Another
COBRA Extension
On March 2, 2010, President Obama signed the Temporary
Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4691), which extends the eligibility period for
the COBRA premium subsidy through March 31, 2010. The eligibility period,
as previously extended by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010
(P.L. 111-118), had expired on February 28, 2010. If your firm obtains your
healthcare coverage from GABC, no action is necessary-GABC will update its
enrollment forms. COBRA requlations require employers to notify GABC within
30 days from the date of the qualifying event. The termination notice must
have the name of employee, id number, last day of work, and reason for termination.
If GABC is not your benefit provider, you may need to follow the process
outlined at www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html.
The law also expands the definition of "assistance eligible individual" to
include as a qualifying event the loss of health care coverage because of
a reduction in hours followed by involuntary termination of employment. The
period of these individuals' continuation coverage will be determined as
though the qualifying event were the reduction of hours of employment. Group
health plan administrators must provide notice of the subsidy to these individuals
within 60 days of the involuntary termination of employment. The notice must
comply with the rules set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5), which initially enacted the COBRA subsidy.
Your
Input Needed
Printing
Industries of America needs YOUR help to develop the 2010-2011 Ratios. For
more than 80 years printers have been using the Ratios to benchmark their
financial performance against the rest of the printing industry. Each year
16 volumes are developed from a survey of more than 500 Printing Industries
of America member and non-member printing firms. Each Ratios volume
includes a report on operations, profitability, and sales factors; cost drivers
and expenses; balance sheet statistics; funding ratios; leverage ratios;
liquidity and activity ratios; value-added analysis; basic payroll data;
employee profiles; inventory turnover; and billing cycles.
Printing Industries of America Ratios allow you to take
a close look at these areas, as well as answer key questions:
* Are my expenses
too high in relation to sales?
* Is there too little or too much inventory in stock?
* Can we meet our debts as they mature?
* Should we increase our selling prices?
* How can we increase our profits?
To
participate go to http://www.printing.org/ratios (member login required.)
All information must be received by April 30.
FREE
Help to Select the Correct MIS
MIS is a key component
of today's production workflow, and a complex purchase decision with
installation that is never straightforward. Many times the projects go
over budget and also take much longer than anticipated for the installation.
At the upcoming Automation Solutions Network meeting at Communicorp,
a free report on the steps to take for an effective purchase and installation
will be distributed to members. The report is also posted on www.printing.org/free.
For more info, contact Brandon Iskey at 412-259-1787 or automation@printing.org.
Do
You Know About
'Use
Tax'?
Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. impose a "Use
Tax" upon personal property purchased from outside the state
and used within it. In many instances, the out of state seller
collects the Sales Tax so no Use Tax is due. However,
when this does not occur, it is the purchaser's responsibility
to pay the tax on their sales tax return to the Department
of Taxation. During a sales tax audit, it is routine for
the auditor to look at capital acquisitions for items on
which tax has not been paid, and then collect the tax, penalty,
and interest. Also, if a business has not registered as a
retailer and has gross receipts of $100,000 or more annually,
it must do so whether it has any sales or use tax liability
or not. This is not an issue for most PGAMA member firms
as they are already registered as retailers.
Latest
Developments in CPSIA
Printing Industries of America announced
that H.R. 4767, a bipartisan bill to amend the CPSIA (Consumer
Products Safety Improvement Act) has been
introduced in the US House of Representatives. The bill would
exempt books and paper-based printed material from the lead
limit in the Act. Printing Industries is asking that PGAMA
members contact
their Representatives in the U.S. House and urge him
or her to become a co-sponsor of this legislation. While
many lawmakers are conflicted as to how to "fix" CPSIA's
implementation and its unintended consequences, it's clear
that something must be done. Legislative approaches on the
Hill vary from seeking a wholesale rewrite of CPSIA to amending
it with a "surgical fix" that would address specific
problems that have arisen since the bill was signed into
law. There are mixed reactions to product-by-product exemptions;
however, we believe it is important that we support H.R.
4767 as a means to focus attention on the need to address
the "books issue" of CPSIA while at the same time
highlighting the fact that modern printing processes used
to manufacture the products in question have long complied
with many environmental regulations under EPA, OSHA and CONEG
relating to heavy metals, including lead. Ordinary children's
books and paper-based printed material are safe; our industry's
products should not be lumped together with children's products
that pose true safety risks to the public.
Best
Colors for Direct Mail
Color impacts customer reaction to direct
mail, so when designing choose wisely. Cynthia Cornell, color
researcher with Color Communications, says that although
its not an exact science, hues can definitely influence the
outcome of the campaign. A few points to ponder:
-Blue based reds (such as raspberry red) are associated with more expensive products.
Stick with tomato red if you're looking to downplay high price, and use orange
to play up affordability.
-Yellow is the first color the eye sees, and when used with dark colors for high
contract it becomes more powerful and easily read.
-Green conveys possibility and hope.
-Blue denotes confidence and safety, making it a great choice for financial
and medical institution mailers.
-Black conveys a strong sense of power, promise and the ability for high contrasts.
Add sheen or matte to black and it becomes more powerful.
-White (especially when presented as tone on tone) implies sophistication and
formality, but also a high-end price point.
Excerpted from "Points of Hue" by Christine Hansen,
first published in the March, 2010 issue of Deliver magazine.
Member
News
Congrats to Miller’s
Minuteman Press on being named a 2009 Carroll
County Small Business of the Year winner in the 6-50 employees
category. This is the third year that the Department of
Economic Development and the Carroll County (MD) Chamber
of Commerce joined together to salute successful and growing
Carroll County businesses and honor them for their excellence.
Read what Miller's CEO had to say about the award at http://www.quickprinting.com/web/online/Industry-News-and-Trends/Millers-Minuteman-Press-Named-Small-Business-of-the-Year/1$12465.
Upcoming
Events
| March 24 |
Pricing Teleconference,
9:30-10:30am. All PGAMA members are invited to participate
in "Winning
The Pricing Game," a teleconference on pricing
sponsored by member firm MargolisBecker and featuring
guest speaker Paul Reilly. This FREE event is geared
to owners, top management, sales executives and estimators
with an interest in assessing the realities of pricing
decisions in this highly competitive marketplace. Topics
to be covered include: · Formulating
strategy by customer type · Price estimates
vs. actual amounts charged · Using Whales
Charts · Establishing Break Even on a
Cash Basis · Price Police. PRE-REGISTRATION
IS REQUIRED. Email Debbie@pgama.com for
the registration form. |
| March 24 |
Special
Event: 5th Annual Excellence in Print Awards Gala,
5:30-10:00pm at Martin's Crosswinds in Greenbelt,
MD. Come see the big winners of PGAMA's annual
printing competition, plus enjoy the open bar,
great food, and entertainment.
An essential networking
opportunity! TICKETS NOW
ON SALE: $65
each/$600 for a table of 10. Call PGAMA to reserve
seats, 410-310-0900.877-319-0900 or email Carol@pgama.com. |
| March 25 |
Webinar:
Real World of Lean for Print Managers,
2:00-3:00pm. Over 95%
of the total time it takes to process a printing order
and manufacture a printed product is non-value-added.
Lean focuses on identifying and eliminating all kinds
of waste and non-value-added activities with the goals
of slashing costs, faster throughput, improved financial
performance, and higher customer satisfaction. Tune
in to this webinar and learn:
· What Lean Manufacturing is and how
it is applied to the printing industry
· Management’s essential role in
the Lean process
· Eight sources of waste in printing
companies hidden plant
· The difference between “living
Lean” and simply using Lean tools
· Management strategies for sustaining
Lean successes
· And more
Member cost for this presentation is $99 per connection.
Non-members pay $199 per connection. To sign up, go
to http://www.printing.org/node/5951. |
| March 25 |
Production
Club of Baltimore Paper Show, 5:30-8:30pm
at Martin's West. See
the latest innovations in paper, media, and all
things production. Vendor space still available.
Contact Joann at 410-917-1358.
For details and attendee info go to
productionclubofbaltimore.org. |
| April 12-13 |
Seminar:
Total Immersion Digital Color, at
Printing Industries of America in Sewickley,
PA. This brand
new workshop designed to supply you with a
comprehensive look at what it takes to produce
reliable, high-quality digital output. The
instruction will provide two intense days of
hands-on training to get you totally immersed—and
totally knowledgeable—on the subject
of digital color and press optimization. Apply
the troubleshooting, benchmarking, and maintenance
skills you learn at Total Immersion: Optimizing
Color from Your Digital Press to improve color
output and consistency, increase production
speed while maintaining quality, and build
and ensure customer satisfaction. Cost is $595
for members$1095 for non-members. Register
online at http://www.printing.org/node/5965. |
May 16-19
Baltimore Show! |
2010
PIFE Spring Conference, Baltimore
Hilton, Baltimore, Maryland. This national
event is being held right in PGAMA's backyard.
Come meet and network with other finance professionals,
plus find out about the latest technologies
and keys to profitability to help successfully
manage your company’s
finance and administration functions. PIFE
meetings provide continuing education credits.
Learn more at http://www.printing.org/event-calendar/5642. |
May 17-19
Baltimore Show! |
2010
Offset & Beyond,
Baltimore
Hilton, Baltimore, Maryland. This
national event is being held right in PGAMA's
backyard! Attend to get the resources, tools,
and connections you need to succeed. Offset & Beyond
offers topics that cover business opportunities
and trends, comprehensive technology, production,
digital, sales, marketing, and financial sessions
via leadership, operations, and production
tracks. Learn more at http://www.printing.org/offsetandbeyond. |
May 17-19
Baltimore Show! |
2010
BIA Mid Management Conference, Baltimore
Hilton, Baltimore, Maryland. This
national event is being held right in PGAMA's
backyard! The
BIA Mid-Management Conference brings together
mid-managers from trade binderies, graphic finishing,
information packaging, custom loose-leaf manufacturing,
and the suppliers to those industries. Be prepared
for a blitz of information, new products and ideas,
as well as unparalleled networking with your
peers from around the world. Plant tours featuring
PGAMA members, too! Learn more at http://www.printing.org/event-calendar/5946. |
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