(WESTERVILLE, Ohio)— The Printing Industry Association serving Northern Kentucky and Ohio (PIANKO) is pleased to announce its political action committee backed highly successful candidates for this mid-term election. The Ohio Graphic Arts Political Action Committee's (OGAP) financially supported candidates did well in the Nov. 5 races, according to unofficial results provided by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. "We’re excited to see so many of the candidates we backed get elected or re-elected," said Anita Herington, president of PIANKO. "All of the candidates OGAP backed will represent the good business values of our more than 500 member companies across Ohio and northern Kentucky." OGAP victories include: both Ohio Supreme Court candidates, three of the four Ohio Senate candidates backed tasted victory and 15 of the 26 State Representative candidates OGAP supported also won. "It’s great for printers to actively take part in the political process," said Bob Boehm, president of Boehm, Inc. – a printing company located in Columbus. "We’re the third largest manufacturing industry in the nation with $7.3 billion in shipments annually and it’s time our voice was heard." OGAP contributed more than $10,000 to candidates in Ohio races in 2002. The major trade association for printers, PIANKO serves more than 500 commercial printing companies and suppliers to the industry in its service area. With headquarters in Westerville, Ohio, the association also operates offices in Broadview Heights and Cincinnati. PIANKO is an affiliate of the national Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, the largest graphic arts association in the world. To learn more about PIANKO, visit www.pianko.org. A major initiative of PIANKO is Print: The Original Information Technology (or Print IT) which illustrates the importance of print as a communication medium. In the face of technology, print is still the primary source of communication for most of the world.