Why
Offer
Long-Term Disability
Coverage?
Did you know that an illness or accident
will keep 1 in 5 workers out of work for at least six months
before the age of 65? (Life and Health Insurance Foundation
for Education, November 2005) What's more, the majority
of long-term disabilities are caused by back injuries and
illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. (Council
for Disability Awareness, Long-Term Disability Claims Review,
2007) Are your
employees covered for long-term disability? If not, now is
the time to add this insurance to your benefit plan through
the Printers Disability Trust – the only insurance
designed for printers, by printers. Protect your staff
by establishing a long-term disability benefit. Open enrollment
runs May 1 – July 31, and
you can find information on PDT coverage at www.standard.com/mybenefits/pdt.
OSHA
Focuses on Printing
OSHA has revised and implemented
a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Amputations that focuses
in part on the printing industry. OSHA found that its existing
NEP was not broad enough and undertook an analysis of various
industry segments to determine where amputations were occurring
at an unacceptable rate. Among the industries identified
was General Commercial Lithographic Printing. The NEP also
identified printing presses in a generic sense as the principal
equipment involved in amputations. The NEP concluded that
the high rates of amputations were due to a lack of or inadequate
procedures for machine guarding and energy control,
namely Lockout/Tagout. In response to these findings, Printing
Industries of America has developed materials to help members
adopt a turnkey prevention program which includes the book, What
You Need to Know for Safe Equipment Operation. Other
materials available include:
* A multimedia training module
* Check lists
* Fact sheets
* And a PowerPoint presentation for training purposes
One copy of the What
You Need to Know for Safe Equipment Operation package
was already distributed to all PGAMA members. Additional
copies are available for purchase for $79 from Printing
Industries of America.
This
Month in "The Magazine"
"The Magazine" is the new publication
from Printing Industries of America, and the May 2009 issue
features loads of great
information. Two articles of particular interest are:
- A piece on
the new USPS standards (effective September 8, 2009)
that reflect the changes to construction, sealing, weight,
and definition of letter-sized booklets mailed at automation,
pre-sorted machinable, or carrier route letter prices.
- "Success is More Than Clean
Data” on page
4, which focuses on processing mail lists. One useful tip
you'll find in the article: After you check your list (or
your customer’s
list) against the USPS NCOA database, you should also
CASS certify and conduct a DPV (Delivery Point Validation)
check on the list.
One FREE copy of "The Magazine"
was mailed to all listed "key" members of PGAMA. Ask around
your plant if you have not yet seen the May issue.
What
Are Your Customers Thinking?
Tune in to a FREE webinar on June
17th to get an inside look at how your customers and competitors
see the printing industry. Survey results from more
than 12,000 print customers will be shared, covering areas
such as service quality, product quality, customer loyalty,
client share, and future expansion areas. You will also learn
how to implement your own customer feedback system to stay
in touch with what every client wants and needs so YOU can
keep their business. Register for the webinar online at: www.surveyadvantage.com/webinar/webinar.php?BizID=24.
Hiring
Summer Help: Rules & Regulations
Summer is just around the corner, and if you are looking
to take on minor workers, here are a few things to remember.
- No
minor under the age of 14 may be employed at any time unless
the business is owned or operated by a parent or guardian.
Minors age 14 through 17 years of age may only work with
a valid work permit. This permit must be in the employer's
possession before the minor is permitted to work. Applications
for work permits are available at any City or County school
or from the Maryland Division of Labor and Industry, (410)
767-2239. PGAMA also has a limited supply of these forms.
- Minors under 16 years of age can't work more than 40
hours per week when school is not in session; before 7:00
am nor after 9:00 pm; more than 8 hours per day on non-school
days; or more than 23 hours per week when school is in
session.
- Employees who are under 17 years of age may not drive
automobiles or trucks on public roadways.
- Certain occupations are prohibited for minors under 18
years of age. Of the prohibited occupations listed by the
U.S. Department of Labor, several are applicable to the
printing industry, such as: cleaning machinery, the operation
of certain power-driven paper products machines
For more information about hiring minors, go the Members
Only section of www.pgama.com under "Topic References."
Freebie of the Week:
White Papers
List company Accudata has made available at no cost the
following white papers:
*Targeting Repeat Buyers: Building
a High Performance Customer File
*Maximizing Your Marketing Program
*The Marketer’s Guide to Descriptive vs. Predictive
Modeling
*Three Ways to Improve Customer Care Through Data Hygiene
*Quick Study: 85 Ways to Jump Start Demand Generation
*30 Questions to Jump-Start Your Business: A Guide to Expand
Your Marketing Services
*Optimizing Your Lead Qualification Process
*Generating Buyers, Not Leads: Best Practices for Finding
High-Propensity Buyers
Go to www.accudata.com/White+Papers.26.lasso to
download the reports.
Member
News
Congratulations to
Vertis Communications! The firm has achieved
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program chain of
custody certification for seven of its 21 advertising inserts
production facilities. The SFI
recognition complements the existing Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody certification
attained by five of Vertis' direct marketing facilities.
Members Jack
Weber (Uptown
Press), Paul Coates (BCP Digital Printing)
and Al
Maddox, Jr. (TIme Printers, Inc.) were honored at
a luncheon in recognition of their contributions to Baltimore
City Schools Career & Technolgy Education. The members
hired, supervised, and evaluated paid student interns from
February to March as part of the City's Work-Based Learning
program.
Upcoming Events
| May 27 |
Webinar: Key Dynamics Shaping Print Markets
and Printers over the Next Decade,
10:00-11:00am. Planning to stay in the printing
industry for another decade or more? Check out
this "tour
of the future" to explore the possible good,
bad and ugly trends that will shape the industry
environment over the next 10-20 years and how your
can design the "printing firm of the future" to
prepare for the worst and capitalize on the good.
Led by Ron Davis,
Chief Economist for Printing Industries of America. Cost is $59 per connection
for members/$118 for non-members. Register with
PGAMA, 410-319-0900 or at www.pgama.com. |
| May 28 |
Webinar: Financing
Today: Capital Equipment for Commercial Printing
and Corrugated Industries, 10:30-11:30am.
Learn what to expect from finance companies over
the next 18 months, including: risk aversion,
financing options, equity/collateral, diversification,
and more. Cost is $59 for PGAMA members, $118
for non-members. Register with PGAMA, 410-319-0900
or at www.pgama.com. |
| June 3 |
Webinar: Managing
in Turbulence-Surviving and Thriving in Today's
Economy, 1:00-2:30pm. This presentation
examines the causes of the current economic crisis
and possible solutions. It also provides guidance
for printers on how to increase their likelihood
of surviving and thriving. Cost is $59 per connection
for members/$118 for non-members. Register with
PGAMA, 410-319-0900 or at www.pgama.com. |
| June
3-5 |
Seminar:
Total
Immersion VDP,
at the Printing
Industries of America
headquarters
in Pittsburgh, PA.
VDP is the driving force
behind marketing campaigns
today, so it is crucial
for your company to
have the right
staff
and knowledge to give
you the highest profits
from this technology.
Attend this workshop
to get hands on training
focusing on converting
data to
images, colors,
and custom messages.
Member cost is $895.
Register at www.printing.org. |
| June 4 |
MAGE
Lunch & Learn
Meeting:
Sales Tips & Leads
from the Baltimore
Business Journal,
Noon-1:00pm at PGAMA.
This lunchtime session
will give you tips
on being a "Smart
Reader" of
the BBJ. Attend and
learn:
-About the Book of
Lists (what it is, how to get in it and how to use
it)
-How to “Skim & Decide”(techniques
for finding what you need from the Baltimore Business
Journal)
-How to recognize sales leads within news stories
and features
-How to use this information to support your networking
efforts
Cost
is $15 for MAGE members
and $25 for non-MAGE members.
Limited seating-register
early. To sign up go to www.pgama.com or call the office, 410-319-0900. |
| June 8 |
Special
Event: PGAMA
Golf Outing, 8:45am
shotgun start at Crofton
Country Club. Make
contacts
with other members
and business associates
at our annual golf
outing.
A challenging course,
an outstanding lunch,
and prizes for Longest
Drive, Closest to Pin,
Hole in One and Putting. Cost is $145 per person
for golf, breakfast
and lunch; $45 for
lunch/awards
only. Call
the
office to sign up, 410-319-0900. Please have
handicap information available. |
| June
9 |
Special
Event: Green Media Conference, 8:45am-5:00pm
at the Marriott Wardman
Park Hotel-2660 Woodley
Road NW-in Washington,
D.C. Networking reception
follows, 5:00-6:00pm.
PGAMA is co-sponsoring
this one day conference,
presented by leading
experts and actual end-users
of sustainable media.
Attend to increase your
knowledge on becoming lean
and green! Learn from
top thought leaders and
practitioners on building
profits in a down economy,
plus find out about the
Involvement of governmental
agencies and where the
stimulus money is going.
Keynote speaker is Bob
Tapella. PGAMA members
pay the discounted rate
of $395 per person! More info
and register at http://www.sustaincommworld.com. |
| June
19 |
Special
Event: Art Stowe's Retirement
Party, 7:00-10:00pm
at Martin's West-6821
Dogwood Road in
Woodlawn,
MD. Join current members,
former members, colleagues,
friends, and family
to salute
PGAMA President Art
Stowe who is retiring
after a remarkable
39 years of service
to the Association
and to the industry.
Join us for cocktails
and an appetizer
buffet
as we celebrate Art’s
career with a toast,
a roast, and a chance
to boast! Additional
Roasters Welcome!
If you have a special
memory of Art to
share, please contact
Carol Atwood at
the
PGAMA office, 410-319-0900. Tickets are $62
per
person. Invitations
will be mailed. |
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