Graphic Arts Merit Badge
Seven requirements. Learn the printing processes (1) and kinds of artwork (2), then design a printed piece (3) and print it by ONE of four processes (4): offset lithography, screen printing, electronic/digital or relief, 20 or 50 copies. Then the finishing and binding operations (5), ONE of four visits or a website search, then describe its highlights (6), and careers (7).
Elective Merit Badges Arts Communication Merit Badges Requirements
The plan behind this
Design it, then print it
Requirement 3 is designing a printed piece (a flyer, T-shirt, program, form, etc.): explain your typefaces and the way you arrange the elements, explain which printing process is best suited to it, and, if desktop publishing is available, identify the hardware and software appropriate for outputting it. Requirement 4 then produces that same design.
Requirement 4: ONE of four printing processes
| route | what you do | copies |
|---|---|---|
| 4(a) offset lithography | make a layout and produce a plate using a process approved by your counselor; run the plate | at least 50 |
| 4(b) screen printing | make a hand-cut or photographic stencil, attach it to a screen you have prepared, mask the screen | at least 20 |
| 4(c) electronic/digital printing | create a layout in electronic form and download it to the press or printer; if no electronic interface is available, you may print and scan a paper copy of the layout | 50 |
| 4(d) relief printing | the Hub currently gives the same wording as 4(c) | 50 |
Requirement 6: ONE of four, then describe the highlights
| route | what it asks |
|---|---|
| 6(a) | visit a newspaper printing plant and follow a story from the editor to the press |
| 6(b) | visit a retail, commercial or in-plant printing facility and follow a project from beginning to end |
| 6(c) | visit a school's graphic arts program and find out what courses are available and their prerequisites |
| 6(d) | with your parent or guardian's permission, visit three websites of graphic arts professional organizations and/or printing-related companies, and print out or download product or service information from two |
The rest
Review the processes for producing printed communications (offset lithography, screen printing, electronic/digital, relief and gravure), with samples of three products from different processes or diagrams (1); continuous tone, line and halftone artwork, and digital images (2); padding, drilling, cutting and trimming, and five types of binding (5); and three careers, one researched (7).
What this page is
The Graphic Arts merit badge, drawn so the design of requirement 3 is drawn as the prerequisite of printing it, with the printing process of requirement 4 and the visit of requirement 6 drawn as questions. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Graphic Arts Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .