The School of Graphic Communications Management hosts an annual colloquium featuring a topic selected by the students. This year's event Spark, focused on innovations in packaging. The format of the event was a bit different. Ian Baitz, Chair of the school and Jim Downham, the president of PAC welcomed guests.

The event is titled "SPARK: The Future of Packaging" and will take place Thursday, March 29 from 6 pm to 9 pm at Ryerson University (Library Building, Room 72), 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario.

Ryerson's Graphic Communications Management (GCM) program hosts an annual job fair for graduating students, as well as students looking for an internship. Last year, 62 companies attended from the GTA and as far away as Ohio, BC and Ottawa. This year's event is coming up on March 1st.

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:

For the eighth year in a row, Ricoh has been listed on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World ranking. Called "the most extensive data-driven corporate sustainability assessment," the Global 100 is based on 11 key performance indicators.

Apple today announced iBooks 2 for iPad, featuring iBooks textbooks. This offers iPad users fullscreen textbooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, and videos. Educational book publishers McGraw-Hill and Pearson are on board with the product, offering their titles on the iBookstore.

Printing Industries of America, which formed in 1887, has recently announced that 2012 marks its 125th anniversary as an association. To celebrate the milestone, the organization is launching a new logo and webpage.

drupa's organizers have just announced that tickets for this year's trade show -- which is only a few months away -- are going to be available online, and at a discount. For the first time, passes are offered as eTickets that attendees can purchase online and print out.

Eva's Phoenix, which was founded in 2000, provides homeless and at-risk youth with housing and pre-apprenticeship experience. The Phoenix Print Shop is part of that program, giving youth the opportunity to train in the graphic arts field and work towards a career in the print industry.

The National Research Council of Canada has launched an $80 million program called DTAPP: the Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program. DTAPP is designed to speed up the rate at which SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in Canada adopt digital technology and build digital skills.