Expand Vol. 3 No. 12

Association Changes Name to Include More Print Companies

PIA/GATF, which was formed in 1999 from the consolidation of the Printing Industries of America (PIA) with the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF), is undergoing an identity change. The organization has announced a new name, logo, and tagline.

From now on, the organization will be known simply as the Printing Industries of America and use the tagline “Advancing Graphic Communications.”

The association’s President and CEO Michael Makin explains that “the new logo depicts the technology, artistry, and dynamic growth of the industry, while the new tagline captures the organization’s innovative, forward-thinking approach.”

The organization will change the name of its website from www.GAIN.net to www.printing.org and consolidate the publication of its two bi-monthly magazines into one combined publication, entitled Printing Industries of America: The Magazine.

Printing Industries of America promotes itself as the world's largest graphic arts trade association, representing an industry with more than one million employees. The association provides products and services that enhance the growth, efficiency, and profitability of its 10,000-plus member companies. It also seeks to advance the graphic communications industry as a whole through advocacy, education, research, and technical information.

The emergence of a “graphic communications industry” is reflected in the fact that the membership base of the Printing Industries of America has expanded beyond commercial offset printing companies. When the Printing Industries of America recently announced that four of its members had qualified for recognition as Sustainable Green Printers, two of the companies (Pictura Graphics and The Pratt Corporation) come from large-format-graphics and screen-printing backgrounds.