If you’re standing still, you’re going backwards.
With SGIA recently acquiring NAPCO Media, then merging with PIA, the organization is moving forward at a rapid pace and is now called PRINTING United Alliance (PrUA). Joining interests brings massive opportunity. PRINTING United's 2019 premiere demonstrated the power of bringing different imaging technologies together, and the show put convergence on full display.
Change, however, can also bring anxiety. It is natural to question how one navigates a much larger landscape. It is easy to wonder, "Where do I fit in?"
Longtime SGIA now PrUA members used to a comfortable spot need not worry as the mergers consume much of the organizations' staff and leadership. With the success of bringing these organizations together, PrUA's committees promise to be bigger and better.
The Industrial Applications and Printed Electronics Committee is one such example.
The committee represents companies that produce products in the following markets:
- Printed electronics
- Functional overlays (touch sensors, membrane switches)
- Face plates
- Caution/warning
- Metal nameplates
- In-mold graphics
- Decorative/branding graphics
- Dimensional plastics
This represents a sampling and is by no means a comprehensive list. Companies in this segment still commonly use screen printing as a primary means of production.
Companies also use alternative technologies such as digital, flexo, litho, and rotogravure
The products made in this segment typically go into the market as a component of a consumer product — everything from functional clothing to the automotive industry (hence, the name industrial graphics).
One of the challenges has been properly naming the committee due to the diversity of its products. Nonetheless, the committee represents companies with common interests. Many companies, for example, use specialty inks (conductive) and unique additives to achieve aesthetics and functionality not found in other areas of the graphics world.
The group provides wonderful networking opportunities in a community notoriously reluctant to share secrets.
If this sounds at all like your company, please reach out to Christina Rosado (crosado@printing.org), the committee liaison, who would be happy to assist in answering any questions you may have. The committee is here to serve the community. Be sure to also connect with the industrial applications and printed electronics community on PrinterLink for enlightening conversation and lots of fun!