Scouting America Merit Badge
Graphic Arts Merit Badge - Established 2020
Scouting America’s Mecklenburg Council hosts its largest merit badge event ever each December at the Harper Campus of Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC).
Scouts from five councils (Palmetto, Indian Waters, Central North Carolina, Piedmont, and Mecklenburg) gather annually and offer 22 different merit badges led by CPCC's Harper Campus Skilled Trades program including Graphic Arts, welding, metalwork and plumbing.
Flexographic Printing - a key component to the
Graphic Arts Merit Badge
Now in its fifth year, the Graphic Arts badge was supported by CPCC staff, volunteers from across the printing community, and the Phoenix Challenge Foundation. Scouts completed various aspects including:
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Designing artwork and prepared printing plates at prepress stations
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Experiencing a two-color flexographic press print the Scouting logo and die-cutting labels
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Printing their own tee-shirts
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Mixed ink and matched Pantone colors
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Viewed demonstrations of functional printing, including capacitive touch and electroluminescent
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Assembling a hand stamp from a flexographic plate
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Designing personal business cards, then watched them get printed and cut to take home
Instruction was led by Josh Sigmon of Wink US and Chris Walker of Southern Graphic Systems.