Graphic Arts is about how designs go from an idea to something printed in your hands. You'll learn about printing processes, create your own design, and produce it. It's a great mix of art and technology.
Why it's worth it
Look around: the cereal box, the T-shirt, the street sign, the concert poster. Someone designed each one and someone figured out how to print it. Graphic Arts shows you both halves, from picking a font that's easy to read to pulling a print off a screen. You'll be able to make flyers that people actually notice, shirts for your patrol, and signs for a service project, and you'll see the hidden craft in everyday things.
Start this week
- Collect five printed things from around your house, like a box, a magazine, a shirt, a sticker, and a business card, and guess how each was printed.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Graphic Arts counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Ask your patrol or troop leaders if they need a flyer, sign, or program for an upcoming event that you could design for requirement 3.
- Sketch three quick layout ideas for that piece on scrap paper before you open any software.
Stay safe
- Use craft knives and paper cutters with an adult nearby, and cut away from your hands.
- Some inks and cleaners give off fumes; use them only in a well-ventilated space with adult supervision and wear gloves.
Requirements · 7
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
Go over with your counselor how printed materials are made by each of these processes: screen printing, offset lithography, relief, gravure, and electronic/digital. Collect 3 samples made by 3 different processes, or draw diagrams to help explain them
Tip: Look closely at a magazine, a T-shirt, and a cereal box. Think about how each one might have been printed.
For example: Compare processes with things you own: a T-shirt was likely screen printed, a magazine was printed on a big offset press, a mailing label came from a digital printer, and a rubber stamp is relief printing. Explain how ink gets onto the surface in each.
- Requirement 2
Explain how line, halftone, and continuous tone artwork differ. Describe how digital images can be made and stored on a computer
Tip: Collect examples of photos, drawings, and logos, and learn the difference between common digital file types.
For example: Show the difference: a logo saved as a vector file stays sharp at any size, while a photo is made of pixels and gets blurry when you blow it up. Bring a JPEG and a PNG or PDF to show when you'd use each.
- Requirement 3
Design a printed piece such as a flyer, T-shirt, program, or form. Explain your typeface choices and layout, and which printing process suits it best. If desktop publishing is available, name the hardware and software you'd use to output it
Tip: Design something useful, like a troop flyer or event poster. Be ready to explain your choices of fonts, colors, and layout.
For example: Design a flyer for your troop's food drive: one big headline, a clear date and place, a simple image, and two colors that stand out. Be ready to explain why you chose a bold sans-serif font and put the date near the top.
- Requirement 4
Print your design. Choose 1 of 4
Tips for this section: Pick a printing process you can do yourself, like screen printing or a stamp, or work with a local print shop.
Example for this section: Produce your flyer by screen printing it on poster board with a counselor or adult helping, carving a simple linoleum block, or working with a print shop to run it digitally. Keep a sample from each step.
- Requirement 4a
Offset lithography: make a layout, make a plate using a counselor-approved method, and run at least 50 copies of your requirement 3 design
- Requirement 4b
Screen printing: cut a stencil by hand or make one photographically, attach it to a screen you've prepared, then mask the screen and make at least 20 prints of your requirement 3 design
- Requirement 4c
Electronic/digital printing: create your requirement 3 layout electronically, send the file to the press or printer, and print 50 copies. If there's no electronic link to the press or printer, you may print a paper copy and scan it
- Requirement 4d
Relief printing: create your requirement 3 layout electronically, send the file to the press or printer, and print 50 copies. If there's no electronic link to the press or printer, you may print a paper copy and scan it
- Requirement 5
Finishing and binding
Tips for this section: Look for folds, trims, binding, and other finishing touches on printed things around your house.
Example for this section: Find finishing in a stack of mail and books: a brochure folded in thirds, a booklet held with staples (saddle stitching), a hardcover book with a glued spine, and a business card trimmed to size.
- Requirement 5a
Discuss with your counselor these finishing steps: padding, drilling, cutting, and trimming
- Requirement 5b
Collect, describe, or identify examples of these bindings: saddle stitch, spiral, plastic comb, perfect, and case
- Requirement 6
Graphic arts visit. Choose 1 of 4
Tips for this section: Ask a print shop, sign maker, or school graphic arts program if you can see their equipment in action.
- Requirement 6a
Visit a newspaper printing plant and trace one story's path from editor to press. Then describe the highlights of your visit
- Requirement 6b
Visit a retail, commercial, or in-plant print shop and follow one job from start to finish. Then describe the highlights of your visit
- Requirement 6c
Visit a school's graphic arts program and learn what courses it offers and what you need to take them first. Then describe the highlights of your visit
- Requirement 6d
With a parent's or guardian's permission, visit 3 websites of graphic arts professional groups or printing-related companies (suppliers, makers, printers). Print or download product or service information from 2 of them, then describe the highlights
- Requirement 7
Learn about 3 careers in graphic arts. Choose one and research the education, training, and experience it takes. Discuss it with your counselor and explain why it might interest you
Tip: Talk with a designer or printer about their job and the skills they use every day.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A commercial print shop or sign maker
You can see big presses, cutters, and folders running and follow a job from file to finished piece.
How: Have an adult call and ask whether the owner or a press operator can give your patrol a short tour. Stay with your guide around running machines.
A high school or community college graphic arts program
Students and instructors can show screen printing, design software, and the projects they're working on.
How: Have a parent or your counselor email the instructor and ask if Scouts could visit during a class or open house.
A printing or design museum
Old printing presses and wood type show how books and posters were made long before computers.
How: Check the museum's website for hours and hands-on programs, and go with your family or patrol.
Where it can lead
- Graphic designerCreates logos, layouts, and packaging; a strong portfolio matters along with training.
- Press operatorRuns and maintains printing presses; often learned on the job or through a technical program.
- Prepress technicianGets digital files ready for printing so colors and sizes come out right.
- Screen printerPrints shirts, posters, and signs, and many run their own small shops.
- Packaging designerDesigns the boxes and labels that make products stand out on a shelf.
Ask yourself
- What printed thing have you seen recently that really grabbed your attention, and why?
- Which part of your design was hardest to decide on, and who gave you useful feedback?
- What went differently between your design on screen and the printed piece in your hand?
- How has this badge changed the way you look at packaging, signs, or shirts?
- What would you love to design and print next?
Good questions to ask a graphic designer or printer
- How do you decide on fonts and colors when you start a new project?
- What's a common mistake people make when they send files to be printed?
- How has printing changed since you started in this field?
- What does a normal day look like for you?
- What could I make now to start a portfolio?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Have Scouts design and print a real troop item, like a flyer or event program.
- Arrange a group tour of a local print shop.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Local print shop — See printing equipment up close and ask about the process.
- School art or graphic design teacher — Can help with design software and printing techniques.
- International Printing Museum (opens in a new tab) — History of printing presses and how type and ink have changed.
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (opens in a new tab) — Explore posters, packaging, and type design in the Smithsonian's design collection.
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.