The Printing business was very different in 1987 – Gutenberg would be astonished at the changes in the industry over the past 25 years. Market sectors were at their zenith. Typesetting companies such as Cooper & Beatty, MonoLino, and Typesettra and pre-press companies like Batten Graphics, Bomac Batten and H&S Reliance (to name a few) were stand-alone markets. Then there were printing companies: Arthurs Jones, Clarke Litho, MIL, and MM&T come to mind.

On Wednesday February 15, 2012, the Digital Imaging Association held a fact-filled session about trends, pricing implications, and the evolution of a key commodity for printers – PAPER. Attendees came away with substantive information to share with their clients about the strong position paper and printing continue to hold in our multi-media communications world.

As with other DIA presentations, this topic continued to address an often-expressed concern: Print is Dead – Fact or Fiction?

On Wednesday, December 1, 2011 nearly 100 people representing a cross section of our industry came together for the Digital Imaging Association's traditional Christmas Lunch and Annual General Meeting at the Boulevard Club in Toronto.

Jason Hamilton, the DIA's President, took care of AGM business and introduced the 2012 Board of Directors:

The Digital Imaging Association hosted a breakfast presentation on Friday November 11, 2011 at Graphics Canada. Keynote speaker, Jeff Jacobson, Chairman and CEO of Presstek addressed the survival tactics used in a tough economy by printers who are thriving.

Every year printing companies in Canada are receiving government tax credits or cheques adding up to millions courtesy of the SR&ED (Scientific Research & Experimental Development) tax credit, a federal tax incentive program, administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) encouraging businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to conduct R&D. Is your business one of them? If not, you need to learn about this. Attendees at the Digital Imaging Association's meeting on April 20 were able to do just that.

The Digital Imaging Association hosted a panel of marketing professionals who addressed where dollars are being spent today, why, and how effective the move is to the Interactive Media Mix.

Panelists included: Sue Britton, vice-president, Pareto; Vijay Saxena, marketing manager, Graphics Communications & Professional Colour Solutions, Xerox Canada; Tony Karg, Sr. director of business development & marketing, Fujifilm; and Maura Hanley, president, BigReach Learning. Moderator Doug Picklyk, DIA's technical committee chair, fielded questions.

Print has long held the responsibility of disseminating information. At the Digital Imaging Association meeting on January 19, 2011 attendees participated in a special technology evening demonstrating how marketers are using print as an entry point to launch consumers into immersive online experiences.

Is it magic or the reality of technology? Both are an illusion. DIA attendees saw a Smartphone synch a printed label to an online message and watched a piece of paper launch a video game. Welcome to the future!

The Digital Imaging Association offered members and guests a unique opportunity to hear from the specialists what cloud computing is all about, its current and anticipated uses and how it impacts all aspects of computing. The Cloud is statistically the biggest shift that computing has seen.

What is the Cloud?

On February 17, Digital Imaging Association members and guests gathered at Heidelberg Canada to participate in a panel presentation about short run colour.

Where offset and digital printing overlap is now blurred by new technologies being offered by Digital, Hybrid and Offset presses. The following panel of presenters offered DIA participants some insight into what is quickly becoming a complex production-based decision: