Association Insights

PRINTING United Alliance is a member-based printing and graphic arts association based in the U.S. The Alliance team provides economics and market trend insight, education, certification, events, human resources services, the latest legislation affecting our industry, environmental, and health and safety leadership. The Alliance partners with leading industry organizations that echo its mission in serving professionals and their companies across market segments with current, usable resources, both locally and nationally. 

PRINTING United Alliance and Idealliance: A (Color) Match Made in Heaven

PRINTING United Alliance welcomed Idealliance to the family in March. A leader in certifying and training color management professionals around the world, Idealliance is now able to provide even more global standardization, training and certification programs for the printing and packaging supply chain in areas such as G7 to all graphic communications professionals. This partnership allows Idealliance to expand efforts into new markets to train and certify professionals in processes and systems around the globe. For more information, visit: www.idealliance.com.

PRINTING United 2021 – A New Expo Experience

A new, three-tiered Expo experience is launching in 2021. The first, Expo Preview, opens this summer. Registration to this year’s Expo includes access to this special online preview of product demonstrations and educational sessions to better prepare for the live show. PRINTING United Expo live takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Oct. 6-8. Attendees will experience one million square feet of solutions across all industry segments, networking opportunities and events, and best-in-class educational sessions presented by top thought leaders. Expo Wrap-Up takes place virtually immediately after the live Expo with an opportunity for attendees to dive further into any areas that may have been missed during the live event. Details and registration are available at: www.printingunited.com.

Premier PRINT Awards Competition Debuts

PRINTING United Alliance recently unveiled the new Premier PRINT Awards competition, honoring the very best in print communications. The Premier PRINT Awards was born from the convergence of SGIA’s Golden Image Award, Printing Impressions’ Gold Ink Award, Packaging Impressions’ Excellence Award, and the Printing Industries of America "Benny" awards. These awards collectively provided the foundation for a unified awards program that recognizes the best of the best in printing and graphic communications. The competition is open to PRINTING United Alliance members and non-members through June 30, 2021, with a discount for current Alliance members. For more information and how to submit entries, visit: https://premierprint.printing.org/.

Industry Advocacy, Leadership and Representation

Expert Alliance staff members have been hard at work advocating on the industry’s behalf in governmental, regulatory, HR and environmental, health and safety initiatives, in addition to other areas. Lisbeth Lyons, VP of Government and Political Affairs, has been keeping members apprised up-to-the-minute on legislation being passed through the new administration, how new laws are affecting the printing industry, and advocacy guidance on how members can and should take action. The Center for Human Resources Support (CHRS) just launched and provides expert assistance in labor and employment issues and how those will affect the printing industry and all businesses. Under the leadership of Adriane Harrison, VP of Human Relations Consulting, CHRS specializes in helping businesses stay informed on the latest laws, regulations and trends in labor and employment and how to implement them. On the environmental, health and safety front, Marci Kinter, VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs, and Gary Jones, director of Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs, are helping members navigate COVID-related regulations and best practice recommendations through easily accessed resources; vaccination updates, both locally and nationally; OSHA-related issues, especially as related to the pandemic; and leadership in key regulatory issues facing our industry today. For more information, visit: www.sgia.org.