Interim Ruling on Healthcare Plans
An interim proposed regulation on rules for grandfathered health plans under the new health care law was issued late last month. Under the regulation's own estimates 51% of firms will lose their grandfather status by 2013. The high estimate is 69% for all firms (80% for small firms, 64% for large firms). Factors which would lead to losing grandfather status include cutting or reducing benefits, raising co-insurance charges, significantly raising co-payment charges, significantly raising deductibles, significantly lowering employer contributions, adding or tightening an annual limit on what the insurer pays, or changing insurance companies.
In other workplace policy news, President Obama is expected to expand the rights of gay workers by allowing them to take family and medical leave to care for sick or newborn children of same-sex partners, even if the worker has not legally adopted the child. Under a 1993 law, people who work for a company with 50 or more employees are generally entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn or for a spouse, son or daughter with “a serious health condition.” Federal law does not recognize same-sex relationships; but Labor Department lawyers have concluded that people in such relationships may qualify for family and medical leave when they act as parents, sharing the care and support of a child.
Another Successful Happy Hour
More than 80 members and guests turned out for last week's Cocktails & Connections Happy Hour. The event was, as always, FREE for members, thanks to generous sponsor Xerox; and took place at Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda, MD. Attendees enjoyed the casual atmosphere, great eats and drinks, and the opportunity to meet and network with others in the industry. A new feature of the program this time was an educational pre-cocktails presentation. The first-hand testimony by Roger Gimbel gave those who sat in on his talk inspiration for ways to use variable data printing successfully in today's market. Look for pictures from the event on pgama.com and in upcoming Association newsletters. The next Cocktails & Connections will be held in the Fall. More info coming soon!
Who Visits Your Website?
Google Analytics is a FREE website analyzing service that allows businesses to analyze the flow of visitors through their site and identify things on their site that could improve visitor retention among other things. In the book, Disrupting the Future, by Richard Romano and Dr. Joe Webb, the authors discuss how businesses can use Google Analytics to measure the effectiveness and number of people who visit their website. Google Analytics can also show you how people found your site, how they explored it and how you can enhance a visitor's experience.
The complimentary version of the program is limited to 5 million page views (number of times a visitor views a page on your website, regardless of how many hits are generated). To see what Google Analytics can do for your company, go to http://www.google.com/analytics/and follow the instructions to download the Getting Started Guide.
New Member Benefit
Members can now access the complete Print Market Atlas database through the Printing Industries of America website for FREE! You also have access to past editions of the Print Market Atlas going back to 2001. The 2010 Atlas contains data on printing plants, shipments and employment for the U.S., states, regions and metropolitan areas for 17 print market segments. The information can be used for various market research topics. Check out this superlative member benefit at http://www.printing.org/page/6272.
When Training Time Must Be Paid
The time spent in employer-sponsored lectures, meetings, or training programs may or may not be considered working time. If all the following four conditions are met, the employee's time need not be compensated:
- The attendance is outside the employee's regular working hours.
- Attendance is in fact voluntary. If the employee understands or is led to believe his or her present working conditions or their continued employment will be adversely affected due to not attending, the time spent in training is working time.
- The course, lecture or meeting cannot be directly related to the employee's job. If the training is designed to make the employee handle their job more effectively, it is work time. Training to prepare an employee for another job or give new and additional skills does not have to be paid time.
- The employee must perform no productive work during the sessions.
Member Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following companies marking major anniversaries as Association members this month:
75 Years
Bottcher America Corporation
65 Years
Peake DeLancey Printers, LLC
25 Years
Linemark Printing, Inc.
Anaconda Press
10 Years
Frank Gumpert Printing of Annapolis
Member News
Ann Walls, vice president of marketing at Revere Printing Inc., was quoted in an online newsletter about working with her father, company owner Norman Myers, for the past 13 years. See what she had to say at http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2010/06/20-14/Area-businesspeople-follow-inDads-footsteps.html
IN MEMORIAM
With regret we announce the passing of Francis “Frank” A. Leimbach, Jr. Frank was part of the Washington, D.C. printing industry for 51 years, and former owner of Acme Printing Company. His daughter Beth Swanson is the current owner. A memorial service will be held on July 12 at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Kensington, MD at 10 a.m. (Notice to be in Washington Post on July 3.)
PGAMA is pleased to announce that the Association is now an official member of the Maryland Green Registry. The notification of acceptance was received June 24, 2010. In its application, PGAMA noted the following environmental efforts:
-Keeping the membership informed about the best sustainable industry practices available
-The existence and mission statement of the PGAMA Environmental Committee
-The partnership with EnerNOC and endorsement of the company's energy demand response program
-The development of the Print Grows Trees educational campaign
-The use of certified paper for Association publications, along with an environmental impact statement
-The replacement of bottled water with a water dispensing system
-Participation in the Howard County co-mingled recycling program
Is your company interested in becoming a Maryland Green Registry member? This FREE and voluntary self-certification program is a great way to connect with clients and promote your own sustainability! Learn more at
http://www.mde.state.md.us/MarylandGreen/
Upcoming
Events
| July 5 |
PGAMA Office Closed. Enjoy your holiday weekend! |
| July 22 |
Webinar: Making Your Move to Digital A Success, 2:00-3:00pm. Digital printing continues to grow and as a traditional printer, your business plan now includes an investment in a production level digital press. This session will help you to become familiar with the unique business characteristics of the digital print industry and what it takes to acquire, operate, and maintain a profitable digital press operation. Led by Frank Kanonik, President of DigitalPrintInfo, LLC. Cost is $49 for PGAMA Members ($99 for non-members.) More info and register at http://www.printing.org/node/6147. |
| July 29 |
Webinar: Print Grows Trees, 11:00am-Noon. PGAMA President Kerry Stackpole leads this webinar, and will share information about the Print Grows Trees campaign, and the role of the printing industry in protecting and growing our country's forests. Free for Members! Email with registration link coming soon to your computer inbox. |
| August 5 |
Webinar: Cybercrime: New Risks in Light of Changing Technology, 2:00-3:00pm. Digital printing with customer databases is fraught with new and complex risks. Enter Cybercrime, as the fastest growing crime in America, where attacks can potentially wipe-out entire small and medium-sized companies given their limited resources. Participants will benefit from sessions that include real-life case studies and examples that underline the importance of staying on top of the latest security and risk management tactics, including Cyber-liability insurance. Cost is $49 for members, $99 for non-members. Register at http://www.printing.org/node/6368. |
| September 9 |
Webinar: Creating Flawless Files that are Print-Ready, 2:00-3:00pm. A recent Printing Industries of America survey showed that 70% of printers need to repair more than half of all files submitted before they can be output successfully. Solid digital file creation is the key element to reproducing jobs in a time- and cost-efficient manner for print production. Go “under the hood” with Adobe CS5 and other desktop publishing applications and become a pro at preparing digital files for print production! Led by Joe Marin, Senior Analyst, Digital Technologies, Printing Industries of America. Cost is $49 for members/$99 for non-members. More info and register at http://www.printing.org/node/6166
***Printers: Purchase this webinar for your customers to strengthen your relationships, AND get problem-free files! |
| September 13-14 |
Workshop: Optimizing Color from Your Digital Press, Printing Industries of America headquarters in Sewickley, PA. Become or develop the "go to" person when it comes to troubleshooting color problems in your digital workflow. This brand new workshop was designed to supply you with a comprehensive look at what it takes to produce reliable, predictable, high-quality color on your digital press. It is a perfect blend of intense lab instruction and quality hands-on training, leaving you totally immersed in the subject of digital color and press optimization. Led by Julie Shaffer, Vice President of Digital Technologies, Printing Industries of America and David Zwang, Principal Consultant, Zwang & Company. Cost is $595 for members/$1095 for non-members. More info and register at http://www.printing.org/node/5960. |
October 14-16
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SAVE THE DATE! Plan now to attend the PGAMA/PIVA Fall Management Conference: The 2010 Executive Management Summit & Annual Sales Symposium. With an unprecedented 16 speakers invited, you will get the latest information and new inspiration to lead your business to a successful future. More info to follow in your PGAMA print and email. |
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