At
Last-Concern Over Digital Media & the Environment
Concern about the negative impacts associated with using
paper and printing continues to rise, with an implication
that digital media is the environmentally preferable choice. But is it possible
that digital media could be more destructive to the environment and a greater
threat to trees, bees, rivers and forests in the United States than paper-making
or printing? Writer Don Carli provides some interesting food for thought
which reinforces PGAMA's own message that "Print Grows Trees" in his article,
"Is Digital Media Worse for the Environment than
Print."
The story gives
proof that digital media technology uses significant amounts of energy from
coal fired power plants, which are making a significant contribution to global
warming. And shares facts like the Greenpeace estimate that by 2020 data
centers will demand more electricity than is currently demanded by France,
Brazil, Canada, and Germany combined; and that mountaintop-removal
coal mining is a major cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and
the pollution of over 1,200 miles of headwater streams in the United States.
See what else Carli has to say in the story: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/03/is-digital-media-worse-for-the-environment-than-print090.html.
Printers
Somewhat Optimistic for 2010
Printing
Industries of America Chief Economist Dr. Ronnie Davis gives a preliminary
profile of 2009 print markets and updates his outlook for the 2010 economy
in
his latest Flash Report. The report shows that fourth quarter print markets
remained extremely weak at the end of 2009;
however, printers expect significantly improved conditions in 2010. On a
preliminary basis (subject to additional adjustment for "survival bias" from
the decline in printing plants during the year), nominal print sales declined
by 12.7% over the year compared to 2008. This is the largest percentage decline
since Printing Industries began its own tracking system in the early 90s.
On a "real" or price-adjusted basis, print sales declined by 7.5%
in 2009 since respondents reported average printing prices down by 5.2% for
the year. Read the entire report at http://64.211.221.146/eweb/docs/econ/2010.03.29.FlashReport.pdf.
CPSIA
Update & Call to Action
As you may recall, CPSIA was signed into law in
late 2008 as an attempt to better protect children from products with
heavy lead content, primarily as a reaction to a spate of imported children’s
goods from China containing unsafe levels of lead. Unfortunately, the
scope of the law caused unintentional consequences, including children’s
books and other printed materials (flash cards, magazines, etc.) to become
ensnared in the law. Printing Industries of America has been working
on both the regulatory and legislative fronts over the past year to achieve
relief from CPSIA for the industry.
The good news is that H.R. 4767,
a bipartisan bill to amend the CPSIA to exempt books and paper-based
printed material from the lead limit in the Act has been introduced into
the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE)
and Rep. Shuler (D-NC). 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.
*****
CALL TO ACTION *****
PGAMA members are urged
to contact their Representative in the U.S. House and urge him or her
to
become a co-sponsor H.R. 4767 to exempt books and paper-based material
from CPSIA legislation.
Click
the Legislative
Action button on PGAMA.com to contact your Representative.
Union
Label Reminder
Elections at the federal, state, and local level always
mean a pickup in business for certain printers and binderies.
That's great news. However, sometimes candidates request
the union label, which narrows the field of shops that are
legally allowed to work on such jobs. If you're a union shop
with a union label license agreement, now is the time to
review the agreement and ensure that it is not expired (these
agreements typically run three to four years in length).
If your agreement is expired, make sure you get a signed
renewed agreement from the union ASAP.
Any shop (prepress, press, or bindery) that does production
work on a union label job must have a current label license
agreement (including sub-contractors). Only the union label
license holder (the union local or Allied Trades Council)
may give an exception. However, exceptions granted by the
union are extremely rare and must be in writing. A shop working
on a union label job that does not have a current union label
license agreement (and of course, a union contract) can be
sued by the union. Any union label shop that inappropriately
farms out work could lose their license agreement, and/or
worse.
For more information about printing union
labels go to http://www.printing.org/page/2609.
Become
An Effective Printing Manager
Ken Rizzo, Printing Industries
of America Director of Technical & Lean
Services says an effective printing manager is a person who
uses judicious means to proficiently direct, efficiently
administer, professionally guide, and effectively control
employees. This person also makes certain that everything
is done correctly and safely to produce printed products
on time that meet the customer's expectations.
However, it's
not unusual for printing managers to spend their days fighting
fires in many of the processes they come in contact with.
This fire fighting state is known as the Realm of Hidden
Factory Waste. Every time there is a fire to fight, processes
are down or stopped and waste occurs. The key for any printing
company is to prevent fires from happening in the first place.
A fundamental fire prevention skill is to provide processes
with what is needed, to avoid lost time and waste. This skill
is known as Quality-at-the-Source: directing, delegating,
and coaching everyone, regardless of title or position, in
becoming responsible and accountable for the quality of their
processes output.
Quality-at-the-Source is management's
job, and will encompass a sizeable portion of its day. Management
must personally see to it that everything needed to operate
and run a process is at all times:
· Correct. All specified job information, materials,
components and tools are right.
· Functioning Properly. All specified job information,
materials, components, and tools work effectively and how
they are suppose to.
· Easily Accessible. All specified job information,
materials, components and tools are handy.
Health
Care Reform Webinar-Don't Miss This One!
On March 29 President Obama signed into
law H.R. 4872, the "Health
Care and Education Reconciliation Act." Now, attention
turns to implementing and interpreting the massive new law.
Tune in to this Printing Industries of America Webinar on
April 20th from 2:00-3:30pm to learn:
Health Insurance Plan Design--What needs
to implemented this year and in years to come
Tax Provisions for Individuals--Premium Assistance Credit;
Excise Tax on Uninsured Individuals and Additional Taxes
Provisions for Businesses--Small business tax credit; Employer
responsibility - Tax Penalty
Presented by Thomas M. Christina, Esq., from the lawfirm of
Ogletree Deakins and Stuart W. Margolis, CPA, MT, from MargolisBecker.
Cost is $99 for PGAMA members/$199 for
non-members. For more information and to register go to http://www.printing.org/node/6097
Member
News
OmniPrint is
featured in the article, "Go Lean and Prosper" in
the online publication Gazette.net. See
how else things have changed for the company in the full
story: http://www.gazette.net/stories/04022010/businew174031_32551.php.
Congratulations to Printing
Specialist Corporation on their 40th anniversary.
The firm first opened its doors on April 1, 1970
Upcoming
Events
| 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. |
| April 15 |
Webinar:
Maximize Press Time with Pit-Stop Main, 2:00-3:00pm.
While it’s accepted that preventive equipment
maintenance should be scheduled regularly, companies
are often reluctant to give up press time to
do so. Don’t skimp on this necessary task—instead,
learn how to substantially reduce the time it
takes—by up to 60%—and reduce unscheduled
downtime as well. Presented by Ken Rizzo, Director
of Technical and Lean Services for Printing Industries
of America's Center for Technology and Research.
Cost is $99 for members/$199 for non-members.
More details
and register at http://www.printing.org/node/5950. |
| April 20-22 |
ONDEMAND
Conference & Expo, Pennsylvania
Convention Center,
Philadelphia, PA.
Attend ON DEMAND to See Printing Technology in Action & Learn
What You Need to Succeed! Join more than 10,000
Print-for-Profit, Corporate In-Plant and Publishing
Professionals who attend each year to learn how to
establish, manage, market and grow their printing business
with the latest digital printing technology and automated
finishing solutions. All PGAMA members are pre-registered
for a Free
Expo Hall Pass!
*****PGAMA
has arranged for bus transportation to the
Conference on April 21st. Cost is $50 for members/$75 for non-members. Bus will
pick up at College Park, Catonsville,
& White Marsh Park 'n Ride stops. LIMITED
SPACE AVAILABLE-CALL PGAMA BY 4/16 TO SAVE YOUR SEAT,
410-319-0900. |
| April 29 |
Webinar:
Avoiding Combustible Dust Citations, 2:00-3:00pm.
A new National Emphasis Program (NEP) by OSHA
focuses specifically on combustible dust hazards
for general industry, including printers, and
has been triggering numerous OSHA inspections
and citations on printers under a variety of
standards including general housekeeping, hazard
communication, and hazardous locations. OSHA
citations have been issued for operations with
dust accumulation exceeding just 1/32 of an inch!
This program is designed to help printers understand
the scope of the new program and how to avoid
falling victim to citation and penalties. Presented
by Rick Hartwig, Environmental, Health, and Safety
Affairs Manager for Printing Industries of America.
Cost is $99 for members/$199 for non-members.
More details and register at http://www.printing.org/node/6034. |
May 16-19
Baltimore Show! |
2010
PIFE Spring Conference, Baltimore
Hilton, Baltimore, Maryland. 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. 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. 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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