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96 Companies Tune into First Webinar
Recording now available in members-only section
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Steve Bova, CAE
Executive Director
The first IRgA online seminar was a huge success! 96 companies dialed into the program, held on July 20, with 224 total people participating in the call.
Brian Mathews, Sr. DWF Architect, Autodesk Collaboration Services, presented, "Managing Complex AEC Designs with Autodesk DWF." The presentation was offered free to IRgA member companies as part of the value derived from membership. While offerings of this nature commonly range $149-$179, the IRgA offered the program at the substantially reduced rate of $99 to non-member companies as part of its responsibility to strengthen the reprographics industry. |
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Many participants opened up their conference rooms and invited sales representatives and IT specialists within their company to participate. Bob Roperti, president of Jiffy Reprographics in Clearwater, Florida, bought lunch for his staff, to go along with the free training.
If you participated in the webinar, please take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey. We would like your feedback, so that we can continue to provide quality educational offerings in the future. Click here to link to the online survey.
If you missed the webinar, IRgA members can still benefit from the education. The entire audio and video presentation is posted to the IRgA website in the members-only section for free download by those listed as members by member companies. Click here to access the members only link.
More to come! With the momentum created with the first offering, the IRgA is eager to continue its webinar series. The Education Committee will soon determine the content of the next offering, which is scheduled for the fall. Watch your e-mail inbox for news from the IRgA.
The IRgA welcomes your feedback through info@irga.com, or you may contact me directly at sbova@irga.com.
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Inside the IRgA
IRgA Board Updates
The IRgA Board of Directors met in Chicago last week. Here's an update of some of the important news and information from that meeting:
August 1 Marks Membership Renewal Period
Membership renewal in the IRgA coincides with the association's fiscal year, which began on August 1. While most member companies and suppliers have renewed their dues for the year, those that have not yet renewed will receive one final reminder before their member privileges expire at the end of the month. If your company has not received a renewal notice, please call 800/833.4742 or e-mail info@irga.com.
Although nearly 90% of member companies renew, industry consolidation continues to have a negative impact on membership numbers. Last week, the board approved funding for the IRgA to increase its sales efforts in the area of member recruitment and retention in 2006-07. "We sincerely believe that every reprographics firm should be a member of the IRgA, and the association is committed to demonstrating its value throughout the year," said Steve Bova, the association's executive director.
New Board Takes Office
The 2006-07 Board of Directors, elected in May, officially took office on August 1, with Mike Carter, President and COO of Lynn Imaging in Lexington, Kentucky, becoming president. Click here for a list of directors.
Board Seeks Interested Volunteers
The board recently appointed committee chairs for the year and is in the process of filling positions on the following committees: Communications, REPRO REPORT, Education and Membership. If you are interested in serving, send an e-mail to info@irga.com. Click here for a list of IRgA committees, their purposes and roles of committee members.
Reprographers Speak Through Educational Needs Survey
Subscribers to the News Digest e-mail distribution list have spoken. A total of 239 responses to the recent Educational Needs Survey were received. Operational Efficiency and Printing Technology Trends are clearly the desire of owners, with Operational Efficiency and Quality Control leading among topics for non-executives. The IRgA Education Committee, Annual Convention Program Committee and REPRO REPORT Editorial Advisory Board will refer to the feedback when considering future content. The IRgA thanks those who participated in this short but important survey. Click here for full results of the survey.
IRgA Issues Call for Educational Presentations
The 2007 Program Committee invites recommendations for presentations at the IRgA's 2007 Annual Convention. Gary Wilbur, Chair of the 2007 Program Committee, will be assembling speakers and topics for the 2007 Convention educational program by mid-September. If you are interested in speaking at the IRgA Convention, or if you would like to recommend a topic for consideration, please forward your information and recommendation to info@irga.com. The IRgA staff will compile the responses and share them with Gary. Consideration is given to all proposals submitted.
Topics currently under consideration include-
General Business/Industry: Family Business, Design/Build Trends, and HR
Marketing/Sales: Sales Strategies, Branding
Tech/Operations: Follow-up to Digital Services/Implementation, Planrooms, Production/Quality Control, FM/IT/Service Support Staff, and Color/Fulfillment
Financial: Metrics
Board Approves Enhancements to Trade Show
Acting on the advice of the Vendor Relations Committee, the Friday portion of the trade show will begin a half hour later, at 8:30am. The board approved a recommendation from the committee that sponsors have the first right of refusal for the following year. Sponsors must notify the IRgA of their intention by September 29th.
The board also approved a policy regarding hospitality and meeting rooms that requires requests for such accommodations to be made at least 5 weeks in advance of the show. Such requests will be provided on a first-come basis, provided space is available. All room requests must go through IRgA show management. Any requests made to the hotel will be redirected to the IRgA. Click here for Convention and Trade Show policies.
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News Digest Expansion
The IRgA needs your help. Please forward this issue of News Digest to anyone within your company who you believe should be receiving this monthly newsletter and information from the IRgA. Click here to add names to the subscription list.
News Digest is the primary source of staying in touch with the IRgA and the latest industry news. Everyone in the reprographics industry should subscribe to stay informed about important announcements from their industry association.
Operating Ratio Study Now Available
The 2006 Operating Ratio Study is now available, and copies were mailed to all survey participants. For those who did not participate, or for additional copies, order in the IRgA Bookstore for $99 for IRgA members and $249 for non-members. Click here to order a copy now.
Mounting & Laminating Courses Still Available
The M&L Seminars integrate theory with hands-on training in the latest technologies and techniques. Openings are still available for the following classes:
August 17-18 Addison, IL
September 21-22 Chicago, IL
November 9-10 Addison, IL
Reminder: class sizes are limited to 10 people. To register, click here.
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Industry News
Pitman Company Acquires Charrette LLC
Pitman Company, the leading independent North American graphic arts supplier, announced the acquisition of Charrette LLC, the premier provider of digital and traditional imaging supplies, equipment and services to the graphics, corporate and technical design marketplaces, and the largest provider of wide-format inkjet equipment, supplies and services in the U.S. For more information...
Colortrac Implements EU Directive 2002/95/EC
On the 1st of July 2006, the European Union directive to restrict the user of hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury and flame retardants (PBBs & PBDEs) came into effect. The directive is designed to protect our environment by requiring manufacturers to remove environmentally hazardous substances from new electrical and electronic equipment. RoHS implementation also benefits the environment by making re-cycling of redundant equipment easier to perform. Colotrac was pleased to comply with the RoHS and eliminated any substances restricted by the directive from its SmartLF wide-format scanners and accessories supplied to its distributors after May 1, 2006. For more information, click here.
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The #1 LED Printers In Japan Are Now Available In North America! Seiko-I Infotech, the leading manufacturer of LED printers in Japan, proudly introduces a new generation of Teriostar™ printers. This new generation of wide-format networked printers and copiers produce amazingly fast prints, with excellent density and line acuity. For more information, visit www.seiko-i.com.
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NAQP Issues Call for Entries
The National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP) has issued a call for entries for its 8th Annual PrintImage Excellence Awards. Quick and small commercial printing companies are invited to enter this printing competition. The deadline for entries is August 21, with awards to be presented during the NAQP Owners Conference at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago on October 13th. For an entry form, call 800/234.0040 or go to www.printimage.org.
Consolidated Graphics to Acquire Global Group Inc.
Consolidated Graphics, Inc. announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Global Group Inc., located in Fort Worth, Texas. The company expects to complete the transaction during its second quarter ending September 30, 2006. Founded in 1971, Global Group is a printing and technology company offering high quality sheetfed, web and digital printing services, as well as direct mail, creative design, desktop publishing, media asset management, technical writing, finishing and fulfillment. Read more...
DuPont Imaging Technologies Recognized by the Printing Association of China
DuPont Imaging Technologies was recently recognized for excellence in flexographic printing and printing plates with two awards from the Printing Association of China. The awards recognized results of a consumer satisfaction survey conducted by the association to evaluate the best-known brands in printing. The survey was developed to promote Chinese brands and companies and to create awareness of the major players in the industry. Read more...
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Nashua Corporation Announced Favorable Ruling in Cerion Litigation
Nashua Corporation announced that the Appellate Court of Illinois issued an order in the case filed by Phillippe Olczyk, and others, against Cerion Technologies, Inc., Nashua Corporation, and others. In its June 30, 2006 order, the Appellate Court dismissed the plaintiffs' appeal of the August 16, 2005 order of the Circuit Court of Cook County, which had granted defendants' motion for summary judgment. The Appellate Court found that it lacked appellate jurisdiction. For more information about Nashua Corporation, click here.
SEAL Now Guarantees Finished Graphics Performance
Neschen Americas announces the launch of the new SEAL Excellence Guarantee. The program offers users tested combinations of digital printing media and Seal brand finishing materials to produce guaranteed digital graphics solutions, or "e-rated graphics." According to the company, these graphics solutions are guaranteed to deliver excellent performance and durability in their intended applications, for a specified term, or Neschen Americas will replace or credit the Seal materials used. Seal e-rated graphic solutions include: posters, pop-up displays, floor graphics, window graphics, presentation boards, rigid displays, flexible and backlit displays, vinyl banners and outdoor signs. For more information, click here.
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IDEAL Received Award at Contex's Annual Distributor Meeting
IDEAL announced that they had once again been awarded the Contex Distributor of the Year award from Contex Scanning Technology. IDEAL received the award during the annual Contex distributor meeting held in Crete, Greece, in June. IDEAL has won this award in every consecutive year since 1998, and also won in 1993 and 1994, for a total of 10 years as the Contex Distributor of the Year. IDEAL features Contex large format scanners in solutions designed to help customers solve their large format problems. IDEAL's solutions include scanning, indexing, archiving, scan to print, 2D to 3D conversions and 3D printing. IDEAL's solutions are designed to solve typical large format problems in the CAD, A/E/C, GIS, color graphics, and reprographics markets. For more information about IDEAL, click here.
Roland University Vehicle Graphics Workshop Draws Nationwide Attention
Graphics professionals from around the nation took part in the first-ever Roland wRAP Session Vehicle Graphics Workshop, a comprehensive hands-on training course held July 10th and 11th at the Irvine, California headquarters of Roland DGA Corporation. Roland wide-format inkjet printing and contour cutting technology took center stage as students, led by Roland instructors and industry experts, designed, printed, contour cut and installed a wide range of vehicle graphics on three Scion xBs provided by Scion's Los Angeles headquarters. Viewing the hands-on class were three members of LA-based West Coast Customs, one of the firms that helped popularize the fast-growing vehicle graphics market via their MTV show, "Pimp My Ride." For more information, click here.
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Feature
On the Road to Better Service
Using global positioning systems in your fleet can help your shop cut costs and improve customer service. Find out how reprographers are making the most of this technology
By Navina Waterman
If your company has delivery vehicles on the road, the "Base to Gypsy, Base to Gypsy...what's your 10-20" days are probably already gone. But current dispatch systems in many repro shops are often almost as antiquated. Many companies are considering implementing a global positioning system (GPS) to improve dispatch functionality and gain better control over company vehicles.
GPS vendors make a variety of claims-they say their systems will help you:
- Enhance customer service by providing better estimations of pickup and delivery times
- Increase safety and improve driver performance
- Reduce unauthorized use of vehicles
- Provide proof of delivery
- Resolve disputes
- Improve productivity
- Save fuel costs by making it easier to dispatch the right vehicle
- Decrease insurance costs
- Protect vehicles from theft
How do the claims stack up in the real world? REPRO REPORT talked to several reprographers about their GPS packages and got the scoop.
The full article will appear in the 2006 September/October issue of REPRO REPORT.
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For advertising information, contact IRgA Headquarters: info@irga.com or 800/833–4742. Or, click here to fill out the Advertising Information Request and information will be emailed to you.
Reprographic Industry Brand Mantra
Reprographers offer professional expertise in project-critical, large/wide format document distribution and management.
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