Issue: December 3, 2009

Industry Makes Strides in Safety
According to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the printing industry made major gains in creating a safer work environment...
No Postal Increases for 2010
The USPS announced that there would be no price increases for First Class, Standard Mail, Periodicals or Single-Piece Parcels in 2010...
Check Out "Cowboy Wine" at Color Conference
The Printing Industries of America Color Management Conference has a unique twist this year: a marketing campaign for a fake product...
Please Support the Holiday Food Drive
PGAMA members are asked to once again take part in a collection for local food banks...
Tech Tip of the Week: Calibration
Mark Bohan, Vice President of Technology & Research for Printing Industries of America, shares this tip...
Member Anniversaries
Two members are celebrating 15 years with the Association...
Member News
Meet the newest PGAMA member; DirecMail.com named Vendor of the Year; Help PGAMA update our database...
Upcoming Events

According to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the printing industry made major gains in creating a safer work environment for employees in 2008. The industry's injury and illness rate dropped to 3.2 cases/100 equivalent full-time workers, down from 3.8 in 2007 and 4.2 in 2006. And here's more good news: despite three consecutive years of increased citations; inspections and fines for the industry dropped. This is no doubt due in part to the release of Printing Industries of America's FREE manual, "What You Need to Know for Safe Equipment Operation," part of the organization's vigilant effort to provide members with the info needed to protect their workforce.

The USPS announced that there would be no price increases for First Class, Standard Mail, Periodicals, or Single-Piece Parcels in 2010. This announcement represents a major shift in thinking for an institution used to monopoly pricing. Perhaps the USPS has finally realized that increasing rates would only take more mail out of the system? Print delivered through a universal mail service is an important part of our economy, but not at any price, and no one wins if costs are excessive.

The Printing Industries of America Color Management Conference has a unique twist this year: a marketing campaign for a fake product. The product is Cowboy Wine ("the only wine man enough for cowboys"), and the campaign will showcase different printing processes and products used to "market" it, including a wine label, magazine ad, promotional poster, table advertisement, and website. The purpose is to demonstrate the challenges and possibilities of matching color across different printing processes and on websites. All items will be displayed at the conference and used during the pre-conference session focusing on color-consistent printing across different printing processes. The conference will be held Dec. 6-8 in Phoenix, AZ. More information is available at www.printing.org.

PGAMA members are asked to once again take part in a collection for local food banks. Thanks to PGAMA's generous members, last year one ton of food was collected. This year's Food Drive begins Monday, December 7th and all you need to do is to notify your employees about the collection and provide space to collect non-perishable food items. All food will be picked-up by Walker Supply drivers beginning Monday, December 21, and delivered to the Manna Food Bank and the Maryland Food Bank. Donations will be distributed to the children, working poor, elderly, disabled and unemployed in our community. It's been a tough year, so let's pull together to help feed those who need it most. If you have participated previously, you will be contacted.  If this is your first time to get involved, contact Kyle Walker at 800-775-9528.

Mark Bohan, Vice President of Technology & Research for Printing Industries of America, shares this tip. "When measuring and controlling color across your production facility, whether between departments or between presses, many different instruments need to be used. Make sure that all of these are calibrated, use the same settings, and are used in the same way. A simple filter setting change on a densitometer can easily cause a 0.1 density difference--a very visible discrepancy that can cause a job to be rejected or rerun. Also, the instruments can measure differently, so check this and establish a schedule to calibrate regularly. It is also helpful to have a checklist to track and record settings to ensure color is being communicated consistently."

Congratulations to the following companies who have been members of the Association for 15 years as of this month:

Communication Graphics in Glen Burnie, MD
Martin McMahon Law Offices in Washington, D.C.

Meet the newest PGAMA member: Capitol Fiber, Inc. Recycling in Springfield, VA. Capitol Fiber Inc. understands the impact that recycling can have on a printer’s bottom line, and offers custom tailored solutions that allow companies to maximize the value of scrap material. The firm serves printers of all sizes, from the smallest quick print shop to the largest national printers, with a full range of fleet services. For more information, contact Paolo Roma at (703)-658-0200.

Congratulations to DirectMail.com on being named the Direct Marketing Association of Washington (DMAW) 2009 Vendor of the Year, a prestigious award that recognizes outstanding vendors for their contributions to both DMAW and the direct mail industry as a whole. Company President Kirk Swain will accept the award on behalf of the firm, and once again present a scholarship in memory of his father through the DMAW-Educational Foundation on award night.

PGAMA wants to know: Are you an FSC and/or SFI certified printer? We are updating our database to reflect this information. If you have attained certification from either group, please send an email with the type of certification(s) to Katie at PGAMA. Many thanks for your assistance.

PGAMA
9685 Gerwig Lane / Columbia, MD 21046
Phone: 410-319-0900 Fax: 410-319-0905
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