May 19, 2003 -- (WESTERVILLE, Ohio)—In an effort to better the communication between Ohio and northern Kentucky’s print buying community and printers, The Printing Industries Association, Inc. Serving Northern Kentucky and Ohio (PIANKO) announces it has added a print buyers membership program. Approved recently by PIANKO’s Board of Directors, which consists of printing and print supplier company leaders from across the association’s region, the print buyers membership group was set up to better facilitate an open communication line between print buyers and printers. “This is the first step in what we hope will be an amazing journey,” said Anita Herington, PIANKO’s president. “By setting up a special print buyers membership group, we hope to provide products and services to the print buying community that will make their jobs easier and their printed pieces look better.” A print buyer (for the purposes of PIANKO’s membership) is defined as the person responsible for the design, purchase and/or dissemination of graphic communications media for their company. PIANKO’s introductory membership offer for print buyers is $75 individual (benefits for one person at a company) or $175 for a corporate membership, which bestows membership benefits for up to three individuals from the same company. Benefits of the new membership group include: access to and training for an online buyers guide of printers, quarterly newsletter, seminar discounts, listserv, publication discounts and consulting among others. PIANKO hopes to help print buyers who have had problems in the past with: finding a printer, sending a file to a printer, understanding a job quote, communicating with their printer, finding the right paper or ink or getting from design to production. “Being a former print buyer myself, I can tell you that this resource would have been wonderful for me when I was in that sector of the industry,” said Mike Montooth, PIANKO’s director of marketing and communications. “It’s exciting that we can provide these wonderful tools to the print buying community at such a great low cost.” For more information on the print buyers membership program or if you have questions, contact Montooth or Cheryl Dunn, director of information services and administration services at 888.576.1971, via e-mail at [email protected] or visit www.pianko.org. PrintingIndustries Association, Inc. serving northern Kentucky and Ohio (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, visitwww.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.