PIA/SD members enjoy the benefits of membership in the following associations.

Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation www.gain.net

PIA/GATF serves more than 13,000 member companies nationwide, promoting programs, services, and an environment that help them operate their businesses profitably. By joining PIA San Diego, you will receive the benefits of membership in your local affiliate, GATF, and PIA, for a single dues payment. Members gain assistance in many areas including: government affairs, publications and education on management issues, information and assistance on digital technology, industry research and statistics, training and education opportunities, technology updates, consulting services and technical support.

The headquarters of PIA/GATF is located in Sewickley, Pennsylvania while the government affairs office is maintained in Alexandria, Virginia for public policy purposes.

Developed by Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF), GAIN is the industry’s largest and most comprehensive knowledge base with access to everything from industry specific publications, networking groups to the latest on legal, political, and economic issues affecting our industry. Whether you’re trying to locate a printer in another state, find answers to tough technical problems, or research the newest in technology, you’ll find it on GAIN!

Members should consider registering when logging onto the site. This allows them to access many of the benefits available only to members.

GAIN Job Bank www.gain.net/human_relations/jobbank.html

The GAIN Job Bank is a targeted, industry-specific resource for bringing employers together with qualified job seekers. Unlike other online job services or newspapers, the GAIN Job Bank is specifically for the printing and graphic arts industry. Through this job bank, employers can reach qualified job candidates for a cost-effective posting fee.

Effective immediately, registered PIA/GATF members pay just $75 for a 45-day job posting. Nonmembers pay the list price of $150. Jobs are posted within 24-hours of submission. Employers can edit, extend or suspend postings at any time.

Searching the available job postings on the GAIN Job Bank service is completely free for job-seekers. Each month, more than 35,000 unique visitors log onto GAIN and the employment and jobs section of the site has consistently ranked among the most visited areas.

Visit the GAIN Job Bank to start your search today!

Job Pool

PIA San Diego represents over 200 businesses in the San Diego printing industry that are seeking quality applicants in all areas of the graphic arts. Our procedure is to post applicants in our job pool and list them in our monthly newsletter. We will make ongoing referrals by phone, email or fax as new positions open up.

Applicants are listed in the newsletter, the Messenger, by an assigned code (names are not revealed). To be included in the Messenger, you must fill out the required “Ad Should Read” section on your application (click here for examples). The newsletter is then mailed to approximately 600 people in the printing industry.

Please complete the pdf form  and email or mail it back to us (fill out the work history only if you are not sending a copy of your resume). You may list your ad for one month for free or you may mail a check for $10 to cover the cost of a three-month mini-subscription for the Messenger and we will run your ad for those three months as well. We wish you the best and hope that we are able to assist you in your search for employment. Questions? Call (858) 571-6555.

Careers in Graphic Communications – A Student’s Guide
Call it printing. Or call it graphic arts or graphic communications. Whatever you call it, you’re referring to one of the largest industries in the United States in terms of not only employees but also annual revenue. And it's always looking to assist interested students in getting their start in the industry.

Graphic communications is a multifaceted industry, with a wide range of career opportunities. The graphic communications industry is made up of not only printers, but also publishers, packagers, papermakers, inkmakers, equipment manufacturers, and in-house design and printing departments within corporations, banks, and even department stores.

It is very hard to overlook an industry that employs over 1,000,000 people in over 39,000 establishments. Annual shipments are over $170 billion.

Click here for more information.

Scholarship 2000
Each spring PIA/SD awards thousands of dollars each year to college students pursuing an education in printing (screen printing or graphic design does not apply) through their scholarship program, SCHOLARSHIP 2000. Students may apply for funds for up to one year's tuition, books and fees. For more information call Megan Hussar at (858) 571-6555 or megan@piasd.org.

GCC 4 Kids! An Industry Website for Elementary Students

The industry’s education web portal, Graphic Comm Central, has introduced a website to encourage young students to have fun while learning more about the world of printing, publishing, and graphic communications. GCC 4 Kids! provides games and links to interactive activities on such topics as color perception, light and optics, leaf printing, and paper making, as well as resources for teachers. A section on virtual tours covers a day in the life of a newspaper, an animated history of books, how cameras work and a web design for kids. Check it out by clicking here: http://teched.vt.edu/gcc

Get Behind the PRINT IT Campaign!
"Print: The Original Information Technology" has been adopted as the heart of a print awareness campaign by the Printing Industries of America (PIA), the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) and many PIA affiliates (including PIA San Diego) in a consolidated effort to unite an industry and champion the value of print among the general public. Without print, other revolutionary information technologies such as the telephone, the television, the computer or the Internet could not have been invented. Yet a major study by the British Printing Industries Federation of the public's opinion of print confirmed suspicions print media is not as well perceived as other media. To read the entire article and learn how you can get involved with this campaign, click here.