Portfolios for graphic design and art students are looking nicer with help from new computers and scanners in the art department.

The department recently purchased 20 new Macintosh G4 series, 500 megahertz computers, and 20 Epson perfection 1240 scanners that were installed in 208 Talbot Hall .

These computers and scanners were funded from technology money from the University, Karin Watts, art instructor, said.

To keep up with the change in technology, the University really needed new computers to help students learn the newer programs, she said.

“The trends in (graphic) design are constantly changing and being up graded.

“The systems that we had, had really outdated software, so it was really difficult to teach students how to use the particular programs,” Watts said.

For example, he department had Adobe Photoshop version 3.3. That version was outdated, and version 6.0 has already come out. Everything students learned would be, for the most part, null and void, she said.

The University is now able to offer multimedia classes, web design and interactive design because the computers can handle the information being inputted, she said.

“The scanners allow a more professional look, and students can scan at a higher resolution,” Watts said.

Scanners were only located at every other computer, and traffic jams occurred when students were working on projects, she said.

The new scanners were bought on a budget, so they are not the top of the line, but they are cost-effective for the University. As a result, each computer now has its own scanner, she said.

“We can now be accurate and more professional,” Watts said.

All design students, art students, anyone involved in the design program, as well as people in the multimedia classes will have access to these computers, she said.

“Students will have a more realistic view of what it will be like when they graduate and go to work for professional agencies,” Watts said.

Students say they are pleased to have these new computers and scanners.

“The new computers are very fast, they are easier to get around in and it is easier to get from program to program in the computer,” Sommer Gaddis, 21, graphic design senior, from Thibodaux, said.

“I think that the computers, now that they are faster, can keep up with your creative process, they can keep up with your brain. You don’t have to wait for them to finish what they are doing when you have ideas, you can get things accomplished,” Jason Ledet, 23, graphic design junior, from Houma, said.

“The new computers are really advanced with new programs that do a lot more within the program,” Tiffany Martin, 22, graphic design senior, from Golden Meadow, said.