I sat down to talk with Michael Makin, President & CEO of Printing Industries of America, to hear his take on association’s 125th anniversary. We talked about how Printing Industries of America has adapted throughout the years and where it’s heading. Michael also touches upon some of the highlights of the association, such as teaming up with the Graphic Arts Show Company and last year’s CPSIA victory.  You can listen to that interview below.  Michael Makin Talks about Printing Industries of America”s 125th Anniversary (mp3) Have a highlight or memory you want to share? Leave a comment...

The following post was written by  Harvey R. Levenson, Ph.D., Professor and Department Head of Graphic Communication at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California. I joined the graphic arts industry in 1961. Including my education in the field and work experience, that makes it 51 years. Egad! Could that be? I feel like I am just getting started! Over the years I’ve attended hundreds (no thousands) of graphic arts conferences, seminars, workshops, expositions, and related meetings. If I had to select common concerns often heard at these events over the decades, they are: When will the graphic arts industry economy turn around? Where can we find bright people to drive our industry in the years ahead? How can we reverse the trend of media buyers moving their advertising dollars to non-print media? How can my company find employees who understand new media and how to integrate it into a traditional printing company? Where can I find talent who understand how to market new technology to traditional-thinking companies? In consulting I’ve done for more than 250 printing, publishing, and related companies worldwide, I’ve observed that the answer to such questions lies in strategic planning focusing on building a staff mindset that looks to the future—not to the past—in securing a company’s success. Who will survive and who will not, and who will flourish and who will decline, rests in the mindset of those who understand and love our industry and want to join it. One typically does not select the graphic arts or printing as a career choice in the way one elects to become a doctor, engineer, architect, teacher, lawyer, minister, and so on. Such professions are often selected at a very young age. However, one elects to study and join the graphic arts or printing industry after experiencing some favorable aspect of the field, usually in one’s high school or college years or beyond. Some select the field because of family involvement in it, but most do not. As concerned professionals wanting to preserve and grow the graphic communication industry, we have a responsibility to expose young people to the most positive and promising facets of our field—creativity, new technology, science, but most of all smart, inspirational, and great people dedicated to our industry. Where are these people found? You encounter them at all of the important industry conferences, expositions, and meetings. However there is no greater opportunity than at the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) annual technical conference where the world’s leading graphic arts scientists, technologies, engineers, managers, and thinkers meet to learn about and discuss the inventions and research that will define our industry in the future. For many years the annual TAGA conference...

Printing Industries of America, which formed in 1887, is pleased to announce that 2012 marks its 125th anniversary as an association. To help celebrate this milestone, a new logo and webpage have been created. The webpage will highlight not only the history of the organization but also the future of print and Printing Industries. Video and audio pieces featuring industry experts will be developed to capture their view of print’s past and its future. Celebrations will take place throughout the year, including one at Printing Industries of America’s booth at GRAPH EXPO 2012. “It’s important to look at our history to not only see what we’ve accomplished, but to learn from our past,” Michael Makin, CEO of Printing Industries of America, said, “This association has grown and evolved over the years to nurture printers as they’ve embraced change in the industry, and we’re excited to look back and explore our rich history. There’s certainly a lot of information to glean from the past 125 years.” Printing Industries of America was born out of a constitutional convention held in Apollo Hall in Chicago, Illinois, to help assuage the printing industry’s competition and labor problems. Then known as United Typothetae of America, the association defined a mission that it still carries to this day: exchanging information and assisting each other where necessary. All of the 125th anniversary content will be available at www.printing.org/125years. Click here for an audio interview with Lisa Rawa, vice president of marketing, Printing Industries of America, about the anniversary celebration. Over the last 125 years, Printing Industries of America has grown to provide state-of-the-art research, hands-on training, and economic insight and helped spread the value of print. This anniversary celebration will look at those facets and educate members of the industry with key insights and a storied history of how Printing Industries of America has evolved to what it is today as well as what it will be in the future. If you have a memory or comment you want to share with Printing Industries of America, contact Dan Tallarico at dtallarico@printing.org, leave a comment on this blog post, or include the hashtag #PIA125 on social media. For more information about the anniversary, visit...

Did you know that we’ll be celebrating the association’s 125th Anniversary in 2012? We’ll be exploring the storied history of Printing Industries of America, which was founded in 1887 as the “United Typothetae of America.” We’ll also be talking to employees of Printing Industries of America for their perspective on how the association has changed over the years to keep up with the evolving world of print. We’ll kick off the celebration in the new year, but if you have any memories or insight you want to share in the mean time, leave a comment on this blog. We look forward to celebrating 125 years with...

As the Vision 3 Summit approaches, we asked a few of the speakers to share their thoughts on the industry in blog form. This blog is from Kevin Keane, President, International Association of Printing Craftsmen. Mr. Keane will be speaking at the Vision 3 Summit about how to keep print relevant in a digital world. I did a speech for a group of small commercial printers circa 1989 forecasting the digital deluge and all its permutations. Frank and Larry, two printer pals, were in the audience. At the conclusion, Frank turned to Larry and said, “What do we do now?” Larry paused not a moment and said, “Sell!” A decade later I was asked to pinch-hit as the luncheon speaker at The Executive Outlook conference that precedes each GRAPH EXPO. In my remarks, I suggested that manroland, KBA, Heidelberg, and Komori would no longer be the only name plates in the pressroom and offered Canon, Ricoh, HP, Kodak, and Xerox. The then-CEO of one of the heavy iron press manufacturers, a very suave gentleman, approached me and begged to differ. He was elegant in his defense of conventional offset, but his firm never did develop a digital partner and eventually sought protection against creditors. The digital die is cast. This morning, 15 December 2011, Cheryl McClorey, who is in training as Marketing & Social Media Manager at Xic.com {Express Image} in Aberdeen/Edinburgh, Scotland sent me a note on our IAPHC Facebook Group page: “Right back at you Kevin, and Merry Christmas to everyone on your end 🙂 I don’t see why we have to choose one or the other. I think there are huge benefits in blending both traditional and digital. You just have to be clever about it. I made the point to the person who posted the article that in actual fact, I am more likely to look through the pile of catalogs that comes through the post than I am all the spam that comes through my email. I love the tangible effect print has, and I feel many others are the same. Cheryl is spot-on; it is not an either/or choice. Print, radio, and TV no longer have hegemony over marketing spends, but do not mistake the landscape has changed. Print is merely one of many arrows in the marketer’s quiver. If we want print to be a partner in the media mixology, then we need to pay attention to the wicked ways technology is changing our fortunes. Take a moment and note Cheryl’s job title. Does your firm have such a person, and if not, why not? In the speech I will give at the Vision 3 Summit, we will take an A–Z survey. Much...

Every year we have the Premier Print Awards and this year’s Silver Award Winner was C.J. Graphics. We asked Jay Mandarino, President and Founder C.J. Group of Companies, Toronto, Canada, to share some of this thoughts with us.  It was a great honour and privilege to receive the Silver Award and three Bennies at the recent Premier Print Awards hosted by the Printing Industries of America. To be acknowledged by one’s peers is at once gratifying and humbling. My companies, The C.J. Group of Companies, located in Toronto, Canada and its experienced staff have, repeatedly, been assisted by the Printing Industries of America’s dedicated team of scientists and technologists. My staff and I are constantly augmenting the technological advancements of the printing industry both in Canada and worldwide. Many of the thousands of awards that C.J. Graphics has won have been due to the development of proprietary systems, equipment, processes and computer programs to accomplish that which has never been attempted before. Our state-of-the-art prepress, press, bindery and digital divisions enjoy challenges that very often produce opportunities for both our customers and ourselves. We thrive on unusual requests and impossible deadlines. We are also dedicated to the promotion of innovative business practices that minimize our impact on our environment. We are committed to sustainability and we are working hard to become a resource and advocate for a better world. I have been involved in many aspects of the printing industry all my life and have been a dedicated supporter of the Printing Industries of America and its many accomplishments therefore, receiving these Awards was both moving and deeply appreciated. Thank...