Training and Education

THE FIFTH annual PIA/GATF Variable Data and Personalization Conference, held November 12-14 in Phoenix, will feature more than two days of sessions to help companies advance their capabilities. This special supplement has been designed to highlight some of the key conference topics and speakers. Attendees will hear case studies from the Canadian Conservative Party and Move.com that provide a behind-the-scenes look at effective uses of VDP. Three separate tracks, a total of 21 sessions, are being offered. Management sessions will include: Building an Efficient Cost/Financial Model; Liability/Security Issues; Managing a Multimedia Company; Transitioning from Transactional to Marketing; as well as Profiting from Digital

Any graphic communications industry executive who has ever wished for an expert, objective consultant to guide him or her through today’s maze of business and technological challenges should be sure not to miss EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK® 2006 on October 14 in Chicago, says conference chair William Lamparter. “All of the values an experienced, neutral industry consultant can offer to clients will be at the command of EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK attendees,” Lamparter said. EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK takes place the day before the doors open for the year’s foremost North American trade show for printing, publishing and converting: GRAPH EXPO® and CONVERTING EXPO® 2006. The show, which will

Reenergize Hiring Practices MOST MANAGERS have come to realize that their most troublesome personnel problems are almost always rooted in poor hiring decisions. Poor performance, employee conflict and countless other workplace problems too often confirm a manager’s “gut feeling” that something was not right, even before the employee was hired. And with so many experts offering conflicting advice on how to “hire smart,” it’s no wonder that the number one complaint of commercial printing industry managers is the inability to “find the right people.” Recently, these managers have been swamped by ads and direct mail touting scientific—or scientific-sounding—approaches to the hiring

JUST AS Major League Baseball fans look forward to October for the culmination of a long season with the World Series, printers move into autumn with thoughts of the industry’s largest trade show in the Americas for 2006, Graph Expo & Converting Expo, fittingly held in Chicago, home of the reining world champion White Sox. This year’s Graph Expo & Converting Expo, taking place October 15-18 at the McCormick Place South complex, should provide plenty of action for attendees. Exhibit space has topped 400,000 square feet, with nearly 600 exhibiting companies in attendance. It will be the largest Graph Expo show held since 2000.

Company Supports and Furthers the Education of Tomorrow’s Print and Graphic Art Professionals FOSTER CITY, CA—August 22, 2006—EFI (Nasdaq:EFII), the world leader in digital controllers, superwide format printers and inks, and print management solutions, today reinforced the company’s commitment to the next-generation of printers and graphic arts professionals. As the 2006 school year begins, EFI renews its support, in terms of time, product and monetary donation, of industry and university programs fostering the future’s innovative and productive print and graphic arts workforce. “Our customers and partners are concerned about developing the industry’s future workforce, and so are we – as the new school year begins,

New Web Products User Advisory Council Forges Close Customer Relationships FOSTER CITY, CA—Aug. 2, 2006—EFI (Nasdaq: EFII), a leader in digital controllers, superwide format printers and inks, and print management solutions, announced the formation of the Web Products User Advisory Council to facilitate a two-way dialogue with customers of its popular Web solutions, including the PrinterSite suite of products and PrintSmith Site. The User Advisory Council was conceived at this year’s EFI Connect conference, the largest annual user conference in the print industry, and plans were formalized soon after. “Connect provides an opportunity for unparalleled interaction between customers and EFI staff, but we wanted to provide

RESTON, VA—July 31, 2006—The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF®) has launched a major effort to streamline the accreditation and reaccreditation processes for PrintED and update the industry competencies that form the basis of instruction in PrintED programs. GAERF Chairman Randolph W. Camp, CEO of Walton Media Services in Monroe, Georgia, says the goal of the initiative is “to maintain the high standards on which PrintED’s reputation is based, while simplifying our processes and reducing the workload imposed on instructors who already have substantial demands on their time.” Camp noted that more than half the “paperwork” involved in accreditation has been obliterated. The condensed method

If the uppermost sheets in a stack to be cut are domed and not level, they will shift when the material is placed against the backgauge. The top sheets move upwards against the backgauge, leading to differences in cuts. The operator often tries to bend or roll up the corners of the uppermost sheets, but if it is not done in the right way, the upper sheets will be damaged and no longer useable. A hold-down clamp at the backgauge ensures that the upper sheets are retained on the loaded material, all of which can then be positioned against the backgauge. Even with

SEWICKLEY, PA—More than two years in development, the JDF Product Certification Program has finally been launched by CIP4 (The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress) and PIA/GATF (Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation). The program has been established to test product compliance to the Job Definition Format specification. JDF-enabled solutions that successfully complete testing will be issued a “JDF Certified” logo. This logo can be used on product packaging and promotional materials to convey to buyers that products have been certified to meet established guidelines for interoperability. Parameters for the testing are to be

CHICAGO—With more than 400,000 square feet of space booked at McCormick Place here in the Windy City, the 2006 Graph Expo and Converting Expo will reportedly be the largest national graphic communications and converting exhibition since 2000, notes the show organizer.According to Graphic Arts Show Co., which manages Graph Expo, total space occupied by the…