You’re looking for more ways to optimize your workflow to stay competitive and turn a profit. As technology expands, however, so do your choices in printing methods. When deciding on a printing method, offset printing and digital printing offer plenty of their own advantages and disadvantages. Offset printing success depends largely on the optimized speed and efficiency of both your machinery and operators to achieve ISO 12647-2 and G7® qualifications. While digital allows for shorter variable runs, it does not always reproduce the high image quality associated with offset. So how do you choose a method? To help kick start your decision, here is a quick look at the advantages in offset vs. digital printing: Offset High image quality Lower cost-per-unit as quantities increase Wider range of substrates and finishes More accurate color match for Pantone® inks (Need a tip? Take a look at these “5 Best Bets for Your Offset Press: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Control It!”) Digital Customization Quicker turnaround and delivery time Four-color process printing Accurate color proofing No matter the type of printing you use, to stay competitive your work must be virtually flawless—your press crew and equipment all have to run like a well-oiled machine! Therefore, we want to offer a solution. There’s a valuable training program coming this fall designed to help you optimize your offset printing. Take advantage of Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize, November 5–7, 2013, part of Printing Industries of America’s reputable training programs.In this popular hands-on workshop, you get to see how to meet ISO 12647-2 and G7® print quality in a live pressroom setting. Learn how to troubleshoot problems, control print components, and optimize your press performance for consistent quality and less waste. Led by experienced industry veterans, Lloyd DeJidas, Director, Graphic Services and Facility Manager, and Greg Workman, Pressroom and Bindery Supervisor and consultant for the Center for Technology and Research, you will get the tools and techniques you need to slash makeready time and accelerate press performance. Registration is open for Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize, November 5–7, 2013, at Printing Industries of America headquarters, Pittsburgh, PA. For information on offset printing and more, including cost calculators, technology articles, and white papers, visit the Free from Center for Technology and...

You’re looking for more ways to optimize your workflow to stay competitive and turn a profit. As technology expands, however, so do your choices in printing methods. When deciding on a printing method, offset printing and digital printing offer plenty of their own advantages and disadvantages. Offset printing success depends largely on the optimized speed and efficiency of both your machinery and operators to achieve ISO 12647-2 and G7® qualifications. While digital allows for shorter variable runs, it does not always reproduce the high image quality associated with offset. So how do you choose a method? To help kick start your decision, here is a quick look at the advantages in offset vs. digital printing: Offset High image quality Lower cost-per-unit as quantities increase Wider range of substrates and finishes More accurate color match for Pantone® inks (Need a tip? Take a look at these “5 Best Bets for Your Offset Press: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Control It!”) Digital Customization Quicker turnaround and delivery time Four-color process printing Accurate color proofing No matter the type of printing you use, to stay competitive your work must be virtually flawless—your press crew and equipment all have to run like a well-oiled machine! Therefore, we want to offer a solution. There’s a valuable training program coming this fall designed to help you optimize your offset printing. Take advantage of Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize, November 5–7, 2013, part of Printing Industries of America’s reputable training programs.In this popular hands-on workshop, you get to see how to meet ISO 12647-2 and G7® print quality in a live pressroom setting. Learn how to troubleshoot problems, control print components, and optimize your press performance for consistent quality and less waste. Led by experienced industry veterans, Lloyd DeJidas, Director, Graphic Services and Facility Manager, and Greg Workman, Pressroom and Bindery Supervisor and consultant for the Center for Technology and Research, you will get the tools and techniques you need to slash makeready time and accelerate press performance. Registration is open for Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize, November 5–7, 2013, at Printing Industries of America headquarters, Pittsburgh, PA. For information on offset printing and more, including cost calculators, technology articles, and white papers, visit the Free from Center for Technology and...

In this four-part series, we’ll take a look at how each indicator from the Monthly Conditions Dashboard is affecting your business based on the survey results from the past 15 months. Charts are also provided to show the trends in an easy-to-read format, so you can benchmark your current market conditions with hundreds of other printers. In July, we shared some market insights based on data pulled from the Monthly Industry Conditions Dashboard. This market monitoring report from our Economic and Market Research department can be used to determine where the industry is trending in the short term, which can help you better forecast demand for the coming quarters. In Industry Trends Report: Part 1—Monthly Sales we learned about the wide swings and modestly rising sales printers are experiencing. Positive sales for 2013 are predicted in Industry Trends Report: Part 2—Sales Expectations. How do we get these results? Survey respondents provide information in five principle areas—1) Monthly Sales, 2) Sales Expectations, 3) Profits, and 4) Print and Paper Prices. Current sales and profits are compared to the previous month. Printing prices and paper prices are current month compared to 12 months earlier. Sales expectations are expectations for next month compared to the current month. Respondents are asked to report the directional change of each of the five key indicators (increasing, decreasing, or no change). We’ll compare print and paper prices in two weeks for Part 4 of the series and where you can expect them to be in 2013. The findings you will read are based on July 2013 calculations using a net diffusion index. A net diffusion index is an index where the percentage of respondents reporting an increase is subtracted from the percentage of respondents reporting a decrease. The net diffusion index provides a simple snapshot of printers’ market perceptions for each...

In this four-part series, we’ll take a look at how each indicator from the Monthly Conditions Dashboard is affecting your business based on the survey results from the past 15 months. Charts are also provided to show the trends in an easy-to-read format, so you can benchmark your current market conditions with hundreds of other printers. In July, we shared some market insights based on data pulled from the Monthly Industry Conditions Dashboard. This market monitoring report from our Economic and Market Research department can be used to determine where the industry is trending in the short term, which can help you better forecast demand for the coming quarters. In Industry Trends Report: Part 1—Monthly Sales we learned about the wide swings and modestly rising sales printers are experiencing. Positive sales for 2013 are predicted in Industry Trends Report: Part 2—Sales Expectations. How do we get these results? Survey respondents provide information in five principle areas—1) Monthly Sales, 2) Sales Expectations, 3) Profits, and 4) Print and Paper Prices. Current sales and profits are compared to the previous month. Printing prices and paper prices are current month compared to 12 months earlier. Sales expectations are expectations for next month compared to the current month. Respondents are asked to report the directional change of each of the five key indicators (increasing, decreasing, or no change). We’ll compare print and paper prices in two weeks for Part 4 of the series and where you can expect them to be in 2013. The findings you will read are based on July 2013 calculations using a net diffusion index. A net diffusion index is an index where the percentage of respondents reporting an increase is subtracted from the percentage of respondents reporting a decrease. The net diffusion index provides a simple snapshot of printers’ market perceptions for each...

Not only is it a smart idea to make sure every employee is informed of chemical hazards in the workplace, it’s also the law! Many of us in the printing industry work with chemicals and materials on a daily basis, and under the Hazard Communication Standard, OSHA requires printing companies to identify hazardous chemicals and provide training to ensure that employees are working with these chemicals in a safe manner. OSHA has made significant revisions to the Hazard Communication Standard, including replacing the Material Safety Data Sheet with the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). In response, we are making available to all members “need to know” information to stay in compliance with the new requirements and free tools to implement a Hazard Communication program to meet them. If you’re familiar with the Safety—Know It, Live It poster series,you know these popular resources function as straightforward visual references to guides for employees providing critical safety information while they work. We’ve just added two new posters to the series, “Get to Know the Safety Data Sheet” and “Globally Harmonized System of Classification (GHS) Pictograms Quick Reference.” Let’s dive deeper into the details of the new Safety Data Sheet (SDS) represented in the “Get to Know the Safety Data Sheet” poster. The “Get to Know the Safety Data Sheet” poster provides employees with a reference for what information can be found on an SDS and where to look for it. Let’s look at some important facts about the revised Standard and new SDSs: Safety Data Sheets are replacing Material Safety Data Sheets, and now have a mandatory uniform 16-section format. Manufacturers and suppliers of chemicals are required to determine what hazards could be presented by their product, and they must inform you about those hazards on labels and SDSs. Employers are required obtain an SDS for every hazardous chemical employees work with and to maintain them so they can be accessed. On the SDS, you can find information on a variety of topics about the product, including physical and chemical properties, personal protection, handling, storage procedures, first aid procedures, and health effects in the event of exposure. The safety posters are designed to be displayed in employee break rooms or in other common areas to reinforce key safety messages. Posters can also be placed near equipment, along production lines, or at entrances to production areas. There are also new labeling procedures in the revised Standard which require that all labels must include a Product Identifier, Signal Word (such as DANGER), Hazard Statement, Pictogram, Precautionary Statement, and manufacturer contact information. Employees must receive initial training on the new SDS and labeling requirements by December 1, 2013. For more information on the new Hazard Communication...