The Return of the Annual Technical Conference In Person!
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, TAGA’s Annual Technical Conference returns on March 13–16, 2022, in Oklahoma City. This event is a gathering to showcase and discover new innovations and research throughout the international print community, from industry to academia. Speakers from different areas of interest will present their findings and participate in open discussions. After the event, the Proceedings of the papers presented will be published and made available to attendees and members.
New research and innovation presentations are just some highlights of the 2022 Annual Technical Conference. Students from universities will attend, with sessions specifically designed for this audience. The TAGA student chapters will compete in a printed journal competition, showcasing their research prowess and skill in compiling printed materials. TAGA welcomes these future industry leaders to the event to offer the latest information and perspective about the industry.
To register and learn more about the conference, please visit www.taga.org/conference.
Call for Papers Deadline Extension: November 15, 2021
The Call for Scientific and Technical Innovation Papers for the 2022 Conference and Proceedings has been extended to November 15. TAGA provides authors and companies one of the premier platforms for communication, publication, and outreach in the graphic communications industry. Since 1949, the annual TAGA Proceedings have been the most influential collection of scientific papers in our industry, referred to by industry leaders, innovators, researchers, scientists, and end users.
An emphasis for the 2022 Proceedings will be on papers related to sustainability, packaging, and industrial printing. Papers can also cover such topics as automation, printed electronics, equipment, ink, substrates, color, visualization, textiles and apparel displays, materials, curing, process control, data management, workflow, security, nanotechnology, 3D printing, novel applications, fundamental science, and software and computer developments related to all types of printing processes.
Interested authors who submit a paper abstract of 500–1,500 words will be notified by early January as to whether their paper has been accepted for presentation and publication. Submissions should be sent to TAGA@printing.org.
Student Competitions Update
As we start the 2021–22 school year, it is our pleasure to announce that the print-based version of the TAGA Student Chapter Journal Competition will resume in 2022. More excitingly, the Kipphan Cup will be bestowed to the winner again next year!
TAGA is excited to welcome student chapters around the world to the 2022 annual conference next March in Oklahoma. To further support student chapters in journal production, the TAGA Education subcommittee has updated the grading rubrics based on feedback from students, board members, and chapter advisors. Please find the updated journal grading rubrics by clicking here for this year’s competition, as a reference to navigate your journal production.
In addition, the Harvey Levenson Undergraduate Student Paper competition and the Dusty Rhodes Graduate Student Paper competition will continue to welcome student research papers. The deadline to submit papers for these prestigious awards will be mid-January 2022. The deadline January 17 for both competitions. These awards are open to students from any educational institution worldwide, and institutions are limited to two entries per category (undergraduate and graduate). Please click here to browse previous student competition recipients.
Please contact TAGA Administrator John Bodnar at taga@printing.org with any questions. We look forward to the many impressive student submissions next year!
Featured TAGA Paper: A Comparison of App-based Color Measurement Devices to Spectrophotometers
Authored by Dina Vees and Malcolm Keif, professors at California Polytechnic State University, the paper investigates the practicality of using low-cost app-based measurement devices for managing color accuracy in professional graphic arts applications. The research compared three app-based devices with two professional spectrophotometers, testing the hypotheses that the low-cost devices have greater measurement variation, produce statistically different L*a*b* readings, and have greater calculated Delta E 2000 values.
The instruments chosen for the study were the Nix Mini, Nix Pro 2, Variable Spectro 1, X-Rite 530, and the Techkon SpectroDens. The latter two are professional instruments with built-in processing, while the Nix and Variable devices are app-based, often considered consumer devices, and considerably less expensive.
Seven Pantone colors were selected and twenty repeated measurements were taken for each device. Pantone’s digital L*a*b* values from Pantone’s website were used as the reference for calculating Delta E 2000 (dE00). All devices were calibrated and measurements were taken with little to no movement between readings. CIELAB measurements were captured using D50 illuminant, 2-degree observer, and a 45/0 degrees geometry for instruments with the ability to set those parameters. A white backing was used during measurements.
The results support both the hypothesis that low-cost instruments produce statistically different L*a*b* readings than professional spectrophotometers, and the hypothesis that they produce greater calculated dE00 values. The expectation that low-cost instruments have more variation could not be proven because they did not measure to the same level of precision (consequently showing little deviation of readings) as the high-end devices.
App-based devices are easy to use, off-loading color computations to a mobile app; however, the paper concludes that they do not provide the precision or consistency necessary to replace professional spectrophotometers for controlling the reproduction of critical color jobs.
Members can read the 20-page paper in the soon-to-be-published 2021 TAGA Proceedings or access it now via the online abstract search (must log in to download the full paper). In addition, members can listen to the paper presentation here.
Innovative Technologies Honored with Pinnacle InterTech Award
The Pinnacle InterTech Awards by PRINTING United Alliance (formerly known as the InterTech Technology Awards) have been a harbinger of technology shifts since their introduction in 1978. The annual awards highlight innovative technologies that are judged as likely to make a significant impact on the printing industry. The awards are not given to technologies with excellent engineering or the best reviews, but instead to those judged as important and meaningful technological advances.
This year the judges examined entries covering a wide range of technologies, from color servers and ERP systems to platemaking and postpress automation. Most sectors of the industry were represented. To be eligible for judging, technologies must have been introduced within the last three years, be available for general sale (part of or an entire product), and already be in use in some customer sites.
The committee awarded 13 technologies this year, bringing the number of awards granted since the award’s inception to 385. Technologies singled out for a 2021 Pinnacle InterTech Award:
- Canon Arizona FLOW Technology
Canon Solutions America - Canon UVgel 460 Inks
Canon Solutions America - CWT 1737 Evolution Max
Cutworx USA -
Durst P5 TEX iSUB
Durst North America - KODAK SONORA XTRA Process Free Plates
Eastman Kodak Company - Direct
Global Graphics Software - Hycolor Pro
Heidelberg USA
- PAT – Performance Advisor Technology
Heidelberg USA -
Push to Stop in Folding
Heidelberg USA - HP PageWide C500 Top Feeder
HP Inc. - TagBot
Livingston Systems -
Aerocut X Pro
MBM Corporation -
PureFlexo™ Printing Technology
Miraclon
Learn more about these solutions and indicators for selection by visiting the virtual awards gallery: https://intertechentry.printing.org/recipients-gallery. Many companies will be presenting their awarded technology at the 2022 TAGA Annual Technical Conference.