CPSC
Regulation Update
On December 16, 2009, the CPSC responded to Printing Industries'
petition for an extension of the CPSIA's testing and certification requirements
for children’s
books and other printed matter, and voted to extend the stay for certain
products including books and other printed matter until February 10, 2011.
The petition was granted because the CPSC realized it has not completed all
of the necessary rulemaking to implement the requirements, there is insufficient
lab testing capability, and more time is needed to educate the regulated
community.
According to the newly revised stay, any third party
testing is to be conducted on products manufactured after February 10, 2010.
It does not apply retroactively, which is a dramatic change in the Commission’s
previous actions. Although the Commission will not enforce the independent
testing and certification rules until February 10, 2011, the products still
must contain lead levels under the current 300-parts-per-million limit set
forth by the Act unless a component such as metal coil is painted and then
the limit is 90 parts-per-million. In addition, the stay does not include
painted parts, which means painted coil used in a children’s book or
other printed product must be tested and certified. The CPSC also voted
to approve an updated interim testing policy that allows component part testing,
something the industry has been hoping for, rather than testing of the final
product. In other words, a printer would be allowed to purchase an already
tested and certified spiral binding or toy component to be attached to the
book, rather than having to put the entire finished book through a costly
testing process. The updated interim enforcement policy can be found at www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr10/comppol.pdf. Contact
Gary Jones, Director, EHS Affairs
for Printing Industries of America, with any questions, 412-259-1794.
Members
Help Feed the Hungry
Thanks to the generosity of PGAMA members, 1,500
lbs. of canned goods and other non-perishable food items were collected
in the Holiday Food Drive organized by Walker Supply. The food was split
evenly and delivered to the Manna Food Center in Rockville and the Maryland
Food Bank in Baltimore. Many thanks to all who participated, and special
appreciation to the Willard Packaging Company for donating the collection
boxes this year.
5
Things We Can Learn from Social Media
All business professionals can learn skills from
social media that no school can teach, consultant Gautam Ghosh
writes. Among the lessons to be learned:
1-People have more in common than they have different. Social media
shows the basic desire of humans to connect
and to express.
2-Conversation is key if you want to persuade or influence someone.
Conversing can be hard, but to succeed you have to talk.
3-The best way to learn is on the job. We all learn in different
ways but in today's ever-changing world,
its better to "learn in practice."
4-Don't get so caught up in the latest "new" thing that you
miss the next big trend. Keep connected to innovators and to 'average
joes.'
5-Give to receive. Social media is the epitome of the giving it away
thinking, giving away ideas, thoughts, links. Giving clients info on
how a supplier/website/organization can be useful to them makes
them come back to you and increases your influence.
Corporations
Work to Prevent Unionization
Companies such as Target and Michael's
are requiring workers to watch anti-union videos and listen
to outside labor consultants give anti-union presentations
in response to expected 2010 legislation that would make
it easier to form unions. While the so called "card check"
bill stalled in Congress this year as health care legislation
dominated debate; anti-union groups say they expect the president
and Democrats to deliver this year on a compromise version
of the legislation.
Article excerpted from "Companies Urge Workers to 'Stay Union-Free'
as Labor Bill Looms" by Holly Rosenkrantz, first published
December 29, 2009 on BusinessWeek.com.
Virtual
Training for Sales & Marketing
Sales is a tough job, but print sales is
even more challenging. That's why the Sales and Marketing
Executives (S&ME) group of Printing Industries of America
is offering " Print Sales Virtual Training" with
Linda Bishop, President, Thought Transformation, Inc. and
a veteran of the printing industry and sales expert. No airfare...no
hotel stay...no travel expenses, just online training that
will help you with:
- Finding Leads: profiling your perfect prospect, qualifying
leads, and more
- Cold Calling: getting past voicemail and
overcoming objections
- Structuring Smart Sales Calls: qualifying
questions and empathetic listening
- Closing: answering price objections, when to close in
person
- And
more!
This unique, convenient program takes place
over three consecutive Mondays beginning January 11th. Participants
also receive handouts and supplementary
training materials, a copy of Selling
in Tough Times, and
offline coaching from Linda Bishop via phone and email to
discuss your personal selling challenges. Learn more and
register at http://www.printing.org/events.
Member
Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following
companies marking major anniversaries as Association members
this month:
25 Years
Head Graphics Enterprises
20 Years
DES, Inc.
15 Years
IMC America, Inc.
5 Years
Anne Tisdale Direct
manroland
Spectrum Envelope, LLC
Member
News
Victor
Graphics, Inc. has
installed a Kodak Digimaster EX300 Digital Book Factory,
which doubles the company's current digital printing capacity.
Victor also announces that Allan Cairo of Milwaukee,
WI will be their new Midwest salesperson covering
an eight state Midwest region; and Dennis DiGalbo is the
new customer service manager in Victor's Baltimore plant.
S&S
Graphics, District
Creative Printing, and Techna-Graphics were awarded jobs by the Government
Printing Offices.
EU
Services has selected Jeff
Mackey as vice president of operations. Mackey is a third
generation family member at the company.
SGM Bindery, Whitmore
Group and Wildes-Spirit
Design & Printing are the latest members to
be listed on the Maryland Green Registry.
In Memoriam
We regret to announce that Roger
Chavez passed
away on December 29th. Roger was a well-respected printer
in Washington, D.C., and a treasured
friend to many area art directors and DC printers. Lucinda
Crabtree, of member firm Crabtree +
Company, noted that Roger wished to be remembered
for two particular accomplishments: the establishment
of the Clarke County
Historical Association and Museum and the book
of 50 best designs for the bicentennial from 1976,
which will be made available to the design community
in 2026 (50 years after the competition.) A memorial
service will be held in the spring.
Upcoming
Events
| January 11 |
Deadline
for Excellence in Print Awards entries. Remember,
all PGAMA members can enter one piece for FREE!
(Additional entries are $20.00 each.)
Entry brochures were mailed twice, and extra
entry forms can be printed from www.pgama.com. |
| January 26 |
Seminar:
Women [and one Man] in the Environment-1:30-5:30pm
at The National Museum for Women in the Arts (1250
New York Avenue, Washington, D.C.) PGAMA member Derek
Smith & Associates, LLC is sponsoring
this event, which features executives from "Corporate
America" who will speak about the growing sustainable
market and what they want from print, paper, packaging
and design partners. Registration & list of speakers
at www.paperleadership.com.
Major credit cards, PayPal accepted. |
| February 4 |
PGAMA Tech Talk: Using
Technology to Track Clients & Prospects-Join
us for a MAGE Lunch & Learn hosted by
PGAMA’s
VP Paul Foster about FREE web-based tools that
can be used to create a “virtual assistant” that
will automatically update you when clients and
prospects are in the news. This info can help you
spot industry trends and give you an inside scoop
to make phone contact. Bring your laptop to participate.
Geared to all sales & marketing personnel and
LIMITED TO 20 ONSITE PARTICIPANTS. Simulcast available
on request. Cost is $15 for MAGE members or $25
for non-MAGE members. Includes lunch. Reserve your
spot by calling 410-319-0900 or sign up at www.pgama.com. |
| February 16 |
Save
the Date for the MD Legislators’ Luncheon-Plan
to join us for this annual meet and greet with local
elected officials in Annapolis,
MD. Look for more info in upcoming
PGAMA newsletters and emails. |
| February 19 |
Educational
Field Trip: Glatfelter Paper Mill Tour-During
this interactive tour of the Glatfelter Pulp and
Paper Mill, you will see how trees are used to create
paper and a wide range of other products, plus learn
how Glatfelter manages its environmental footprint
with sustainable forestry and other measures. A chartered
bus will pick up passengers at three Park ‘N
Ride locations: College Park Interchange (7:30am);
Rolling Road in Catonsville (8:15am); Warren Road
in Cockeysville (9:00am). Tour begins at 10:15am.
Box lunch on the bus following tour. Cost is $40
per person for members and guests of members; $50
for non-members. Sign up by February 5th on www.pgama.com or call 410-319-0900. |
February 28-
March 4 |
Printing
Industries of America Presidents' Conference,
Scottsdale, AZ-2010
is the year to reinforce the foundation of your
business. This year’s program was developed
with the intention of helping industry leaders
like you focus on the core elements of your business—those
things that can help you remain stable, as well as
increase profit margins. Topics to be addressed Include:
Communicating the Value of Print * Methods
for Cost Reduction * HR Issues * Economic Forecast
* And much more! Complete info and registration
at http://www.printing.org/page/3499. |
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