What is in it for me?
Objective of International Printing Week®
Planning for success!
What is available from Headquarters?
International Printing Week® is a Public Relations Opportunity
Activities for International Printing Week®

What is in it for me?

You are part of the most vital industry in the entire world. Since the invention of castible movable type, your craft has provided man with the light of knowledge through the printed word. The A&E Network recognized the importance of this by naming Johann Gutenberg Man-of-the-Millennium. Down through the ages printing has recorded the progress of civilization for future generations...it has provided man with a way of life far beyond the imagination of his forefathers...it has aided you through the printed form to enjoy the electronic age we are in today... and will continue to provide the better things of life for all of our futures.

Earning your living in the Graphic Arts Industry, or its allied industries, should give you a close perspective of how critical this industry is to our way of life. You owe it to yourself, your family, your employer, and your community to share in the celebration of International Printing Week®. The benefit is only a product of the effort.

You can share in this movement in many ways without costing you too much effort. Some clubs and organizations have huge week-long celebrations (some of which will be outlined later in this booklet) and this may frighten some people, but you need not start with a big event. Lunch with your peers is a great start and then the following year you can plan for a little more involvement.

Objective of International Printing Week®

• To salute an industry whose existence has been a dynamic and constructive force in the cultural lives and advancement of mankind.
• To perpetuate the principles and the profound wisdom of Benjamin Franklin's precepts.
• To portray by visible examples the alert spirit and enterprise that actuates the printing industry of today.
• To encourage young people to share in the limitless career opportunities which are provided by the Graphic Arts and allied industries.
• To promote international goodwill by bringing Graphic Arts organizations into a more understanding relationship with one another.

Planning for success!

Planning for Printing Week needs to begin no later then September each year. It is critical to set your plan into motion early. Once the holiday season starts it is easy to get distracted or put the event planning off for weeks and then you find there is too little time left to make it a meaningful celebration.

Every club or organization has their own plan and it would be impractical to give you a time line of your activities, but below are a list of concerns you might need to address depending on your celebration. You may have to coordinate activities between other committees in your club or with other organizations or with local community organizations. The key to success is communications and working out the details early.

Areas that may need to be addressed early:

• Local industry cooperation (other printing organizations)
• Budget and Finance
• Meeting facility
• Printed literature
• Local newspaper, radio and TV publicity
• Printing Week speaker
• Printing Proclamations from mayors

 

A lot of clubs with assigned Printing Week Chairs start their term immediately after the previous year's celebration. They may begin planning in January, but it is still extremely practical to begin in August or September. Some clubs actually have a procedure of naming the Printing Week Chair two years in advance so they can hit the groundrunning once the previous year's event is over. Each club needs to find the format that works best for them.

What is available from Headquarters?

Every year the International Printing Week® Chair puts together some type of package of resources for helping the local clubs support their efforts. This will vary with each chair and changes over the years in an attempt to adjust for the changing needs of the organization. There are several items that have become traditional cornerstones of the celebration.

Sometime in the fall there is some type of promotional poster made available to all clubs. It is critical that the International Printing Week® Chair has the correct name and address of the person responsible in your club. Posters have been sent and returned for incorrect address or the individual is no longer at that address. In addition to the poster, a slick sheet is available with the IPW logo and printing week theme.

A news release promoting the theme and announcing the dates is available at the annual convention. This has also been made available on the Craftnet web site (www.iaphc.org) so the information can be downloaded, removing the need for re-keying the information.

Traditionally, the International Printing Week® Chair has contacted the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada to request a proclamation recognizing Printing Week all across the country. These are typically not available until the first week in December and will be posted on the Craftnet web page in a downloadable format for local clubs to include in their bulletin or celebrations.

In addition, the International Printing Week® Chair attempts to promote the event in industry trade journals and with other trade associations. Do not loose sight of the importance of your club contacting the regional journals or association affiliates to help promote International Printing Week® on the local and regional level.

International Printing Week®
is a Public Relations Opportunity

Getting involvement from industry, education, and the community helps to promote our industry and bring attention to the importance of the printed word. There are many people who would like to get involved for the mutual benefit of each group. Consider the list below as the beginning of a brainstorm list. Your local community may make some of the suggestions improbable and others not on the list might be critical.

Enlisting the aid and involvement of the different groups is one of the most important tasks of the Printing Week Chair. It can be accomplished by writing a personal letter to the president of each group requesting their assistance and support. Arrange to have a strategic planning meeting with representatives from several groups. Many organizations hesitate to create their own event, but show real enthusiasm once they are invited to take part in a joint activity. To gain the support and confidence of these groups you must seek them out, and in doing so you can awaken interest and support that will amaze you.

Who should you invite:

• President of the ad club
• President of the local PIA affiliate
• President of local advertising agency association
• Local librarian
• President of the Litho Club (or any other printing organization)
• Publisher of the local newspaper
• Principal of local high school and or vocational school
• Graphic Arts Teachers in the local schools
• President of local college(s)
• Representative for trade unions
• President of the Chamber(s) of Commerce

 

Activities for International Printing Week®

When one looks at the past activities of clubs and organizations around the country there is a tremendous variety and range in effort from the simple to the complex. This list is not meant to be all inclusive; it is simply an idea list. It may also be considered a developmental list. You may see some simple activities that can be started this year with the goal of a grand gala a few years down the road.

The first several ideas listed are activities which would take more effort, and more detail is afforded them. There are several one-line activities at the end of the list. Once again, this is only a list to give you ideas; add or adapt any ideas you can.

Printing Week Proclamation-you will typically find your Mayor and Governor most cooperative in issuing a Printing Week Proclamation. You may find it helpful to present them with a type written proclamation which can be edited and endorsed. Some public officials have an office to write these proclamations and others have little support for such activities. The more information and time you give, the easier it will be for them to prepare a proclamation. Be sure to inform them that the President and Prime Minister have traditionally signed some type of proclamation and make sure they are aware of the Printing Week Theme.

Once you have secured the acceptance of the official for the proclamation, set a date for the actual signing. You may chose to do this in December so you can use it in your club's promotional literature or do it closer to Printing Week. When you attend the signing, limit the photo to 3 or 4 people. Experience has taught that newspapers will not use photographs when too many people are involved. It is also important to write up a story ahead of time to include with the photograph. Send the signed proclamation to the local schools. You might offer someone to speak at a career day at the school.

Some companies have promoted the dinner as an Annual "Customer Appreciation" dinner. Others have invited spouses of the employees to make it a night to pass out company recognition.

Exhibits-Exhibits take a great deal of planning and need to be staffed during the exhibition time. Clubs have set up exhibitions at schools, malls, local libraries, bookstores, airports or banks. Some clubs have set up static displays and other have had live demonstrations with offset printing presses, screen printing presses (printing t-shirts on the spot) and even flexo presses. You can display elements of printing, paper pulp and finishing operations. One club demonstrated and allowed the visitors to make their own paper. Sometimes this can be coordinated with local printing equipment dealers. If your club had a poster or essay contest the winners can be displayed here.

This also is a great way to involve the printers or ad agencies in the area to display printed products which may have received awards in local printing competition or in the Gallery of Superb Printing. It is an ideal way to get the local ad club involved.

Remember that you are giving the public a snap shot of what our industry looks like. Keep a technologically current theme.

Get the local schools involved; they may take it on as a class project. It will also help to get them more involved with the industry.

A Civic Project-Educate the community about the printing industry by speaking at their meetings. Help them understand the importance of printing in their lives. All of these organizations plan their meetings in advance as most local Craftsmen clubs do, and most of them would be very receptive of hosting a meeting. You may find it an opportunity for them to return the favor and speak to your club.

Some clubs have combined these efforts with activities designed to draw special attention and possibly some media coverage. Some examples include-laying a wreath at the statue of Ben Franklin (of course not all cities have such a statue), planting a tree, use of an armored truck to transport valuable printed books, paying a percentage of a weekly wage in silver dollars to employees of local printing plants, an army mobile printing van distributing printed pieces to the public. These are just a few of the "gimmicks" that have been used with great success.

Essay and/or Poster Contest-You can plan and produce your own local poster. Having a contest at the local elementary, middle school, high school or vocational center is a great way to get the young people involved in our industry. It may open the door to start a Student Craftsmen's Club in their school. The essay contest is a natural way to spark interest in Printing Week. It is one project which has defined reader interest, and newspapers like to print this kind of feature.

Set up simple contest rules (who is eligible, time line, and judging criteria). State an understandable title (consider relating it to the International Printing Week® theme for that year) and determine a maximum number of words, say 500. Specify that the manuscript needs to be typed (or legibly handwritten) and include the contestant's name, address, school, grade, and teacher's name. Most clubs that sponsor an essay contest provide 3 or 4 nominal cash prizes. The winners, their parents and teachers should also invited to the Printing Week dinner.

Newspaper, Radio and/or Television coverage-Radio and TV are always looking for fill items. Do not be afraid to call the news desk or radio station and let them know about Printing Week and what events you have planned. It will never happen if you do not feed them the information. Remember the objective is to promote the industry and it will never happen if you do not try.

Once again this is a perfect opportunity to get the advertising agency and designers in the area involved in your organization. Let them help you develop the wording or image to be represented.

A Printing Week Banquet-A special night, a special meeting, a special meal. Do not just treat this night as any other meeting. Have it a first class restaurant or hotel. You are selling the prestige of the industry to your community and the prestige and ideals of Craftsmanship to other segments of our industry. It may cost a little more, but if it is done right it will pay you dividends in renewed interest from within your club and attract interested people from outside your club.

To have a successful banquet you need to first plan on a good-no a great speaker who will appeal to everyone. Make this a meal they will remember. Possibly a theme or some type of unique dish will make them remember the event. Finally, some type of entertainment. People have given out awards (a lot of clubs hold a local Gallery of Superb Printing or present International Gallery winners), dancing, and some have even had Benjamin Franklin show up.

Invite the press (some clubs have actually had the press as the speaker). A news anchor, column editor in the local paper or the managing editor of the paper can make a great speaker.

Other ideas or activities that can be done individually or tied to some of the previous ideas:

• Local printers hold open house for employees, families, customers and the general public.
• Tour local printers, set up assigned times and open it to the public. Take them from the designer to the pressroom to the bindery.
• Tour the school printing programs.
• Award scholarships to local students.
• Recognize a local printer as "Craftsman-of-the-Year".
• Recognize a member as a "Life-Member" of your club.
• Recognize a local educator as "Graphic Communications Educator-of-the-Year" or "Printing Educator-of-the-Year."
• Distribute scratch pads, book marks, and/or bumper stickers at the local grocery stores (see if the grocery store can have their bags specially printed for the week of printing week).
• Prepare an insert for inclusion in your company invoices announcing Printing Week (it can publicize your open house or club meeting).
• Prepare an insert for the local newspaper.
• Hold Printing Week Bowl Quiz in your club or the local school.
• Sponsor a "Student-for-a-Day", where the students come into the local printer and shadow one of your employees for a day.
• Put up a billboard announcing it as International Printing Week®.
• Have it announced over the company/school PA system and/or put up flyers around the plant/school. Give them statistics on the size and scope of the industry in your area of the country.
• Have a big birthday cake on January 17th for Ben Franklin's Birthday.
• Call the local radio station and see if they will announce it and what your club or school is doing. If they announce birthdays on the radio, Ben was born in 1706.
• Host a high school basketball tournament or some other sports event.

While many clubs key their entire celebration around their Printing Week Banquet several clubs/organizations have made International Printing Week a truly week-long event. They have combined several of the activities listed above and publicize the event all year.