PIA Testing Services

PIA

PIA Testing Services

Materials and Product Testing

Printing Industries of America lab services staff have over four decades of industry experience evaluating materials used in the graphic arts industry. In addition, they also have access to a plethora of other industry professionals including but not limited to the areas of prepress, digital, pressroom, process controls, color management, JDF, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, and many others!

Printing Industries of America lab services evaluates paper and ink characteristics using established standards, such as Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI), the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the National Printing Ink Research Institute (NPIRI). 

We evaluate materials proactively by providing quality control evaluations for printers, suppliers, and vendors around the industry. Many customers submit materials on a regular basis as a quality control measure to ensure the products they are providing are consistent and reliable. In addition, Printing Industries of America’s lab services provide analytical evaluations of jobs that did not go as planned. Often when conflicts arise concerning “jobs gone bad” customers will send the materials to Printing Industries of America for an unbiased, third-party evaluation to determine what went wrong and how to prevent it from occurring in the future!

ISO 2846 Conformance Tested Ink & Suppliers

Paper Strength Testing

What We Evaluate

– Inks, substrates, coatings
– Binding properties
– Material interactions – surface tension, drying times, ink/coating adhesion, etc.
– ISO 2846 Ink Conformance testing – offset, flexography, rotogravure, screen
– Conflict resolution
– Legal work

Paper Tests

– Absorptivity (K&N, Croda
– Ash Content (TAPPI T-413)
– Basis Weight (TAPPI T-410)
– Brightness (TAPPI T-452)
– Burst Strength (TAPPI T-403)
– Caliper (TAPPI T-411)
– CIE Whiteness (TAPPI T-562)
– Color (TAPPI T-424)
– Curl (TAPPI T-466)
– Folding Endurance (TAPPI T-511)
– Gloss (TAPPI T-480)
– Internal Tearing Resistance (TAPPI T-414)
– ISO Brightness ISO 2469
– Moisture Content (TAPPI T-412)
– Opacity (TAPPI T-425)
– Parker Print Surf Smoothness (TAPPI T-555)
– Sheffield Smoothness (TAPPI T-538)
– Stiffness (TAPPI T-489)
– Surface pH (TAPPI T-529)
– Tensile Strength (TAPPI T-404)
– Tri-pick test (Consolidated)
– Other standard TAPPI and ASTM tests can be performed upon request

Ink Tests

– Duke Emulsification (ASTM D4942-89)
– Fineness of Grind (ASTM D1316-87)
– ISO 2846 ink conformance
– Laray Viscosity (ASTM D4040-81, Laray)
– Setting & Drying Time
– Sutherland Rub Test
– SWOP Verifications
– TA Rheometry/Viscosity
– Tack & Stability (ASTM 4361-89)
– Tinctorial Strength (NPIRI Bleaching Method)
– VOC Content (EPA Method 24)
– Other standard TAPPI and ASTM tests can be performed upon request.

Further Information

For rates and information, contact Lindsay Ferrari at Printing Industries of America by phone at 412-259-1785 or email labservices@printing.org.

 

 

Profit Ready – Virtual Conference Event

Conference

Prifit Ready Virtual Conference

Virtual Conference Event | December 9-12, 2019
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Daily

Free for PIA Members | $149 USD Non-members

Register Now - PIA Virtual Conference Event

Get Profit Ready!

What’s in store for print markets in 2020? What separates the most profitable companies from all of the others? What major business changes do you have planned over the next few years? Assess your company’s competitive position and develop your strategic plans for 2020 and beyond with Profit Ready!

Profit Ready! is designed to give your company a clear path to profitability by providing the most accurate, most complete, and most current industry data. Join Printing Industries of America’s economists as they uncover the economic challenges, changes, and trends impacting the industry–get Profit Ready! today!

You Will Learn…

– What the overall macroeconomic environment and printing industry landscape will look like in 2020

– Specific characteristics that separate industry profit leaders from profit challengers

– The four management techniques that can boost your organization’s financial performance

– How to benchmark your company against industry leaders for business health, operational performance, and profitability

Who Should Attend

– Executives
– CEOs
– CFOs
– VPs
– Presidents
– Business owners

Format

Profit Ready! will be presented in four 1-hour sessions, over four days via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use web conferencing platform. Attendees can participate from the comfort of their office, using their computer or tablet to watch presentation content and listen via their phone or computer speakers. This is an interactive event–attendees can ask questions and receive answers throughout. Specific login instructions will be provided upon registration.

Register Now - PIA Event

Speakers & Schedule

Monday, December 9, 2019

2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT

Profit Scan: Economic and Industry Environment in 2020

Ron Davis, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, Printing Industries of America

What will the overall macroeconomic environment and printing industry landscape look like in 2020? Variables like accelerated and modest growth as well as stability and recession all influence print sales and profitability. Ron Davis will explore these variables, how each affects your business, and what you can do to minimize or maximize the impact.

 

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT

Profit Tracking: Profit Leaders and Profit Challengers

Ron Davis, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, Printing Industries of America

The printing industry has historically been an industry of “haves” and “have nots”–profit leaders and profit challengers. Only about one in five printers earn consistently high profits–but what separates this elite group from the others? In this session, we’ll separate the winners and losers by revealing the established trends in print profits by firm size, market segments, processes, and other business characteristics.

 

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT

Profit Booster Case Study: Using the New PIA Performance Ratios

David Wilaj, Economist, Printing Industries of America

The PIA Performance Ratios program is the industry’s premier tool for tracking industry financial performance and benchmarking operations. Reimagined with new and exciting capabilities, David Wilaj will demonstrate the power of this tool with a sample case study where he’ll input data, generate reports, and discuss the meaning behind the resulting metrics. Learn how you can use PIA Performance Ratios to benchmark your company against industry leaders for business health, operational performance, and improved profitability!

 

Thursday, December 12, 2019

2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT

Enhancing Profit: Four Management Techniques that Impact the Bottom Line

Ralph Williams Jr., Assistant Professor, Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University

There are numerous business management techniques–almost too many to count! What if you knew which of these techniques can make the most significant impact to your bottom line? Join Dr. Ralph Williams as he presents PIA research that reveals the four specific management techniques that, when applied together, can result in a boost to your financial performance.

 

 

PIA Releases New Performance Ratios Program

News

PIA Releases New Performance Ratios Program

October 7, 2019

Pittsburgh, PA–Printing Industries of America’s Center for Print Economics and Management, in conjunction with Profectus, a business management consultant specializing in the printing industry, have opened access to the new Performance Ratios program.

For more than 90 years, the Ratios have been used by printers and suppliers to track industry financial performance and benchmark their operations. The new program provides an online dashboard that generates dynamic reports instantly.

The Performance Ratios program uses more than 50 key performance metrics to compare printers to industry profit leaders which can help enhance company efficiency and profitability. A key feature of the program is an online dashboard that instantly generates dynamic reports that include graphics, analysis, and text.

The central features of the Performance Ratios include:

• A secure, interactive dashboard that allows printers access to industry finance and operating averages as well as profit leader benchmarks

• Dynamic reports with automatically generated graphs and explanations

• A shorter and more concise data input process

• The generation of more than 50 KPIs that are compared to industry leaders and peers

• Trend analysis for firms that participate multiple years

• Legacy reports (2017-18) from the previous Ratios program

For more information, visit http://performanceratios.com or contact the Center for Print Economics and Management: David Wilaj, Economist at dwilaj@printing.orgor 412-259-1756.

 

 

Pantone Adds 294 Colours to Pantone Matching System™

Suppliers

Pantone Adds 294 Colors to Pantone Matching System™ to Expand Library to Over 2,100 Colors

Improved Cross-Referencing to Pantone’s Fashion, Home + Interiors System Allows for Additional Design Flexibility Across Both Color Libraries

Matching system complemented by new Pantone® Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud

CARLSTADT, N.J., September 17, 2019 – Pantone LLC, the global authority on color and provider of professional color tools for designers, today introduced an expanded array of color to the Pantone Matching System™ (PMS). The addition of 294 trend-relevant colors creates a library of over 2,100 colors, including improved cross-referencing to Pantone’s Fashion, Home + Interiors (FHI) system and allows for more design flexibility throughout the production and supply chain.

Marking the first addition of colors to the Pantone Matching System since 2016, these new colors offer graphic and product designers, brands, printers, converters and ink manufacturers unique benefits for every creative and professional need, and an even more seamless process to transition from between physical and digital mediums. Combining the stability and consistency of physical Pantone color guides and the expansive, easily cross-referenced digital Pantone color libraries, this new expansion offers users the opportunity to create truly cross-platform designs from inspiration to production, allowing them to color with confidence.

Key features from the addition of these new colors for PMS include:

Trend-Relevant Colors with Tighter Production Links: The addition of basic colors (neutrals, tans, grays, navy, blacks) allows for additional achievability of colors throughout the design process while maintaining close proximity to upcoming trends.

Color Accuracy – Down to the DNA: The latest Pantone color guides are the most stable and consistent printed colors, matching the master standard digital data with all-new and updated cross-referenced data for closer parity between physical and digital formats.

All Pantone Colors Online and Now: Designers can access all PMS Colors, including the addition of all-new 294 PMS colors and all FHI colors, in real-time through the Pantone Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud available through the Adobe Exchange for Creative Cloud Marketplace.

We are also excited to announce that designers will now be able to access and use the most up-to-date Pantone color libraries right within the latest version of Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. A new Pantone Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud allows users to search both PMS and FHI color systems to easily convert CMYK, RGB, and Hex values to Pantone colors. In addition, users are able to build color palettes of Pantone Colors that can be saved and stored, allowing creative teams to share and re-use color palettes when using the extension in Adobe Creative Cloud

“By integrating the full Pantone experience, including the 294 new colors added to the Graphics library into Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, the Pantone Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud delivers simple, intuitive & collaborative color workflow management for designers, said Adobe Sr. Director of Partner Ecosystem, Vijay Vachani. “Adobe and Pantone are excited to explore more opportunities to improve the everyday lives of our shared customers.”

“We are always attuned to the changing market and the needs of our creative customers. As a result, we are excited to create an even more efficient workflow as we roll out new colors for the graphic arts and improved cross-referencing between Pantone’s PMS and FHI color systems.” said Adrián Fernández, Vice President and General Manager of Pantone. “Adding the launch of the Pantone Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud to this mix will enhance the ability to identify, communicate and verify colors both physically and digitally in the Pantone universe.”

For more information visit Pantone online at https://www.pantone.com.

About Pantone

Pantone provides a universal language of colour that enables colour-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. More than 10 million designers and producers around the world rely on Pantone products and services to help define, communicate and control colour from inspiration to realization – leveraging advanced X-Rite technology to achieve colour consistency across various materials and finishes for graphics, fashion and product design. Pantone Standards feature digital and physical colour specification and workflow tools. The Pantone Color Institute™ provides customized colour standards, brand identity and product colour consulting as well as trend forecasting inclusive of Pantone Colour of the Year, Fashion Runway Colour Trend Reports, colour psychology and more. Pantone B2B Licensing incorporates the Pantone Colour System into different products and services, enabling licensees to communicate and reproduce approved Pantone values and improve efficiencies for their users. Pantone Lifestyle brings colour and design together across apparel, home, and accessories. Connect with Pantone on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn.