Message
“My Expectations Were Vastly Exceeded.”
I first got to know about SID and its activities last year during an excursion for my master's degree in Print and Media Technology at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik. It was then that I became interested in the institute's multifaceted activities. For my upcoming master's thesis, I wanted to expand my knowledge and experience in measurement technology related to printing components.
My expectations of what I would be able to learn in just one week were vastly exceeded. In the luminous facilities of the accredited test laboratory for printing quality and post press, I was actively involved in working from day one of my time at SID. Measurement techniques were explained to me in detail and my individual questions were answered. I particularly liked the fact that the explanations were always given in a clear and comprehensible manner, enabling me - even without a degree in chemistry - to understand the interrelationships of our tests and to interpret the curves and graphs produced by the measured values.
In addition to providing support and assistance with incoming work orders, I was also allowed - after thorough instruction - to carry out measurements independently, which were required for answering internal queries - such as bending stiffness tests for various films. This gave me a good understanding of how long it takes to compile over 420 measured values, how my own routine can be optimized, and how much interesting information is hidden behind these measured values. I was particularly pleased about the interest in my master's thesis topic, for which I was offered the opportunity to carry out Cobb tests independently.
In my private life, I like to watch detective stories and can therefore easily relate to the enthusiasm with which the SID employees develop suitable solutions, for example, to find the causes for faulty print products. Depending on the individual case, various measuring techniques are suitable for making certain discrepancies and values visible. Working with different measuring devices, for example, gave me a unique opportunity to compare the results of simpler test methods with those of sophisticated measuring devices such as Krüss' Drop Shape Analyzer and to question the deviation of the resulting values.
The friendly atmosphere among colleagues at the institute rounded off my positive impression of the week. And I am pleased - even if only for a short time - to have worked with people who pursue their subject-related projects with great interest and curiosity.