As we all continue to operate in the midst of the pandemic, we wanted to take a moment to thank all of our members for their ongoing support. We are grateful for everything members are doing to help out during these difficult times. Our team of volunteers have been encouraged and inspired, and many tasks have been undertaken and completed, including:
- The launch of Operator Certification 2020
- Delivering bespoke training and consulting through remote mentoring
- Plans and logistics established to hold virtual Basic & Advanced Seminars and Forum
- Updates to our Website and communication tools
- Overhauling the administration and accounting protocols
Appreciation for going the extra mile:
We want to recognize Reba Meek and her team at Delfort and Dr. Bruce Myers of R.I.T. for their hard work in establishing a method for the shipping of text books. In June, we announced special pricing for the Gravure Process and Technology (English and Spanish) text book and the GST Blue Book. Then, because of changes made related to COVID-19, we had issues in shipping orders. These folks and their employers set great examples of member participation; stepping up and creating a solution.
Copies of textbooks are still available. Please go to: https://gaa.org/textbooks/
Gravure:
Process and Technology
Gravure Specifications and
Tolerances - ‘GST Blue Book’
Other special thanks:
Platinum Level @ $5,000.0:
Pledges/Donations received:
Gold Level @ $2,500.0:
Pledges/Donations received:
Silver Level @ $1,000.00:
Pledges/Donations received:
Ron Deegan
Lou DeFlaviis
Caring Member @ $500.00:
Pledges/Donations received:
If you or your organization would like to sponsor or make a donation to the GAA, please contact us at info@gaa.org.
Welcome to Our Newest Members:
How the GAA is Serving You TODAY
Our top priority at the GAA is to provide services, value, and insight to our membership that can then be used to grow, expand, and enrich their gravure operations. Some of the ways we’re doing that right now include:
Education Gravure Days
We want to remind members with the starting of the collegiate school year there will be opportunities to help promote the gravure printing industry segments to students at colleges and universities. This is a great time for members to reaching out to your education contacts and encourage them to hold virtual gravure days in partnership with your team or other GAA members. The University of Western Michigan is the first to announce their Gravure Day being October 29th. We have lined up a couple presenters from GAA membership for this event, but we anticipate many more requests for our Gravure Day speakers. Anyone who is interested in being a presenter, please contact Tony Donato: tdonato@gaa.org
Continuing Education Goes Virtual
In response to the needs of our members in the current business landscape, we are offering a number of virtual seminars and forums. Working with other printing industry associations to provide the infrastructure required, we will shortly be scheduling Technical Forum content on a third-party platform. Following shortly thereafter, we will stage our first virtual Basic & Advanced Seminars, using interactive communication tools.
Great Opportunity for Networking
The GAA has been invited to organize and supply eight speakers for two sessions of the upcoming AIMCAL Roll to Roll Technical Virtual Conference the last week in October. The topics will be gravure-related and will help fill the void left by the rescheduled Technical Forum. As more information develops, we will provide it to you.
The GAA is Looking Out for Your FUTURE, Too!
For the past several months, we’ve been discussing how to maintain the independence, identity, and focus of the Association, while mitigating the overhead burden of operation. We remain committed to finding solutions that work for everyone, and our objective is to continue offering all the products and services that our members value and continuing to champion Gravure technology.
As we look ahead to tomorrow, it’s important to understand where we came from, and perhaps even more importantly WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR GRAVURE:
Gravure publication printing led the way in technology and is behind every aspect of gravure technology in use today. As Packaging Gravure became more sophisticated, almost every technology adopted was a scaled down version of publication equipment.
Obvious challenges have impacted Publication Gravure and the industry is at a critical point as publishers try to balance the use of print and digital content. In North America, consolidation has resulted in market domination by two strong companies as they continue to innovate and reevaluate their gravure capacity.
If Gravure is not best suited to the personalization of magazines, catalogs, and flyers; the same could eventually be said about Packaging. Blending technologies may well offer a solution.
As an example: Tobacco packaging may soon have to include one of an array of illustrative health warnings, subject to strict distribution, according to FDA rules. This demand will challenge Gravure to find a way to meet the criteria. A further expansion of health warnings would require a new approach to graphic reproduction, or the addition of print units to insert the required range of warnings onto the printed package – potentially by incorporating an additional printing process.
In Publication Gravure, regional content and some buying preferences are accommodated by the use of very complex page selection in the bindery process. Code and image recognition technology is available to accommodate the expansion of information beyond the printed page, or indeed, the printed package.
Despite constant growth in the packaging segment, Packaging Gravure is sensitive to changing consumers habits and trends; as always, certain market segments will shrink, and others will flourish.
Although we cannot create the market for printed product, we can stimulate the appetite by delivering options to our customers.
Brand owners continue to strive for market share and will seek the most economical ways to make impacts. Intelligent use of graphics and gravure technology have been utilized to great effect in the past and the continuing development of innovative solutions deliver options for future growth. Beyond the grocery store, to places like the home improvement center, the sporting goods store, and beyond – the Gravure process can set the trend. Product Gravure continues to expand, develop, and innovate. New printed flooring options and decorated surfaces continue to expand, and at long last, wallpaper is returning as a popular home décor option.
The Future of Printing Presses
Moving towards a post COVID-19 era, we will need to think more holistically and less parochially. We Gravure operators may find ourselves cooperating more fully with other print technologies in order to develop upon innovation. Taking a broader view across the printing processes and geographical landscape can only strengthen our cause. In narrow web applications, for example, hybrid presses are adding gravure stations so that printers can utilize the benefits of gravure.
We will not generate business by hiding away and waiting to be sought out. Part of our mission is to champion Gravure; that need not be to the exclusion of everything else. It is a time of change and for too long, as an industry, we have recognized that we need to change. Now we need to take ACTION.
On-Line Gravure Courses
As new generations of Gravure professionals fill the ranks, solid training becomes imperative to establishing a viable future in the industry. To this end Operator Certification 2020 is a timely development. Moreover, we have established special pricing for members.
There are four categories of certification:
- Master Operator Certification – $2,700.00 per candidate / $2,100.00 members
- Operator Certification – $2,000.00 per candidate / $1,500.00 members
- Entry Level Certification – $1000.00 per candidate / $500.00 members
- Application Specialist Certification – $1,500.00 per candidate / $1,000.00 members
The Application Specialist Certificate course launched on September 14, and a member has already enrolled two students; they are working their way through the 10-module course.
The courses are self-paced and include downloadable handouts and presentations having slides to view. At the end of each module is a Quiz that has to be passed before going to the next module. The three remaining levels will be rolled out within the next couple of weeks.
Gravure in the News
From India to Wisconsin and plenty of points in between, a lot has been happening in the industry lately. Check out our latest BLOG for a summary of recent news items.