Career Awareness Day In Action Today is Career Awareness Day, an event that the Graphic Arts Education and Resource Foundation (GAERF), in collaboration with the Graphic Arts Show Company, has orchestrated for over two decades. Every year at GRAPH EXPO, the last day of the event is dedicated to Career Awareness Day, which finds students combing the show floor, exploring the different technologies germane to the industry and speaking to knowledgeable personnel manning the exhibits. This year’s GRAPH EXPO 15 hosts upwards of 600 high school students from the greater Chicago area, as well the neighboring states of Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Their instructors accompany the students. Kicking off the day is an award ceremony honoring the GAERF 2015 Student Design Competition’s first place winners. First place winners are being presented with a $2,000 check at the award ceremony. As in years’ past, the students, along with their instructors, received a two-day, all-expense paid trip to attend GRAPH EXPO 15. This seventh annual Design Competition, themed The PIZZAZZ of PRINT!, challenged students from secondary and post-secondary institutions to create a unique and striking printed marketing piece to promote strong attendance at a major event. Winners at the secondary school level were: • 1st Place: Mack Griffin, Mingo Central High School, Delbarton, WV (Instructor: Doug Martin) • 2nd Place: Helene Wilt, Berks Career & Technology Center, Leesport, PA (Instructor: Michael Stein) • 3rd Place: Cyelowyn Willey, Crawford County Career and Technical Center, Meadville, PA (Instructor: Dennis O’Laughlin) Winners at the post-secondary school level were: • 1st Place: Casey Capece, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA (Instructor: Pamela Barby) • 2nd Place: Yolanda Weiss, McFatter Technical College, Davie, FL (Instructor: Anthony Fitchett) • 3rd Place: Laura Dickman, Waukesha County Technical College, Pewaukee, WI (Instructor: David Bate) First place winners and their instructors also received a two-day all-inclusive paid trip to attend GRAPH EXPO 15. The second place winners were awarded $1,500, and the third place winners each receive $1,000. “GAERF is proud to continue its commitment to supporting education initiatives by encouraging creativity and self-expression in students through the art of design and production,” says GAERF President Ralph Nappi. “This year’s competition received a record number of entries at 287, surpassing the previous mark of 231 set in 2011. We are already planning for next year’s Student Design Competition, when GAERF will again recognize our best and brightest students, as well as the significant commitment of their instructors.” Students will also spend time on Education Main Street, where 11 colleges and universities are represented, including Ball State University (Booth 772), Cal Poly State University (Booth 669), Chowan University (Booth 769), Clemson University (Booth 773), Ferris State University (Booth 670), Harper College (Booth 770), New York City College of Technology (Booth 771), RIT-School of Media Sciences (Booth 767), University of Wisconsin-Stout (Booth 673), and Western Illinois University (Booth 671). The exchange between students and professionals is both a learning experience for future printing industry professionals, as well as giving current industry professionals a chance to connect and engage with future employees. GAERF was established in 1983 by Epicomm (formerly the National Association for Printing Leadership), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, and the Printing Industries of America; these three national associations jointly own the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). GAERF was created to channel a portion of the revenues earned by GASC-managed shows into projects supporting a strong future for the industry. GAERF also presented more than $25,000 in awards to the nation’s top advertising design, graphic commu- Secondary School first place winner: (Top) Mack Griffin, Mingo Central High School. Post Secondary school first place winner: (Bottom): Casey Capece, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design nications, and screen-printing technology students who participated in the SkillsUSA Championships held at the 51st annual National Leadership and Skills Conference, June 22-26, 2015, in Louisville, KY. Ricoh Launches CHAMPS Cloud IT Services, Leveraging RSolutions from mindSHIFT icoh Americas (Booth 1231) is launching its CHAMPS Cloud IT Services, a cloud-based services portfolio developed exclusively for Ricoh Family Group dealer partners in the U.S. This new offering, available via Ricoh’s CHAMPS dealer services program, incorporates proven technology solutions from industry-leading mindSHIFT, a Ricoh Company. CHAMPS Cloud IT Services provides dealers with services such as Total IT Help Desk, Server Management, Hosted Exchange Email, and Email Archiving, helping to deliver extra value-add to customers. In today’s technological business world, dealers are seeking ways to integrate reliable and proven cloud IT and mobile solutions without a large upfront investment. The mindSHIFT services provide dealers the opportunity to expand their product portfolio to include IT services through a trusted and experienced IT services partner. The 2014 acquisition of mindSHIFT has enabled Ricoh to take this key step in the evolution of its CHAMPS services program. With more than 15 years of proven experience, mind- SHIFT will provide dealers with the most widely used and in-demand cloud IT services from a variety of recognized industry leaders through an easy-to-use web-based control panel that provides automated service activation and account management. “The relationship we have with Ricoh is one through which we learn and share our feedback and it is clear that Ricoh listens to what we need,” says Dawn Abbuhl, President, Repeat Business Systems, Inc. of Albany, N.Y. and member of Ricoh’s National Dealer Council. “We told Ricoh that our customers want a ‘one stop shop’ for all services—and that we want a partner that will help us expand our portfolio and also enhance the value we deliver to our customers. And, in today’s environment, we look more toward cloud services to give our customers the flexibility and simplicity they are seeking. As a result, they’ve since announced their CHAMPS Cloud IT Services portfolio, and we’re excited about what we’ve heard of it and are eager to dive deeper.” Components of the CHAMPS Cloud IT Services portfolio include: • Total IT Help Desk: U.S.-based, quick, and efficient technical support to manage end-user devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. • Server Management: Whether the customer’s servers are on premises, in a datacenter, or in the cloud, mindSHIFT’s server management technicians know how to manage and proactively support them. • Hosted Exchange Email: Enables customers to benefit from business email without the IT management hassles. Email, calendars, contacts, and more are available at their fingertips. • Email Archiving: Enables users to safely archive and easily access email for storage, compliance, eDiscovery, and disaster recovery requirements. “We mean it when we say our goal is to collaborate with our dealer partners so that we can both be successful. To me, that dedication is evidenced by the launch of Ricoh’s CHAMPS Cloud IT Services,” says Jim Coriddi, Vice President, Dealer Division, Ricoh USA. “With mindSHIFT’s technologies, services, and expertise added to our unique and unmatched CHAMPS services portfolio, we are providing dealers with a services led approach to grow their businesses without large upfront investments. Our partners asked for support ultimately running healthier businesses, and we’re confident this launch addresses just that.” Ricoh’s CHAMPS program eliminates the need for dealers to work with or manage multiple vendors, as it is a single source for their copy, printing, and IT management needs. Unlike other programs, CHAMPS consists of a unique portfolio of business expanding services, Managed Document & Business Process Services, Digital Imaging Services, Production Print Services, and now Cloud IT Services. It is an innovative approach that enables dealers to successfully advance their business models and gain the proper knowhow aligned with the expertise to offer advanced services that deliver information mobility and ultimately help customers capture, transform, and manage information more effectively in today’s new world of work. Official Show Daily | PrintingNews.com GRAPH EXPO | September 16, 2015 | 59
GraphExpo Show Daily September 16, 2015
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