2021 TAGA Call for Papers : Be at the Leading Edge of the Graphic Communications Industry
The Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) announces the call for Scientific and Technical Innovation Papers for the 2021 Annual Technical Conference. This event provides authors one of the premier platforms for communication, publication, and outreach in the graphics and communications industry. During the event, industry leaders, innovators, researchers, scientists, and end users can evaluate the latest R&D and learn how it can impact their own activities and business.
Scientific Papers are based on emerging science, technology, and the application of all forms of graphic communications technology.
Technical Innovation Papers cover topics where a broad technology perspective needs to be provided. They will focus on issues that are current to the industry or critical to its development, across the wide range of the graphics and communications industry.
Papers cover the full range of topics impacting the industry. A special emphasis for the 2021 conference will be on papers related to sustainability, packaging, printed electronics, automation, and printed textiles. Papers can also cover such topics as equipment, ink, substrates, color, visualization, displays, materials, curing, process control, data management, workflow, security, nanotechnology, 3D printing, novel applications, fundamental science, and software and computer developments related to printing processes. Papers are also being sought on the impact of COVID-19 on data collection, equipment comparison and testing, working from virtual offices, and other activities.
Papers will be selected based on submitted abstracts of 500–1,500 words and may include figures.
Papers will be selected based on submitted abstracts of 500–1,500 words and may include figures. Papers accepted and presented at the TAGA 2021 Annual Technical Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, currently scheduled for March 14–17, will be published in the 2021 TAGA Proceedings. TAGA is recognized worldwide as the most prestigious and comprehensive literature resource in the graphics and communications industry.
All submissions should be sent to TAGA@printing.org. The deadline is October 12, 2020. For discussion of possible papers, please contact TAGA Papers at technicalpapers@printing.org.
2020 Presentations Available
Upon the cancellation of this year’s conference, we invited presenters to share their presentations in video format. In late May we announced the availability of those recordings.
The 2020 video presentations are available in the TAGA members area at the following links. They are organized based on the planned conference sessions (e.g., Session 1, Session 2, etc.).
- Sessions 1–6 – https://www.printing.org/taga-presentations-2020-sessions-1-6
- Sessions 7–11 – https://www.printing.org/taga-presentations-2020-sessions-7-11
The sessions cover the following topics:
- Ink
- Expanded Gamut
- Inkjet
- Color
- Flexo Production
- Packaging
- Security
- Print Production
- New Technology
- Print Process
- Print Analysis
TAGA members and 2020 conference registrants can access these videos. Members can log-in at www.printing.org/user/login. If you forgot your login information or if you were a conference registrant, please contact the TAGA Administrator, John Bodnar, at taga@printing.org.
We will be publishing the 2020 Proceedings for distribution to members and authors. We are collecting papers now with the intention to release the publication in the fall of 2020.
TAGA Technology & Innovation Series
Despite the Annual Technical Conference being cancelled this year due to the pandemic, we still provided virtual presentations by the keynote speakers. Our event on April 27–30 featured one keynote presentation each day and resulted in almost 400 registrants. The presentation recordings are available for those that were unable to attend.
Circular Economy and Sustainability Solutions in Packaging
Todd Fayne, Principal Engineer of PepsiCo, kicked off the remote event by giving a presentation on actions Pepsi has taken to meet it ambitious sustainability goals, including how it is seeking to reengineer its flexible packages for multiple use and challenges to further progress.
An Ink Supplier Perspective on Industry 4.0
Juanita Parris, Global Director of Materials, Applications and Analytical Science for Sun Chemical Corporation, explored the impact that smart technology is having on the graphic communications industry and specifically highlighted steps ink companies are taking to automate the exchange of color and related data with their clients.
Technology Innovation and the Success of Failure
David Crawley, professor of technology leadership and innovation management at University of Houston, explained how to create an environment that breeds meaningfully unique solutions.
Industrial Custom Printing: A Status Report
Craig Reid, inkjet evangelist and founder of CTR Resources, LLC, gave viewers a comprehensive look at the burgeoning ways that inkjet technology is being used to print and customize products during their manufacturing and packaging.
To access the recordings, please go to the following URL: https://www.printing.org/taga-technology-and-innovation-series-videos
The virtual event was so well received that a TAGA ad-hoc committee was set up to explore future virtual events, perhaps on a quarterly basis.
Featured TAGA Paper: Streaks and Banding: Measuring Macro Uniformity in the Context of Optimization Process for Inkjet Printing
Delivered by Danny Hall at the 2019 TAGA Annual Technical Conference, Streaks and Banding examines the inherent tendency for inkjet printing to have directional variation and reviews approaches for hiding the image artifacts that result. Ideally a viewer should not be able to determine the direction by which a job was printed, a test that is particularly difficult for jobs with flat tints.
Many factors can contribute to directional bias in a complex system: environmental (e.g., dust, temperature, and humidity); mechanical effects (e.g., vibration and printhead alignment); and electronic (e.g., waveform and drive voltages). The mechanical, fluidic system and electronic ways to try and fix directional artifacts can be complicated and time consuming. They are most effectively used with recently introduced software fixes, such as PrintFlat™ from Global Graphics, a technology that received a 2019 InterTech Technology Award from Printing Industries of America. PrintFlat measures and then intelligently compensates for density variations.