Conference Presentation List and Registration
The Papers Committee did a wonderful job collecting abstracts for the 2020 TAGA Annual Technical Conference. In total, we have 34 presentations and one poster that will be presented this March in Oklahoma City. This includes presentations from several recipients of the InterTech Technology Awards. The topics are divers and touch upon most areas of our industry. A formal schedule will be available soon at www.taga.org/conference.
For those planning on attending the conference, registration information can be found at www.taga.org/register. Registration is $695 for TAGA, PIA, SGIA, Radtech, and IS&T members. Use the registration form to make sure you receive the member rate. Non-member individuals can either pay the $895 non-member rate or become a member for $125.
If you have questions, please contact John Bodnar, TAGA Administrator, at jbodnar@printing.org or 412-519-6143.
Final Keynote Speakers Announced
TAGA is excited to announce that Todd Fayne, principal engineer at PepsiCo, and Craig Reid, founder of CTR Resources, will be keynote speakers at the upcoming Annual Technical Conference.
Fayne’s presentation—The Circular Economy and Sustainability Solutions in Packaging—will address how sustainability concerns are driving package redesigns. The complexity of developing sustainable packaging, particularly that has value as a resource after its initial use, will be examined along with PepsiCo’s progress toward ambitious goals. PepsiCo is one of the world’s most respected companies, with products sold in more
than 200 countries and territories and 22 brands (Pepsi, Gatorade, Fritos corn chips, Doritos, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, etc.) that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Reid is a former supplier executive and now consultant who has spent more than 20 years immersed in digital print packaging, direct-to-shape, direct-to-object, textile, and industrial print applications. He’ll present Industrial Custom Printing: A Status Report that will examine how product manufacturers can take advantage of new high-quality graphic options, including using them as a customizing feature.
Keynote speakers previously announced are Dr. Juanita Parris of Sun Chemical (An Ink Supplier Perspective on Industry 4.0) and David Crawley of University of Houston (Technology Innovation and the Success of Failure). More information on the keynote speakers is available at https://www.taga.org/conference/#keynotes.
Quad Welcomes TAGA on Tour
Attendees at this year’s Annual Technical Conference will have the opportunity to tour one of the nation’s most progressive printing facilities. The Quad Oklahoma City facility has more than quadrupled its size since it opened in 2003. Today it houses multiple gravure and heatset web offset presses, state-of-the-art imaging, and very capable finishing/mailing capabilities, including more than 15 high-speed saddle stitchers, making it the largest print production facility west of the Mississippi River. It produces vast quantities of magazines, catalogs, and retail inserts/flyers. The plant uses a degree of automation rare in our industry, particularly with regard to gravure cylinders and bundling/stacking. The optional tour takes place on Wednesday morning, March 18. Transportation will be provided.
Featured TAGA Paper: Characterization of Multicolor Printing: Challenges and Solutions
Delivered at the 2019 Annual Technical Conference, Characterization of Multicolor Printing: Challenges and Solutions by Hanno Hoffstadt of GMG GmbH & Co. examines the ability to predict overprints using a 7-color (CMYKOGV) test chart developed by Idealliance. The significance of this research is that while characterization of overprinted inks is the basis for color management, reliable characterization of multicolor printing beyond CMYK is still a challenge, especially because of the thousands of spot colors used in changing combinations. The sampling of ink combinations has been done using incomplete regular grids of up to four overprinted inks. A layout has been developed where the first page alone should provide a good characterization, which can be augmented by using pages 2-4. The uncertainty from printing fluctuations can be estimated using many duplicate patches. For evaluation two other charts were created, one with patch combinations in the grid centers which maximizes interpolation error and another that covers many overprints of more than 4 inks. The paper presents the results from the first offset test prints, where all available overprints are predicted from a subset of patches using GMG OpenColor. In short, the research showed that an extremely small test chart, equivalent to a test control strip, used many times provides a smooth profile that is quite accurate (average delta E00<3) and therefore a better option than using a single test chart with many pages.
TAGA Leader Takes Helm of PIA
Congratulations to Paul Cousineau! In November, Printing Industries of America (PIA), the association that manages TAGA, announced that Cousineau became the chair of PIA’s board of directors. Working together with its regional affiliates, PIA is the world’s graphic arts trade association and provides member firms with products and services that enhance their growth, efficiency, and profitability.
Cousineau is a longstanding TAGA member, having joined our organization several decades ago when he was as a student. He became a TAGA board member in 2006 and subsequently held leadership positions, including TAGA chairman. He is a past recipient of TAGA’s top honor, the Michael H. Bruno Award. He will remain on the TAGA board during his term as PIA chair.
As PIA’s top leader, Cousineau will help guide the association through service on the executive and finance committees and participate in numerous national and regional events throughout the coming year. He previously served as PIA’s first vice chairman and research committee chairman.
His experience spans nearly four decades in the printing industry, including more than 35 years with Dow Jones (owner of The Wall Street Journal and other publications) where he acts as vice president of prepress operations, continuous improvement, and IT ops support. He primarily works on production of Dow Jones’ printed products from receipt of image through the finished paper. He has been a key executive in developing Dow Jones’ quality control program while managing all systems and functions related to production including plant expansion projects, continuous improvement, and maintaining a connection with the industry and education.
In addition to his service to TAGA, Cousineau serves on the Graphic Communications and Journalism Advisory Boards at his alma mater, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
