Andrew Davis, Chief Strategy Officer & Co-Founder of Tippingpoint Labs, and author of Brandscaping, will deliver the keynote presentation at the 2013 Integrated Print Forum. Davis, whose research has resulted in the creation of innovative online metrics, will inspire attendants to re-think the print, digital, and mobile strategies that they and their customers employ—and consider aligning them as a content continuum instead of disparate and unrelated initiatives. We caught up with Davis recently, and he was kind enough to share his thoughts about print’s role in the content continuum. How can print help content generators (marketers, publishers, etc.) differentiate themselves? Over the last five years marketers and publishers have invested boatloads of resources in creating digital assets, and in the process they’ve shifted their spending away from the more traditional print products they leveraged in the past. Paradoxically, this has led to an opportunity to leverage high-quality (and that’s the key—HIGH-QUALITY) print products as a significant point of differentiation in the marketplace. Digital content and platforms are commoditized, they all look the same and the experience is fleeting—that’s not the case with a well-crafted print product. There’s longer engagement, deeper relationships, and even higher pass-along rates that come with the perceived value of print. Here’s the catch—you don’t have long to leverage this opportunity to shift marketers’ and publishers’ perspectives. You need to challenge them today to print something different, something unique and valuable. What can printers do to convince content generators that print should remain an integral part of their communication strategies? You’ll never convince people that print will remain an integral part of their communication strategy, but you can show them. There’s a content continuum that begins online—where they can rapidly create, test, and generate content to see what resonates with their audience. The best content—the stuff that generates the highest return on investment—can then be elevated, enhanced, and delivered as a highly valuable print product. This way your digital assets, which have a very short lifespan, build a long term and sustainable ROI. It’s not easy, but it works. Start consuming every piece of content your clients create in the digital world. Find the best stuff and pitch a high-quality print product. I’m willing to bet they’ll be impressed and intrigued enough to buy! What will attendees to your session learn? In my session attendees will learn how to rethink the role of print in a digital world. You don’t have to start competing with the rest of the agencies in the marketing space and expanding your services in places it doesn’t make sense. You’ll learn to leverage your past experiences, expertise, and insight to drive higher-value print deals fueled by digital information overload. What do...

Troubleshoot, Control, and Optimize. Those three words are vital to running a successful printing operation. Without an educated workforce, your press crew may be practicing wasteful activities and not optimizing time and material use. With the upcoming workshop, Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize, those wasteful activities—and how to solve them—will be brought to light. Presenters—Lloyd DeJidas, Director, Graphic Services and Facility Manager, and Greg Workman, Pressroom and Bindery Supervisor—will provide the steps to turn any pressroom into one that will increase job throughput while printing higher quality, more consistent color with less downtime, waste, and spoilage through the process of Troubleshooting, Controlling, and Optimizing.   TroubleshootAttendees will learn the skills to identify root causes of printing problems and how to quickly address and fix these issues. ControlAcquire the skills to control print color and quality by utilizing proper tools and techniques. OptimizeGet an understanding of how to find and eliminate waste in the pressroom to enable your press’s performance, as well as confirming that it is printing at an ideal, consistent state. Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize, will be held three times throughout the year— March 19–21; July 23–25; and November 5–7—at Printing Industries of America state-of-the-art facility outside of Pittsburgh, PA. This workshop has quickly become an industry favorite and is known to be a frequent sellout. Now is the time to make your reservations for the March event. Click on the image below to go straight to the registration...

What is possible with G7 mythology? Instructor, Dave Dezzutti, explains. Dave Dezzutti is all about managing color. He starts his day with a coffee and a copy of the latest digital printing magazine before beginning his work in prepress preflighting, proofing, and operating several different digital workflow systems for Printing Industries of America’s in-house production facility. He has spent 30 years in the industry and is now a Technology and Research Analyst and G7® Expert for Printing Industries of America. So what does Dave think about leading the hands-on G7 Digital Press Operator Training Program this April? He couldn’t feel more at home. Why do you think color management is so important to companies today? Customers demand that their print provider be G7 certified. Companies can have an edge on the competition by having their employees training and certified. Plus they can save money and cut waste. Before you were a G7 Certified Expert, what type of work did you perform? I was a manager of prepress production for Printing Industries of America, responsible for preflighting, ensuring a smooth workflow between prepress and press, and analyzing any workflow problems. I was also responsible for the calibration of several CTP and digital proofing devices. You are also a consultant for Printing Industries of America. What have you done for printing companies to improve their operations? I consult and evaluate which system will work the best in an organization. By analyzing a company’s prepress/printing capabilities, I make appropriate recommendations to streamline workflow and achieve color management standards. What do you feel is your most important role in your work for the Center for Technology and Research? Ensuring accurate color is very important, and I feel being able to help others achieve this as well really fits into the larger picture of helping to move our industry forward. When I can train others in G7 specifications or evaluate their operations, I know that printing companies value that knowledge and they value the opportunity to be more competitive. I also speak at events like the Color Management Conference where I can address a large audience and talk with printers. What types of equipment do you work with in daily operations?  Agfa’s Apogee, Kodak’s Prinergy, and Heidelberg’s Prinect PDF prepress workflow system are some of the equipment that I work with each day. I also operate the Kodak Spectrum, and PressTek Dimension CTP systems along with several digital proofing devices. What makes training so valuable in our industry? It is all about knowledge, whether it be new or continued education. I believe one of the most powerful resources you can have is a well-trained staff—and to have that knowledge yourself. G7 training, in particular,...

“There are three kinds of leaders. Those that tell you what to do. Those that allow you to do what you want. And Lean leaders that come down to the work and help you figure it out.” – John Shook What do you think classifies a person as an exceptional leader? One measure is that a person provides the motivation, knowledge, and tools that result in a company’s operation constantly improving. These are the individuals we want to honor with the 2013 Managing for Improvement Award. This award recognizes managers who make quality and efficiency a top priority—they are the ones making sure their employees are productive and safe and that their customers are satisfied. They inspire people and ensure that these standards are sustained. Why should you nominate an outstanding manager for the Managing for Improvement Award? The winner is recognized at the 2013 Continuous Improvement Conference*—the conference that focuses on exploring the latest innovations in Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement In the ceremony the recipient receives an engraved award to display and complimentary attendance to the CI Conference as well as one night’s hotel stay A news release detailing the recipient and award will be sent to industry media, media in the recipient’s community, and to industry peers Recognition ad in Printing Industries of America: The Magazine A truly outstanding manager helps a company strive for operational excellence. You can give a deserving leader, and their company, the recognition they deserve. Read this article from David Harding’s blog, How to ID a True Leader, for more on what qualities comprise a leader. Harding is presenting “Sustaining an Empowering Culture in the Face of Personnel Changes and Acquisitions” at the 2013 Continuous Improvement Conference. Do you have someone in mind? If so, send us their information by February 15, 2013. Click on the image to view the details on how to enter your nomination. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Workman at jworkman@printing.org or visit www.printing.org/ciconference. You can attend the 2013 Continuous Improvement Conference, April 7–10, 2013, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and learn more about the skills needed to benefit from successful Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement strategies....

The Environmental, Health, and Safety Department at Printing Industries of America offers advice on the control and cleaning of combustible dust, a top priority for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The control of combustible dust has become a top priority for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and they are focusing on many industries—including printing operations—where combustible dust is generated. Combustible dust can be generated by several activities involved with printing and binding, including cutting paper, perfect binding, finishing operations, material handling activities, deteriorating building materials, and use of offset spray powder. The generation, handling, and accumulation of combustible dust present both a fire and explosion hazard, and it must be managed to prevent a hazardous situation. In addition, excessive dust can cause problems with product quality and premature wear of motors, especially around motor sleeves. As a result of many fires and explosions occurring due to combustible dust, OSHA initiated a National Emphasis Program designed to target companies that generate, use, or handle combustible dusts and to cite them for violating OSHA standards. Individual printing and bindery operations are a target and have been inspected and cited for violations. A first step to address combustible dust hazards is to evaluate your current condition. This involves determining first whether you generate combustible dust and second whether there is an accumulation of dust that would exceed OSHA’s threshold for a hazardous environment., OSHA uses a combustible dust threshold of 1/32 of an inch (the thickness of a paper clip) over 5% of horizontal surfaces. If your dust accumulation exceeds this threshold, it is very likely that you have a combustible dust hazard situation that needs to be addressed. The two basic responses required are “cleaning” and “control.” Cleaning involves an initial cleaning of all dust in the area(s) or the entire facility and then implementing a regular cleaning schedule to keep the area(s) dust-free, or at least at or below the OSHA threshold. Control involves determining whether the equipment or operation is designed properly for the activities and performing regular inspection and maintenance of equipment and/or operations that have been identified as generating or contributing to combustible dust, such as dust collection systems, balers, production equipment, etc. With both cleaning and control activities, the efforts should be documented to show proof that the activities are implemented as policy within the company. Although these efforts cannot keep an OSHA inspection from occurring, it can help eliminate or greatly reduce the chances of receiving an OSHA citation For a helpful reminder toward safety in the production environments, the EHS Department has developed a series of safety posters. One poster addresses the topic of reducing combustible dust and can be...

As a professional in the printing industry, it never hurts to get a refresher on the basics. These basics are not “old” ideas or theories of graphic communications. They are simply the building blocks of print and without them, you would not be able to grow with the industry or even understand it. Let’s face it, everyone can use a refresher once in a while. Printing Industries of America will take it back to basics with the workshop Orientation to the Graphic Arts. This popular worskhop is the must-attend event for anyone in the industry who wants to be reminded of basic technology and language. Have you stopped reading, thinking “this isn’t for me, I’ve been in the industry for 20 years?” Well the novice is not the only professional who can benefit from orientation. It is equally beneficial to an expert in the field who wants to get a refresher in technology and industry language. And you don’t need to work in the pressroom to take advantage of all that Orientation to the Graphic Arts has to offer. In past workshops, Orientation has been filled with attendees who are in sales, customer service, graphic design, human relations, marketing, production, and much more. Or if you are thinking of making a move in the industry, it doesn’t hurt to attend either. You will have the opportunity to learn about several different areas you may not have realized you were even interested in. Orientation to the Graphic Arts will be held twice in 2013 at Printing Industries’ state-of-the-art facility just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Attendees will work hands-on and in classroom-style settings, instructed by Printing Industries’ own experts. The first workshop will be held April 15–18, 2013, and will feature the print production workflow, major printing processes, color theory and reproduction, bindery, desktop publishing, and much more. For more information about this event, visit www.printing.org/training and click on “Orientation to the Graphic Arts” under the “Public Workshops” tab. Get the refresher you need—attend Orientation to the Graphic Arts....