Training and Education

ALEXANDRIA, VA—March 24, 2008—The Print Solutions Conference & Expo, hosted by the Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA), is regarded as the only national show exclusively for companies buying and selling through the trade. PSDA announced today an exciting line-up of educational sessions for the show which is being held in the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland on October 23-25, 2008. The Print Solutions Conference & Expo training has been designed to assist sales representatives, executives and company owners with hot button issues like managing the bottom line, building brand awareness, beefing up sales and customer retention, and adopting new technology, among other

MIAMI BEACH, FL—March 18, 2008—Nearly 13,000 attendees from 78 countries converged under the sun to share in the excitement of Graphics of the Americas 2008, held from February 27 through March 1 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. “We turned up the volume this year and made some very positive noise in virtually all areas of the event,” says George Ryan, President and CEO of PAF, host of Graphics of the Americas. “We worked hard to bring a sharpened experience for attendees and exhibitors alike. From enhanced support to dynamic conference sessions, there was an exciting energy that pulsed throughout the show.

March, 2008—As processing direct mail becomes increasingly high-tech and complex in terms of design, printing, converting, logistics and shipping, Manuel Mataré, drupa’s project manager, explains why a visit to the world’s largest print media trade fair is so important for direct marketing professionals! Why is drupa 2008 so important for direct mail companies? Manuel Mataré: Direct mail activities serve a billion-dollar industry that is more technology-driven than any other printing segment. In the past, technical innovations were developed using dialog marketing concepts. But this situation forced lettershops and mail houses to constantly offer highly innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies. Fortunately, drupa

TEGERNSEE, GERMANY—More than 50 worldwide journalists and 10 major manufacturers, all representing the graphic arts industry, teamed up to attend the PrintCity Alliance 2008 pre-Drupa Media Event held February 13-14. PrintCity members—MAN Roland, Océ Printing Systems, Sun Chemical, Sappi, UPM-Kymmene Corp., Procemex, MEGTEC Systems, M-real Corp., MacDermid Printing Solutions and Leonhard Kurz—announced the alliance’s “Connection of Competence” theme for Drupa, which will be held May 29 to June 11 in Düsseldorf, Germany. It was also announced that seven new Competence Centers will be featured in the PrintCity exhibition, located in Hall 6, where visitors can see the latest technologies explained and get comprehensive information

GENERAL COMMERCIAL printing is a $60 billion industry, employing about 300,000 workers. Due to normal attrition, and a fair amount of people (mostly baby boomers) retiring from the industry each year, there are 30,000 to 40,000 openings in the general commercial market at any given time. Yet, there are only about 1,000 college students graduating with printing degrees annually. Industrywide, including all graphic arts companies, there are about one million people employed, with an additional 60,000 job openings. That eye-opening information, provided by Ted Ringman, vice president of development for the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF), provides an alarming visual of the quandary

I HAVE written quite often in this space about the role of “product” in the overall marketing strategy for any company; that is, the physical product or service offered to the customer. There are many exciting new products and services that printers are offering to their customers these days that go beyond print to address a broader swath of the business objectives their customers are trying to achieve. This includes multi-channel communications—incorporating e-mail, PDF distribution, Web, personalized URLs/Web microsites and other communications alternatives along with a print campaign; variable data solutions; transpromotional communications or the use of what is being called “onserts” in place

AMELIA ISLAND, FL—February 21, 2008—Print Buyers Online.com, a free, educational e-community for print buyers, print communications professionals and their suppliers in partnership with Print Communications Professionals International (PCPI), the premier association dedicated to print buyers, hosted their seventh annual Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference & Exhibit February 9-12, 2008. The event took place at the exotic ocean-front location of Amelia Island Plantation on Amelia Island, FL. Over 400 people participated in the conference, including 228 attendees (232 registered). Mark Hoog, the author of Growing Fields Books and executive director of Children’s Leadership Institute, set the tone for the conference by empowering

WHAT IF you could find one basic concept that would have a powerfully positive impact on all aspects of personnel management at your printing establishment? What if it would do more to help you avoid employee lawsuits than any compliance training you could provide to your managers or employees? What if it would do more to boost employee morale and overall performance than any set of policies, evaluation protocols or progressive discipline system? And, what if this concept came as close to “the answer” to successful human resources management as any company is likely to ever get? The answer lies in monkeys, rocks, cucumbers

THERE ARE two ways to view the current state of safety in the printing industry. On the one hand, as manufacturing industries go, printing is a relatively safe profession that has witnessed a steady decline in the rate of recorded injuries and illnesses, according to the PIA/GATF figures maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the most current reporting data, in 2006, the manufacturing sector had an injury and illness rate of 6.0 per 100 full time employees. Printing and publishing had a rate of just 4.2 per 100 full time employees. Unfortunately, the worst of our injuries have been splashed

AMELIA ISLAND, FL—With daytime temperatures in the 70s and clear skies throughout the Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference and Exhibit, held here February 9th to 12th at the Plantation Resort, the Sunshine State lived up to its name. So did the quality of educational sessions and networking opportunities available to the 400 people attending the seventh annual conference geared toward print buyers, production professionals and specifiers. Hosted by Suzanne Morgan, founder of Print Buyers Online.com and Print Communications Professionals International (PCPI), this year’s event featured a special environmental sustainability track for the first time. Special presenters included Scott Paul from Greenpeace USA, Katie Miller