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Hi, I'm Zoe, and I'm doing an internship here at Fogra.
13 February 2023, Materials & Environment Department
On my first day, I was in the chemistry lab in the Materials & Environment department. In the beginning, Dr Philipp Stolper showed me around the labs. Then Stefan Sarbach explained how to test the quality of washcloths. We immediately did one or two tests to check the washcloth in the lab. I also learned that before you test the papers or washcloths, they have to be stored for 24 hours in a room with a standard climate. Next, we moved on to printing DataMatrix codes with inkjet. We tested how quickly the ink dries on the cardboard. We also checked the readability of the codes . The qualitiy is rated 1D = failed, 2C = just passed, 3B = good and 4A = very good. When we were done with that, we moved on to the laser. It wrote three codes within 0.571 seconds. Again, we tested the readability. Then we tested the water content of the inks that arrived today. And then the first day was already over.
14 February 2023, Prepress Technology Department
Hi, today is my second day at Fogra.
This time I was in the prepress department. First, I was in front of a light booth where I sorted different sheets according to their OBA (Optical Brighteners Agents) grade. After that, I was told a bit about ΔE. ΔE is the perceived colour difference or sensation difference. After that, I did two colour tests. I did relatively well on those. Next, I learned a lot more about prints and found out that there are not only 2D and 3D prints but also 2.5D prints. Donatella Saric did a gloss test with me afterwards, which was also quite interesting. After that, unfortunately, my internship was already over for today.
15 February 2023, Printing Technology Department
Hello! Today I was in the printing technology department, which I found very interesting. In the beginning, I prepared the materials for the metallic tests with Sara Dörr. Then we went down to the printing machine. This is an offset printing machine where Alexander Wenk explained a lot of things to me. For example, I learned that there are different types of printing plates. One is developed after exposure before it goes into the press. The other can be used directly. After learning a few more interesting things about printing, I was told a few more things about testing papers and inks.
16 February 2023, Safety Applications Department
Hey! Today is my fourth day, and today I was in the Security Applications Department. A lot of things are top secret there. That's why I can't tell you too much. Anyway, the first thing I was shown around was by Arne Müller. He explained to me a bit about what exactly they do in the department. For example, they check the security features of banknotes, passports and credit cards. After that, Alexander Schiller explained some of the machines to me in more detail, and we did a test on one of the machines. Next, we checked another machine to see if it was allowed to be used. Then, unfortunately, the day was already over.
17 February 2023, Marketing & Communications department
Hi, my last day, almost done. Today I was in the Marketing & Communications department. First, Elgin Werk explained to me why a research institute needs a communications department and what its functions are. After that, I saw how a newsletter is created and how the website works. I was allowed into the chemistry lab for a short time, where I tested the washing fleeces from Monday. I also learned a lot about analysis and how tedious it can be to evaluate data. Unfortunately, today is the last day – I would have liked to stay longer.
This was a very interesting internship at Fogra.
