Heliconia flowers (relatives of the banana and bird of paradise) photo by Nicholas Hellmuth.Taken with a Phase One P25 medium format back. These Heliconia were made available for photography courtesy of Marcel Roehrs, owner of La Selva Maya, Guatemala.

Our People at our main office

FLAAR employs a number of different people from varying backgrounds. We believe this mix is one factor that makes our institute effective as we monitor the development of digital imaging technology worldwide. All the full-time employees are Guatemalan (logical, since our main office is in Central America). But volunteers tend to come primarily from Europe, either German-speaking or from Eastern Europe or the Balkan area.

Dr Nicholas Hellmuth is the founder, President, and Director of FLAAR. A Harvard graduate, Nicholas has spent many decades working in Latin America, including while holding three research Fellowships at Yale University in the 1970's. FLAAR still has its office in Guatemala and we do many of our studies here of how wide-format inkjet printers can provide better signage for museums and archaeological parks in Central America. The reason we do so many evaluations is because our experience is with advanced digital photography with our 22-megapixel medium format (Phase One from Denmark), our two 48-megapixel BetterLight systems (from Silicon Valley area of California) and our 80-megapixel Cruse digital reprographic system (from Germany). 

Once we have the images from these high-quality digital capture devices, we seek to understand which wide-format printers are best to reproduce the quality we capture in the cameras. FLAAR also has two CreoScitex EverSmart flatbed scanners (now Kodak branded). So our evaluations and reviews of wide-format printers are dedicated to learning what's the best technology and ink chemistry. We publish these results in order to bring in research funding for our various projects.

Other staff members include co-operative education students.  In order to provide students experience in the real world, FLAAR hires students from local universities. Most of these students stay with FLAAR for between two and six years.

Flor Setina (Office Manager and Administrative Assistant of Dr Hellmuth). Flor began working in FLAAR since 2001.	Eduardo Sacayon (Biologist, Director of digital photography programs and field projects). Eduardo has been working since 2002.

Luis Sacayon (Photographer and Graphic Designer for FLAAR Reports and PowerPoint lecture programs). Luis has been part of the FLAAR team since 2006. He is now being trained in 3D scanning and 3D rapid prototyping technologies.	Jacqueline Najera (Photographer, Graphic Designer and Webmaster). Jacqueline is part of this association since 2006.

Marian Tager (Graphic Designer for FLAAR Reports and PowerPoint lecture programs). Marian was recently hired.	Jose Melgar (Graphic Designer for FLAAR Reports and PPT lectures as well as Technical Writer and evaluator for wide-format printers). Jose has been working in our FLAAR team since 2006.

Silvia Herrera (Graphic Designer for FLAAR Reports). She is part of the FLAAR team since 2007.	Ana Cristina Guirola, (student assistant for antropological and archaeological publications, Assistant in Ethnobotany projects). Ana Cristina started working with FLAAR in March 2009.

Pablo Martinez (Graphic Designer for FLAAR Reports). He is recently joined FLAAR in 2008. Pablo has experience in his prior job operating VUTEk printers, RIP software, Seal liquid laminator. He is assisting Dr Hellmuth in the evaluation projects of Seiko ColorPainter mild-solvent printers and Drytac UV-cured liquid laminators.	Diana Zea (Administrative assistant). Diana started November 2008 because FLAAR is growing and expanding. She keep track of the tons of e-mail that pour into FLAAR from end-users who wish help from Nicholas Hellmuth to decide which solvent (eco-, mild-, lite-, bio-) or whether to go to latex ink or which UV-curing flatbed technology to select.

Jaime Leonardo (Photographer and Graphic Designer for FLAAR Reports). Jaime is part of FLAAR team since 2008. He helps test digital camera equipment, especially of insects, flowers, and plants that were of importance in Mayan ethnobotany.	Antonieta Cajas (student assistant for antropological and archaeological publication, Assistant in Ethnobotany projects). Antonieta started working with FLAAR in December 2008. She is studying anthropology at Universidad San Carlos.

Enner Escobedo (Programmer and webmaster). He is recently joined FLAAR in 2009. Since our readership has grown over 42% since 2008, we are hiring new people to handle the increased number of printshop owners and managers who ask for help.	Cindy Contreras (Graphic Designer and webmaster). She started working with FLAAR in June 2009. She helps update and improve the two different FLAAR web sites on Maya archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnobotany, geology, architectural history, iconography, and epigraphy.

Sonja Shea is the author of a book on digital imaging software and also beta tester for other digital imaging software. She is starting with bookkeeping at the FLAAR office in St Louis (that replaces the office in Ohio). Sonja will also do editing and evaluation projects in the future.

Jaime Leonardo at ArtExpo '09 in New York (giclee and fine art photography event). FLAAR has a policy of facilitating the students to visit photography and printer trade shows in the US and Europe so they can practice their language skills and learn international aspects of digital imaging. We appreciate the research sponsorship funding from inkjet printer manufacturers that makes these student projects possible.

At the left Nicholas Hellmuth with a sample printed by the GRAPO Manta at GRAPO factory visit 2008. At the right Diana Dogaru (Spuhl) and Nicholas Hellmuth holding a sample printed by the Spuhl Virtu RS 35/48 in the main demo room adjacent to the Spuhl factory in Switzerland. Nicholas is in airplanes about 350,000 km a year to inspect advanced digital imaging equipment in order to have fresh material for his lectures. This year he has already lectured in Zagreb, Sarajevo, Belgrade and will speak later this year in Johannesburg, Chicago, and in 2010 for several hours at Graphics of the Americas in Miami.

Each year, when funding is available from research sponsorships, we provide opportunities for students to come to Guatemala to experience our various research projects. Both Alen Bubanja and Tina Košir are students at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Dr Hellmuth has lectured several times at this university as well as at other university special programs elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Both these students worked with digital photography, Maya ethno-botany (especially cacao), and Tina's project was also to survey the potential for 3D scanning and 3D "printing" of archaeological sculpture and artifacts.

Dr.Hellmuth photographing the Maya vases for La Ruta Maya Conservation Foundation (at left). Some of these pictures were used to evaluate the Mimaki JF-1631 at the recent demo room visit.

Jose Melgar is now working as a Technical Writer on UV printers. Here is Jose Melgar taking notes on the Matan Barak printer at ISA 2008 (at the left) and scrutinizing the Gandinnovations printer in their factory demo room in Toronto, Canada (at the right).

Luis Sacayon is a student at Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala City. FLAAR makes it possible for the students who work for us to learn by visiting digital imaging companies in foreign countries. Here is Luis at the factory of Durst this year in Brixen, Italy (at the left). In the photograph at the right Juan Luis is taking photos at SGIA 2008 for our websites and FLAAR Reports. FLAAR has also sent him for introductory training in 3D scanning at a ZCorp distributor training center in Slovenia. Juan Luis has also undertaken two site-visit case studies of two large sign printing companies in Slovenia.