The accomplishments and innovations of the printing industry are immeasurable. Printing Industries of America’s year-long celebration of its landmark 125th anniversary has the industry reflecting on its history, staying up-to-date with current trends, and feeling excitement for its future. The milestone we are celebrating once again reminds the printing industry of all that it has to offer. Stay Up-to-Date with Current Industry TrendsNot only is Printing Industries of America reflecting on the history of this exciting industry, but we are also looking to keep our members current in some of the top industry trends. The Center for Digital Printing Excellence at Printing Industries provides up-to-date information on digital printing business applications and technologies, cross-media marketing opportunities, emerging innovations, Web and eCommerce, and social media engagement. The Center for Technology and Research is at the forefront of technology for the printing industry and provides members with support for day-to-day operations and long-term product development. The Value of Print is another hot trend we are extolling to our members and the industry. Now more than ever, it is vital to communicate that printed products are both environmentally and socially responsible. To advance the core message that printing is vital and a sustainable form of communication, Printing Industries of America has provided information and developed resources to help increase awareness about print. Actively promote the value of print with The Value of Print Flip-Book. The new flip-book delivers facts and figures to support your sales efforts in the modern media mix. The Future of the IndustryPut the future of your business into your hands. Printing Industries of America members have the opportunity to take advantage of benefits that can save time and money and help improve profitability. As print advances, so will our place in the industry. Printing Industries of America will continue to be the leader for the graphic communications industry, providing printers with the latest in technology, education, and products and services. As we look to the future, we acknowledge that only a willingness to grow and evolve can help keep print valuable and relevant to...
Experience to Solve Your Toughest Challenges
Is your operation in compliance with federal, state, and local environmental and safety regulations? Would you be ready if an EPA or OSHA inspector showed up at your door today? An inspection can happen at any time, and if you are not prepared, you could face thousands of dollars in fines for even minor infractions. The best way to solve a compliance issue is before an inspection occurs, and the Environmental, Health, and Safety experts at Printing Industries of America are here to help with all of your regulatory compliance needs. Our expert staff has the knowledge to provide you with timely and effective solutions for preventing and resolving compliance issues, responding to an enforcement action, or achieving sustainability certification to go beyond compliance. Customer demands for sustainability are increasing, and EHS compliance is a requirement of any credible sustainability program. Agency penalties for noncompliance can be severe and expensive, and safety violations can lead to serious injuries. The first place to start with achieving regulatory compliance is to know and understand what rules apply to your operation. This is done with a compliance audit that the EHS team can conduct to confirm compliance or uncover violations and help correct them in a reasonable fashion and without government penalty. If an inspection has already occurred, the EHS team can help mitigate any violations and penalties. When in Need, Turn to Printing Industries of America We know printing, inside and out.With nearly 50 years of combined printing industry experience, our EHS experts provide knowledgeable, effective, and professional service to printers across the nation. With our expertise, you eliminate the need to spend time and money educating other consultants about your business and the industry. We know the rules.Whether it’s compliance or sustainability, we have an extensive understanding of regulatory requirements and industry standards, and we can help you understand it all. We can save you money.Our EHS experts have saved clients thousands of dollars by being able to navigate the regulatory process, help develop cost effective compliance management, and negotiate with the appropriate agency in cases of citations and penalties. Learn more about our Environmental, Health, and Safety consulting services by visiting...
Evaluate Your Industry Performance with 2012–2013 Ratios
Printing Industries of America has recently released the 2012–2013 Ratios volumes. The Ratios will help you and your company assess your performance compared to industry leaders, determine which aspects of your operations need improvement, and ultimately increase profits. The Ratios are an important tool for industry leaders. Printers use the Ratios reports to evaluate their performance against industry profit leaders. Specific reports are available for various firm profiles by size of firm, printing process, and print market segments. In all, there are 15 different volumes of the Ratios for you to choose which is best for your business. Here is a sample of what you can expect to find in the 2012–2013 Ratios: According to our 2012 survey results (2011 fiscal year-end numbers), materials accounted for the largest single cost category for the typical printer—approximately 35.5% of sales. Total materials expenses increased slightly in 2011 from their previous level of 35.2% in 2010. Paper alone consumed more than one-in-five sales dollars last year. Other major costs incurred by printers last year included factory payroll at 24.8% of sales (down from 24.9% in 2010), factory expenses of 17.6% of sales (down from 18.0% in 2010), and administrative and selling expenses at 19.6% of sales (up from 19.4% in 2010). Each Ratios volume includes a report on the following areas: Operations; Profitability and Sales Factors; Cost Drivers and Expenses; Balance Sheet Statistics; Basic Payroll Data and Employee Profiles; and Inventory Turnover and Billing Cycles. View a complete listing of the Ratios by visiting www.printing.org/2012ratios. If you have any questions, you may contact Ron Davis at 434-591-0527 or...
Capturing, Editing and Managing High-quality Color Images
Dr. Taz Tally, Taz Tally Photography and Director of the Digital Print Production Program, Sessions.edu—The Online School of Design, has been practicing, teaching, and writing about photography for more than 30 years. Specializing in black and white landscape photography, Dr. Tally is an expert in controlling image color and quality, and reproducing his awe-inspiring images using Adobe Creative Suite. Creating high-quality color images requires a combination of both creative image capture skills and technically competent image adjustment and management expertise. Achieving high-quality final color photographic output depends upon: Developing and utilizing high-quality techniques and processes throughout your color workflow, including composing eye-catching image compositions, Capturing images with Photoshop in mind Accurately and efficiently evaluating the color quality of your images Utilizing nondestructive image adjustment and editing techniques Accurately and efficiently adjusting your color, preparing your image for your final output device(s) Exporting and/or printing your final image—all while managing your color consistently throughout the process. So, consistently creating good, quality color images requires a mixture of both right-brain creative judgment and left-brain analytical and technical skills and organization. Most of us tend to favor one side of the brain or the other. Those who are more left-brain oriented may find the creative aspects of image capture to be a bit outside of our comfort zone. Similarly, those who are more right-brain oriented can be thoroughly intimidated by the analytical and technical aspects of color correction and color management. The reality of today’s creative and business life is that the same individual is often tasked with having both the creative insights and the technical competence to produce and output high-quality images. The good news is that the fundamentals of designing eye-catching image compositions and executing technically competent color correction and management are both learnable skills! During a full-day color image seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona, we will work our way through the entire high-quality color image creation workflow. We will begin with learning and then using a four-step process for composing eye-catching images. Then using the images we captured in the composition portion of the seminar we will step through the process of image evaluation, nondestructive color correction, and image editing. We will then finish up with preparing our images for final output, including printing. Throughout the entire process, we will be conscious of developing then maintaining the color quality of our images. Dr. Taz Tally will be presenting The Fine Art of Digital Photography and Workflow pre-conference workshop at the 2012 Color Management Conference, December 1–4, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Experience this valuable creative learning experience in a gorgeous desert setting. Find more information on this session and more...
Print—Still a Vital Component in an E-Centric World
This guest blog was submitted by Kurt Konow, Production Print Marketing Strategist, Ricoh Americas Corporation, sponsor of the 2012 Integrated Print Forum, October 29-30, 2012. The world of communicating has changed dramatically. It was less than a decade ago that the primary distribution channel for communications was traditional print. Whether you were in the business of preparing and distributing mission-critical bills and statements, or the more creative world of designing and delivering direct mail, flyers, and brochures, print was king. But then something happened. Tradition was socked with a one-two punch—the E-World—and the methods of communicating changed forever. Consumers have more communication choices than ever before, including email, SMS text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and traditional print. Depending on the content of the communication, one channel might be just perfect and another channel not even a consideration. Sitting at your kid’s soccer game or commuting on a train might be perfect situations to text or tweet a message, but not very practical or timely to create and print a message. Clearly, we live in a world that communicates, and the E-World has simplified and enhanced our ability to interface with others instantaneously. However, what still remains at the center of the communication channel choice is preference and practicality. Not everyone can—or wants to—communicate via Facebook messaging. Not every mail piece, brochure, or poster is intelligently transferable through mobile marketing mechanisms. What are we saying? Print is still valued, still considered, still preferred by many, and still necessary. While print is not dead, it does require a more strategic approach to ensure it is carefully scheduled within an overall, integrated communication plan. In some circumstances print may still be able to stand on its own merit, but in other instances it will need to be a component in a broader communication strategy. Either way, it is incumbent on the communication owner to maximize the return on investment of print by ensuring maximum effectiveness. However, this lofty mandate can be daunting, unless you embrace a “best-practice” approach to ensuring print is a viable and effective component of an overall communication strategy. Ricoh’s 5 “Best-Practices” to Ensure Print Success Print Is Personal Never has the opportunity to effectively engage a prospect, or existing customer, been more possible than right now. As you are reading this article, your email inbox most likely has received one or more marketing messages. Did they go directly to spam or did they get clogged up amongst your other daily emails that you have to filter through? Either way, the “personalized” effect of your marketing email messages will most likely go unnoticed—if noticed at all. On the other hand, a printed piece with personalized messaging and imagery stares...