Blog
Don’t Go Halfway to Green
September 18, 2018
Traditional plate processing uses chemistry, water, and energy to develop the printing plate and get it ready for press. Process free plates eliminate all the cost and waste of plate processing, and thousands of printers worldwide have taken their prepress departments green by switching to process free plates. However, some printers are nervous about switching, and for them, there is a halfway option. These printers can use a low-chemistry (also... Read More
A Holistic Approach to Selling Print
September 17, 2018
By Hampton Hale, Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, Inc. holistic /ho'listik/ adjective: Relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. With the wide breadth of products and services available in today's print shop, there exists an inherent challenge: bandwidth. Not in the traditional, data-flow sense of the word, but time--as in a customer's bandwidth... Read More
Open the Door to Hiring Successful Salespeople
September 5, 2018
Every business owner has the same basic goal: sell at a profit. And every business owner faces the same challenge: finding someone to sell. No matter what new technologies, innovations, and market advances take place, the quest to find good salespeople remains constant, no less so in the printing industry. Now, imagine the process of hiring a salesperson were simplified down to this: There are three doors, and you have to take a chance on... Read More
A Sad Farewell, A Happy Future for EHS
August 31, 2018
A Sad Farewell Gary Jones, PIA's long time head of environmental, health, and safety affairs, has departed PIA to write the next chapter of his career. We had a celebratory lunch for Gary on Friday, August 31, 2018 to recount his many accomplishment and exploits. Gary spent 31 years with PIA and the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. Over the course of that time he became the unquestioned expert of Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) issues... Read More
ITC Votes Unanimously Against Newsprint Tariff
August 29, 2018
In a major victory for the printing industry, Printing Industries of America is pleased to announce that the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has unanimously ruled to terminate duties currently being applied to uncoated groundwood paper, or newsprint, imports from Canada. This decision ends the tariff, and funds collected to date will be reversed over a period of three to six months. From the start, we knew this tax on... Read More
Social Media in the Print Industry
August 22, 2018
Social Media's Advantages When it comes to connecting with people, social media is the obvious place to start. With planning and forethought, social media platforms can help business owners build brand awareness and customer loyalty. For instance, print industry professionals can translate their visual products into shareable social media graphics. Customers may appreciate real-time feedback and the excitement built around a brand's Twitter,... Read More
Kodak Employees Honor George Eastman’s Legacy by Establishing New Traditions
August 21, 2018
On George Eastman's birthday, Kodak employees honored the company's founder in one of the most fitting ways--by giving back. He was born on July 12, 1854. Over 350 employees gathered together on a beautiful summer day in Rochester, New York, to pay tribute to a man who was not only a successful entrepreneur, but a philanthropic leader. His philosophy and approach to charitable giving are recognized almost as frequently as his contributions to... Read More
Financial Performance Assessments
August 20, 2018
At Printing Industries of America, the Center for Print Economics and Management wants to work with our members to boost their performance and profitability. Dr. Ron Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at PIA, has, over the past thirty years, authored numerous reports and articles on economic and business topics and has spoken at conferences all over the United States and the world. His responsibilities at... Read More
The B2 Myth
August 15, 2018
Printing is a manufacturing business. The cost of production is always important, but so are print quality and turnaround times. At first glance, small-format B2 digital presses seem to be an efficient alternative to half-size sheetfed offset presses, helping printers control costs. A closer examination of application requirements and workflow reveals a more complex picture. Changing the Productivity Paradigm For example, B2 presses are widely... Read More
Staff Spotlight: Mike Packard
August 15, 2018
At Printing Industries of America, we have some outstanding employees. PIA has decided to open the doors and introduce our readers to the people that make us who we are. We choose to feature those outstanding employees with a blog dedicated to them: introducing the Staff Spotlight! Our very first staff spotlight will feature Mike Packard, Manager, Sponsorship & Logistics. Mike has been working at PIA for 11 years, and he is our most... Read More
