric Vessels speaks with Andy and Julie Plata, co-CEOs of Output Links Communications Group, about their work with the University of Houston’s Print and Packaging Industry Initiative.

Andy and Julie explain why the industry cannot solve its workforce challenges by simply recruiting employees from competing print companies. Instead, they are helping build a new pipeline by connecting students, educators, print businesses, technology providers, and industry organizations.

The conversation explores:

• Why many students have little understanding of modern print careers
• How student print ambassadors are creating peer-to-peer awareness
• Why tactile print and digital embellishment capture students’ attention
• How plant tours and hands-on production experiences change perceptions
• The importance of modernizing university print curriculum
• How print companies can engage with students and educators
• The initiative’s potential to become a repeatable model for other universities

Andy and Julie also share how students reacted when they saw their own digitally embellished designs produced as physical print, and why giving young designers the opportunity to touch their work can transform the way they see the industry.

The future of print depends on more than technology. It depends on helping talented young people discover what the modern print and packaging industry has to offer.