OCTOBER 2012

SGIA Has Released Its 2012 Market Trends and Product Specialties Benchmark Report for the Graphics and Sign and Garment Decoration Communities
The reports examine sales figures, technologies utilized and the popular methods used by industry-leading companies to reach and retain customers.

"SGIA Benchmarking Reports provide a unique industry view of how companies are growing their businesses, how they purchase equipment and how they view the health of their business now and in the future," says Dan Marx, SGIA's vice president of markets and technologies.

The full report, free to SGIA members and all survey participants, provides markets and market expectations, and year-to-year comparisons of product areas served.

Caslon Appoints Carl Joachim as Senior Partner plus the Creation of New Innovative Packaging Practice
Industry veteran, Carl Joachim will lead development of practice dedicated to emerging packaging markets for Caslon and Company, a trusted source for market intelligence.

Led by Joachim, the Innovative Packaging Service Practice will provide: market and business development programs, sales training, workflow/work process best practices, market research, customized consulting services, and special Innovative Packaging Track at the PODi AppForum conference (January 28-30, 2013 in Las Vegas). In addition, in his role as Senior Partner, Mr. Joachim will join Caslon General Manager, David Erlandson in providing far-ranging expertise to all aspects of Caslon's engagement with the digital printing market.

Mr. Joachim has played an integral role in the adoption of production digital printing for over 20 years. He has held senior executive positions at Xerox, Oce and most recently Ricoh, where he was a member of the core senior team that developed Ricoh's entry into the production printing market.

The packaging industry is on the cusp of innovation driven by emerging technologies. Rab Govil, president of Caslon, says, "Our customers have been clear on their desire for us to expand our focus into packaging. With Carl joining our team we have added someone with deep industry experience, and a proven track record of connecting markets with new technologies." For more information on the new Innovative Packaging Service Practice please contact carlj@caslon.net.

2012 Education Award of Excellence Recognizes Raymond Rafalowski
Raymond Rafalowski, national account manager, FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Fairfield, Ohio, is the Industry Recipient of the 2012 Education Award of Excellence.

In its 27th year of honoring notable printing educators and trainers, the Education Awards recognized Raymond for providing training that goes beyond his routine professional responsibilities.

Raymond began his career in Pittsburgh as a letterpress typesetter and pressman at Neyhart Printing Company and moved on to become a cameraman at the University of Pittsburgh and Fisher Scientific Company. Currently, Raymond is enjoying his longstanding career with FUJIFILM North America, a global Fortune 500 company.

For more information on Printing Industries of Americaís Awards Programs, visit www.printing.org/awards or contact Michael Packard at 412-259-1704 or mpackard@printing.org.

Brandtjen & Kluge, Inc. Announces Introduction of New Strategic Alliance at Graph Expo 2012
Brandtjen & Kluge and LasX Industries has announced a strategic agreement in which the two companies will co-market an On Demand Laser Cutting and Converting Solution for folding cartons and other folded and glued products.

"LasX has been providing sheet fed laser cutting and robot handling systems since 2008," said William Dinauer, CEO of LasX Industries. "We are very pleased to be working with Kluge to provide a near digital solution for the production of folding cartons. This solution aligns perfectly with our vision of using laser converting, robotic, and digital workflow technologies for on-demand personalized packaging."

PGSF College Poster Design Winner
Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood, WA, has won the 2012 Print and Graphics Scholarship (PGSF) College Poster Design Competition. Student Wil Houdershell designed the poster, titled "PGSF Scholarships are the KEY, unlock the FUTURE." which will be given to all colleges and high schools in the US that have printing and graphic communication programs for the 2012-2013 acedemic year. It promotes the availablity of scholarships to pursue a career in the graphic communications industry.

Fujifilm U.S. Executive Change
Fujifilm Holdings America Corporation announces changes in executive leadership in the U.S. Kaz Yamamura is named as the new president of Fujifilm Holdings America Corporation; and Go Miyazaki is promoted to president/CCO of Fujifilm North America Corporation. Yamamura also serves as the chairman and CEO of Fujufilm North America Corporation, overseeing management of eleven Fujifilm companies in the U.S. As president/COO, Miyazaki is responsible for management of the photo and electronic imaging, graphic systems, optical devices, and motion picture businesses.

2012 Naomi Berber Memorial Award
Printing Industries of America is pleased to announce Regina (Gina) Testa, Vice President, Graphic Communications Industry Business, Xerox Corporation, is the recipient of the 2012 Naomi Berber Memorial Award. This award honors outstanding women in the graphic communications industry for their exceptional record of accomplishments, unusual contribution toward the development of the graphic communications industry, and for having furthered the interests of the industry.

Regina has long been active in both industry and community organizations. She currently is chair of the marketing committee of The Print Council and serves on its executive leadership committee. Launched in 2003, The Print Council serves the industry to develop, maintain, and increase the market for printed cross-media materials. In 2009 Regina was appointed and continues to serve as a director on the national boards of the Printing Industries of America and National Printing Equipment Suppliers organizations. She also serves on the boards of the Print On Demand initiative and the Rochester Institute of Technology Cross Media Center. She is a past board member of the National Association of Printing Leadership (NAPL).

Arlon Promotes Chad Russell
Arlon promotes Chad Russell to Director of Business Development, based in Santa Ana, CA. In this role he is responsible for Arlon's product management team, new product commercialization, product strategy, and pricing for all graphic lines. "Russell brings a wealth of graphic industry experience to Arlon's product team" says Ron Hopkins, president, Arlon.

Direct Mail Pal 2012
Printing Industries of America has released Direct Mail Pal 2012, which provides current information on new postal rules and helps printers and mailers plan and operate effectively while saving costs. It includes topics such as: quality assurance testing, variable text and imaging, mail security, barcode standards, and drop shipping. Cost is $20 for members; $30 for non-members

Paradigm Signs Agreement With Mutoh
Paradigm Imaging Group signs an agreement with Mutoh America, Inc. to distribute its Valuejet line of large format printers. Pagadigm focuses on expanding Mutoh's presence on the west coast, applying its value-added distribution philosophy to Mutoh's Valuejet printers.

NEW! MyPrintResource Print News Tracker
Have you ever wished you could watch the equivalent of a network newscast for the printing industry? Well, now you can! MyPrintResource.com introduces Print News Tracker, voiced by broadcast veteran Roger Mann, Print News Tracker will bring you the top news stories and trends that affect our inductry. It will be updated regularly, so make it a frequent stop when you visit MyPrintResources.com. You will always be in the know with Print News Tracker!

Ashkenaz Celebrates 15 Years
Ashkenaz Consulting owned by David Ashkenaz, is celebrating 15 years as an independent PrintSmith consulting firm. Ashkenaz helps printers install, use and upgrade their EFI PrintSmith management systems. He also is now a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, enabling him to help his clients integrate data directly form PrintSmith into QuickBooks. As part of this milestone, the company has launched a new website with a list of products and services.

U360 Design Competition Opens
Appleton Coated now is accepting entries to the U360 Design Competition for 2013. Winning selections will recognize the effective, creative role that print communication plays in marketing mix, and will celebrate design, content, and printing excellence. There is no cost to enter. Submissions must be printed all, or in part, on Utopia and/or Curious Collection, accompanied by a completed entry form, produced in 2012, and postmarked no later than December 7, 2012. For detailed instructions and an online entry form for the U360 Competition, visit UtopiaPaper.com and click on theU360 section.

Wasatch Releases SoftRIP Version 7.0
Wasatch Computer Technology releases SoftRIP Version 7.0. Driven by the requirements of a new generation of high-speed imaging technology, SoftRIP Version 7.0 allows users to create, edit, delete and manage thousands of unique jobs every day.

SoftRIP Version 7.0 provides the ability to maintain 10,000 entries in a print queue. SoftRIP Version 7.0 is the first release to specifically address converting. Users find support for rotary cutting equipment and enhanced die cutting features for bleeds and rounded corners on digital cutters.

Seiko Announces Strategic Partnership
Seiko Instruments USA and National/AZON Equipment of Troy, MI jointly announce a strategic partnership agreement. Under the agreement, Seiko appoints National/AZON Equipment the national distributor in the U.S. for its Teriostar line of LED copiers and plotters. The Teriostar LP-1030 and LP-2050 family of wide format LED copiers and plotters are high-performance network printers for the reprographics, AEC, and CAD markets.

Aurora Wrap Design Studio
Aurora Graphics releases its Wrap Design Studio (WDS) online graphic and wrap design tool. Free, this virtual tool allows the user to select the make, model, year, and correct paint color for a vehicle template, and then apply graphics for a try before you buy graphic experience. The WDS allows up to seven layers of graphics to be applied to the template, with each layer remaining editable. Customized skinned WDS sites are available for individual branding of a shop for a minimal fee.

Indian Printing Industry: Geared for Growth!
Join NPS Trade Mission February 23-28, 2013 by Vinod Vittoba, NPES India Representative
The NPES Trade Mission to New Delhi, India, February 23-28, 2013, in conjunction with PrintPack 2013, is an ideal opportunity to boost your company's sales by entering or enhancing its presence in one of the fastest-growing global markets for print. NPES trade mission participants will benefit from one-on-one business appointments with pre-screened potential buyers, agents, distributors and joint-venture partners; meetings with government officials; and high-level networking events.

GET TO KNOW INDIA
Population: 1.22 billion people-the world's most populous country-with a population growth rate of 1.58 per year.
GOP: (purchasing power parity) $4.463 trillion (2011 est.)-4th largest in the world and growing at 7%, India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Printing Industry: The world's second-largest print market. There are over 200,000 printing pressses in India and almost 75% are family-owned. India print provides direct employment to 700,000 people and indirect employment to another 450,000.

Finch Paper And Omya Announce Long-Term Partnership
Finch Paper has announced a long-term supply agreement with Omya, a leading manufacturer of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC). Finch Paper was one of the first paper mills to construct its own PCC plant in 1984 and now looks to Omya's technological advancements and process capabilites to accelerate their success in new markets.

Omya is a leading global producer of industrial minerals derived from calcium carbonate, with paper being just one of their major markets. Omya operates nearly two dozen PCC plants in paper mills around the world. In a unique arrangement, the team of Finch employees will continue to operate the PCC plant. Omya employees will be on-site on a regular basis, training the Finch Paper PCC team in these advanced operating practices.

SignCraft Digital Imaging Prepares For Royalty
Calgary-based SignCraft Digital Imaging was called upon to produce short-term graphics to obscure unsightly building construction for visiting royals. The sign shop-which is known for its billboards-printed large images of running horses for the Calgary Stampede's opening parade, which was part of the itinerary for Prince William and Kate Middleton, the newlywed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Bill Glos Joins Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. recently announced Bill Glos has joined the company as Vice President, Konica Minolta Premier Finance. Glos will be responsible for managing operating agreements with leasing partners, working with sales channels to enhance fiancing options, and working with partners to develop new leasing programs as part of Konica Minolta solutions and services business. Glos will report directly to Kevin Kern, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.

International Paper Concludes Divestiture
International Paper has finalized the sale of its Ontario and Oxnard, CA, containerboard mills to New-Indy Containerboard LLC, along with its New Johnsonville, TN, containerboard mill to Hood Container Corporation. By completing these transactions, the company satisfies its divestiture obligations under its February 2012 settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice. The settlement agreement, in which the company agreed to divest the three mills, was entered into in connection with the company's acquisition of Temple-Inland.

DC