2012 Graphics of the Americas Printing Trade Show Still the Place to Be

By Erik Cagle

Kinney Named GALA Award Recipient

Kinney Printing education is a priority for Susan Kinney and always has been. When she was a divorced mother with three children under the age of 5 in the 1970s, Kinney took classes with the Printing Industries Association of Southern California (PIASC) in order to learn more about printing. Thirty-odd years later, as the president of Pasadena, CA-based The Castle Press, Kinney has paid her gratitude forward, with interest.

“We need to get more people interested in our industry,” says Kinney, a recipient of the 2012 Graphic Arts Leaders of the Americas (GALA) award. “I started the Graphic Arts Academy here in Pasadena because I believe in the academy concept of integrated education.”

GALA recipients are nominated by the Printing Industries of America affiliates (and Latin America’s CONLATINGRAF) and are chosen for their leadership in management, technology, business and quality. Kinney was chosen the North American Graphic Leader, while Gabriel Comelli Berruti of Uruguay was selected the Latin American Graphic Leader. The pair will be honored March 1 at an awards gala co-sponsored by Printing Impressions during Graphics of the Americas.

“I’m totally honored,” Kinney says of the award. “I know many of the people who have won in the past, and they have impressive accomplishments. This is a great industry, and I love what’s new and different about it. And I love giving back to the industry.”

Kinney acquired The Castle Press in 1979 and has grown the firm from $200,000 to a $6 million performer. It provides sheetfed and digital printing, along with extensive mailing capabilities. Along the way, she has dedicated her time and resources to a number of industry association committees and causes that have helped advance printing.

Her resumé is expansive, with numerous past a present positions within industry associations on both the local and national levels, the National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Communications, as well as the Kodak and Xeikon user groups. Kinney also holds the distinction of being the only woman inducted into all three printing honor societies—Ash Khan, Society of Fellows and the Soderstrom Society. She has also received numerous awards from industry and civic organizations (her Graphic Arts Academy was cited for excellence by the California Department of Education).

Education is certainly foremost in her heart. She quarterbacks the paper surplus drive that provides free stock to 50 to 60 teachers a year. And she always gets a charge out of watching the schools compete in the “Jeopardy”-type competition, sponsored by PIASC. But, to Kinney, learning isn’t something reserved for just the young.

“I love the research end, to know what’s new out there,” she says. “I learn something new every day. We’ve been going to Drupa since 1978 just to see what’s happening in the industry. It gets you excited about the future.”

After 36 years of existence, one might figure the people who produce the Graphics of the Americas Conference & Expo (GOA) might be running out of ideas to keep the annual show fresh and inventive, but that's simply not the case. In an era that admonishes printers to think differently when it comes to their product and service offerings, GOA's mission is to provide attendees a blueprint of the future.

The 2012 edition, slated for March 1-3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, aims to at least match last year's attendance of 9,800 with a strong mixture of expo exhibitors and a diverse educational session roster that attracted 2,100 people in 2011. Attendees will have 10 educational conference tracks from which to choose: prepress/production; digital printing; sales/marketing; management; wide-format; illustration and design; Photoshop; Web and interactive; InDesign; and Acrobat and PDF.

With the 37th show just two months prior to Drupa 2012, GOA President George Ryan doesn't anticipate the European show limiting the number of feet on the Miami Beach Convention Center floor. About 60 percent of show-goers hail from the states, primarily the Southeast, with the balance being represented by Latin America.

"I visited several Latin American countries (in 2011) and they feel like (GOA) is their show," Ryan observes. "They're going to be buying this year because the economies down there are very robust, experiencing about 4 percent to 5 percent growth.

Some of the GOA show floor extras emphasize the industry's migration from the days as dyed-in-the-wool printers to versatile marketing service providers. In the expo theater, exhibiting companies will proctor 10 future-oriented sessions geared toward the latest marketing trends. A number of centers dedicated toward ancillary/niche offerings include the direct-to-garment center, the Wide-Format Print Shop Live! and the vehicle wrap center.

Direct-to-garment, which debuted in 2011, is a desktop offering aimed at small- to medium-sized printers. The center proved quite popular in its debut, with strong applications for the Caribbean and tourist cruise destinations.

Wide-format digital printing continues to draw a lot of attention, both from a printing and finishing standpoint. This year's attraction will demonstrate the same job being sent to three different printers—aqueous, UV and solvent-based—giving attendees insight into the differences. Attendees are being asked to pre-register, to limit sessions to 25-30 people.

The mixture of highly competitive, new technologies, combined with affordability, should certainly pique the curiosity of show-goers, according to Ryan.

"The Memjet (thermal inkjet print head) technology coming into wide-format is an interesting application," he says of the 42˝ Xanté Excelagraphic 4200 system. "For printers looking to go into wide-format, it's a nice entry cost point. Prices are coming down on some of the digital technology, which makes it very interesting."

Overall, Ryan is hoping that the strong fall business enjoyed by printers maintains momentum and that their willingness to invest in new equipment is a reflection of their confidence in the market. "When you add in the aggressiveness of the Latin American printers coming up for the show, I think it's going to have a nice buzz to it," he says.

For more info or to register, visit www.goa2012.com. PI

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2012 Graphics of the Americas: Latin Influence Sparks GOA