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 has attracted students, and there are student TAGA chapters worldwide. In fact, I started the student chapter program in 1984 when I was a member of the TAGA Board of Directors. I realized then that the future of our industry relied on motivating young people to join it, and that we needed to encourage more students to attend TAGA’s annual conference for the reasons I’ve noted. However, there is a cost in doing so which greatly limits the number of students that TAGA can support. Hence, TAGA has developed an opportunity for our industry’s corporations to assist. It’s called “TAGA Adopt-A-Student.” (PDF Link)

For a tax-deductible donation of $400, a company or individual can help develop the type of future industry employees I’ve described. For a one-time contribution, a college student will have the opportunity to attend the annual conference in your company’s name and be indentified as such throughout the conference.

He or she would be identified and introduced to the conference as “XYZ’s Adopted TAGA Student.” This would also appear on their name badge, and they will never forget you.

For “Adopt-a-Student” for $400 you get:

  • Public acknowledgement at the annual TAGA conference.
  • Acknowledgement in a press release going to the international graphic arts press.
  • Your name or company name on the student’s name badge worn at the conference.
  • Name of student and photo for your own public relations.
  • Set of student research journals presented at the conference.
  • CD of all conference papers.
  • Tax deduction for $400-donation as TAGA is an IRS c.3 non-profit organization.

All TAGA needs is a pledge and you will receive an electronic invoice.

TAGA’s annual technical conference is the only international conference for the graphic arts that features technical papers on research straight from the laboratory, studies from within companies, and software and systems engineering papers.

The TAGA Adopt-A-Student (PDF Link) program will improve your industry and possibly your company in the future. It is a worthwhile and worthy investment.