IRgA to Introduce Online Seminar
this Month

1st Time is Free to Members!

Steve Bova, CAE Executive Director The IRgA is coming to you! Last week, an e-blast was sent to all News Digest readers announcing that the association will offer a webinar on Thursday, July 20. The session will be: Managing Complex AEC Designs with Autodesk DWF 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. CDT Brian Mathews, DWF Technical Evangelist, Autodesk Click here for a link to the promotional flier and registration form.

Free to IRgA Members. To introduce you to this new association offering, the first "webinar" is being offered FREE to IRgA member companies and for only $99 to non-member companies. Everyone must register to receive login and dial-in information, as well as to receive session handouts. While there will be an on-screen presentation, a permanent copy of the materials, as a value-add, will come in handy.

Future IRgA online offerings will be available to member companies for a nominal charge and for a higher competitive rate to non-member companies. Participating in just a few sessions as a member company will more than pay for membership of a small reprographic shop-thereby demonstrating the value of membership and return on one's investment. Your input in response to an educational needs assessment survey will help the Education Committee to determine topics for future webinars. The survey will be sent within the next few days.

What is a webinar? Think of webinar as a live and interactive seminar conducted over the telephone, with visual assistance from the Internet. It's like a face-to-face seminar with the exception that one cannot see the speakers or other attendees. Unlike a conference call, a webinar is a professionally produced event that gets across a specific message to an unlimited size audience.

The IRgA's education strategy is to offer continuing adult education throughout the year, in many various forms-be it at the Annual Convention, Mounting & Laminating Seminar, various publications, industry research, online learning or perhaps even self study.

Offering online education helps the IRgA achieve another strategy: to offer association services deeper into our reprographics and vendor organizations, beyond ownership. Attending the Annual Convention will continue to be the most effective way to learn and network within our industry. By offering online opportunities, more people from within your company can benefit from participation in the IRgA.

Participating in the webinar, for example, does not require an airline ticket or overnight stay. The program comes to you. The registration rate is per location and includes one phone line and Internet connection. This means an unlimited number of people from your location can participate. The "cost per head" is reduced dramatically as more people participate. We expect companies, as a morale booster, to set up their conference rooms and offer breakfast (on the West Coast) or lunch in addition to the training.

To IRgA members: It's free, so why not give it a try?

To non-members: The IRgA will be introducing more offerings like this in the future, and some sessions will be available to members only. Don't miss out on cost-effective training opportunities. Join the IRgA and begin to take advantage of all the association has to offer.

As the IRgA enters the final month of its fiscal year, I am pleased to report a second consecutive year of strength for the association. As the IRgA gains strength, it is able to provide more value to the industry, and particularly to its member companies. The future is bright!

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

2006-2007 Membership Renewal Underway
As August 1st signals the beginning of the IRgA 06-07 membership year, be on the lookout for your membership renewal notice and continue your participation in the IRgA community. Prevent a lapse in your company's membership and ensure inclusion in the printed Membership Directory! Renewals must be received by September 1, 2006. If your company has not received a notice, please call 800/833.4742 or e-mail info@irga.com. Thank you to all those who have already renewed, we appreciate your commitment and support!

Operating Ratio Study Now Available
The 2006 Operating Ratio Study is now available, and copies are being 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

Nashua Corporation Opens Wide-Format Specialty Paper Manufacturing Facility
Nashua Corporation, a manufacturer of labels and thermal and specialty papers, today announced the opening of a new manufacturing and distribution facility in Cranbury, NJ. This operation will address the growing demand for the company's wide-format specialty paper products used by architects, engineers and in the graphic and sign markets. The new facility expands Nashua's Dietzgen division's manufacturing capabilities and enhances its ability to provide high-quality products and services to customers in the mid-Atlantic and northeast regions. Read more...

VersaCAMM Grand Prize Attracts Roland Vehicle Graphics Contest Entries
Sign makers, screen printers and vehicle graphics professionals from the U.S. and Canada continue to submit their designs for the first-ever Roland Wrap Vehicle Graphics Contest, hoping to capture the grand prize of a VersaCAMM SP-300V 30" inkjet printer/cutter. The Roland Wrap Contest is an industry-wide competition for the best Scion xB designs, open to U.S. and Canadian professionals. The deadline to enter the Roland Wrap Contest is July 31st. Read more...

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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.

Adobe Announces Resignation of President
Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced that Stephen Elop, president, worldwide field operations, will leave the company at the end of the fiscal year. Elop, former CEO of Macromedia, is responsible for the company's global sales organization, including field marketing, customer care and professional services. Read more...

Enovation Expands Presence in Wide Format Sector
In response to the burgeoning wide format market, Enovation is bringing together the company's technical expertise in color and its supplier partnerships to create a team of experts poised to help customers navigate this ever-changing market. Wide format printing continues to see the largest growth within the graphic arts industry, and it is estimated that the U.S. market for wide format engines and media already surpasses $2 billion and is still growing. Enovation is in a unique position to help customers contemplating adding these capabilities. Read more...

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International Paper Names Brian N. McDonald Vice President, Investor Relations
International Paper announced today that Brian N. McDonald has been named vice president, Investor Relations. McDonald will report to Marianne Parrs, chief financial officer and executive vice president, and will be based in the company's Memphis, Tennessee headquarters. McDonald joined International Paper in 1987. He has held roles of increasing responsibility in the company's manufacturing and commercial operations, including director of the company's Russian operations and, most recently, as president of IP Asia. Read more....

GIA and GretagMacbeth Launch Color Seminar for Digital Sign Makers
The training experts at the GIA/GretagMacbeth Global Services have announced a summer seminar tour newly designed to help sign makers and digital printers understand and improve their color. "Color Management for Digital Sign Makers" will be presented in 20 U.S. and Canadian cities this July through October, with the support of HP, LG Chem, ONYX Graphics and NBM. This training seminar will teach the technical skills needed to get the best possible color from wide-format printers and RIPs. During the full day of instruction, attendees will get the jump on their competition with the latest ICC profiling tools and color control techniques for professional display graphics. Click here to register...

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Valco Cincinnati Announces Acquisition of Melton S.L.
Valco Cincinnati Inc., a designer, manufacturer and worldwide marketer of hot and cold adhesive application equipment, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Melton S.L., an internationally recognized manufacturer of compatible hot melt equipment based in Navarra, Spain. Since Melton's founding in 1988, it has worked hard on the design and manufacture of the wide range of products that it offers the customer today. Its goal has been to offer every client the opportunity to choose a quality alternative with a comprehensive solution to each hot melt, polyurethane or polyamide application. Read more...

Presstek Names Ralph C. Jenkins Regional Sales Director, Northeast Region
Presstek, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-tech digital imaging solutions for the graphic communications industry, today announced that Ralph C. Jenkins has joined the company as Regional Sales Director, Northeast Region. Prior to joining Presstek, Jenkins held a number of positions at Agfa Corporation for over 23 years, most recently as National Sales & Marketing Manager for the company's Global Services Division (North America), where he expanded and diversified the Services Business while also achieving profitable sales growth. Jenkins also served as National Training Manager for Agfa's Graphic Systems Business Unit. Read more....

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Feature

How Reprographers Are Perceived by the AEC Industry
A high-level summary of the IRgA's branding study

When IRgA board member John Cronin "Googled" the word blueprint last spring, the search engine delivered 61.3 million hits. When he "Googled" the word blueprinter, the hits fell to 28,200. Finally, a search of the word reprographer brought the number of hits down to 10,600.

"Blueprint" is a household word. Everyone understands what blueprints are and what they are used for. Somehow, the word became as recognizable as Kleenex, Band-Aid and Google.

Reprographics is not a household word. Broken down, the word is simple: reproduction of graphics. However, it is much easier to describe your craft as one who makes blueprints.

Why, then, has the reprographics industry abandoned one of the best branded words of all-time for a word that nobody seems to understand, let alone, accept? Does the industry have an identity crisis?

This presentation was given by IRgA President Michael Shaw and Executive Director Steve Bova during the Opening General Session of the IRgA's 80th Annual Convention and Trade Show, recently held in Orlando, Florida. Click here for the branding presentation.

The full article will appear in the 2006 July/August issue of REPRO REPORT.

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