The Newsletter Read by Graphic Arts Professionals Worldwide

Category: Leadership (Page 1 of 2)

It’s Banned Book Week: Read Banned Books and Join Protests

October 1-7 is Banned Books Week. A coalition of organizations dedicated to free expression support this important effort to bring attention to attempts to ban books and repress freedom of the press.

The group includes American Booksellers for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Amnesty International USA, Association of University Presses, Authors Guild, Banned Books Week Sweden, Children’s Book Council, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Freedom to Read Foundation, GLAAD, Index on Censorship, Little Free Library, National Book Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN America, People For the American Way Foundation, PFLAG, and Project Censored. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Banned Books Week also receives generous support from HarperCollins Publishers and Penguin Random House.

This year LeVar Burton is the honorary chair. Burton has a long track record of advocating for books, publishing, and reading. In his statement for this year’s event he says, “Books bring us together. They teach us about the world and each other. The ability to read and access books is a fundamental right and a necessity for life-long success.”

He adds, “But books are under attack. They’re being removed from libraries and schools. Shelves have been emptied because of a small number of people and their misguided efforts toward censorship. Public advocacy campaigns like Banned Books Week are essential to helping people understand the scope of book censorship and what they can do to fight it. I’m honored to lead Banned Books Week 2023.”

Saturday, October 7, is Let Freedom Read Day, a day of action against censorship. You can take part: do at least one thing this week to defend the right to read and to speak on behalf of those who ensure access to information. And, of course, you could always buy and read or check-out and read (you have a library card, right?) one of the books the ALA reports people are challenging (asking them to remove); have a chat with a librarian or bookseller for recommendations. For information about ways to participate and resources, visit bannedbooksweek.org/let-freedom-read-day/. And, here’s more inspiration.

How to Respond to Questions About Sexism in the Printing Industry

A Post by Deborah Corn, Print Media Centr

With just a few minutes before the first, women-only panel discussion on the main stage of Dscoop ended, the audience at Edge St. Louis was asked if they had any questions. The mic goes out to the audience, a gentleman stands up. With what I interpreted as a mixture of nerves, uncertainty, and a splash of bravery he asked, “Is there sexism in the printing industry?”

The room went silent.

Up until that moment, the panel had been laser-focused on strategies to drive innovation and growth, the importance of company culture and aligning with suppliers who support and reflect their company values, workforce challenges, and sustainability.

In other words, this was a business discussion. 

The panel was led by two female Dscoop Board members. There were three female panelists with major titles from consumer brands you know. Had any of the participants been male, I can’t see how much would have changed regarding the questions, and how the panelists responded about their work and responsibilities.

The panelists indicated through facial expressions and uncomfortable body language that they would be passing on answering that question. That is the correct position in a public forum when panelists are not there to discuss isms of any kind or have the legal authority to speak for a company on such things.

They could have responded from a personal point of view based on their overall professional experience; however, that is a risky move with unknown consequences. Imagine someone in the audience taking a photo of the panelist and sharing it on social media with the caption “Panelist (name) from Brand X says she experiences sexism in the industry.”

The moderators took a different approach. They responded.

Click here to read the rest of this thoughtful and informative post.

The Joss Group thanks Deborah Corn and the Print Media Centr for granting permission to share this post with our readers.

Leadership Skills Workshop for Women June 1 and 2, 2023!

On June 1st and 2nd, Kim Wunner of Kim Wunner Consulting & Coaching and Sarah Ohanesian of So Productive will present a virtual workshop: Leadership Skills for Every Girl Who Prints. The two-hour workshop, which Girls Who Print is powering, will focus on helping women developing five key leadership skills. 

The registration deadline is Friday, May 19th. For more information and to register, please visit Wunner’s website.


Recently we sat down with Wunner to ask her about the workshop and about why it is so important for women to develop leadership skills.

TSR: What is the best strategy for woman who want to occupy more “space” in the workplace and leadership roles without sparking so much internal discomfort?

KW: This is such a great question! The idea of space is not only physical but mental and communicative as well. The workplace has not made the space for us, and so we find ourselves opening the space. 

We have historically been told to be small. We sit with our legs crossed. We diet to keep our bodies small. Small equals not imposing, it equals not being so “selfish” as to take up someone else’s space. The fact is, there is more than enough space for all of us.

The best strategy to occupy more space as an individual is to first feel into the space you take up. Physically make yourself as big as you can. This is what I call the “power pose.” Move your body to intentionally be big: get on your toes, hold your arms out, and stand with your legs wide. Get used to taking up space. Do this before every situation where you feel small so you and your body get used to being big.

There will be internal discomfort because we are going against cultural norms that are DEEPLY ingrained in us. The cult of the small woman is in EVERYTHING. The way to minimize that discomfort is to start taking it on by being bigger. 

TSR: What is a workshop like this necessary?

KW: Another great one! There are several reasons this workshop and more leadership workshops are needed:

  • We need to invest in ourselves. Women are seeking leadership in their careers and professional lives then we have to develop the skills to do just that. No one is going to do it for us. We were not taught these skills but they are 100% attainable.
  • We need community. The more we come together and build an intentional community of women who are looking to thrive, the more successful we will be. This is strategic networking building, it is the primary ingredient in building a career. No one got where they are alone.
  • We Are Ready to take the workplace on. We want agency of over the direction of our careers. That means we need systems to support it, we need goals, we need opportunities and we need time management to integrate the skills. This workshop is designed to not only give the skills but to teach women how to organize themselves. 

TSR: Who will benefit the most from attending?

KW: This workshop is for any woman in a male dominated industry. In particular, it is a must for women who: 

  • want to learn how to strategically build a network;
  • are frustrated with not being able to gain the respect of their (male) co-workers;
  • are ready to command a room;
  • want to be more organized with their time and priorities; and
  • want to be the director of their own career.

The registration deadline is Friday, May 19th. For more information and to register, please visit Wunner’s website.

Does Print Have a Branding Problem?

In a 2022 in review article, industry observer and crusader Deborah Corn makes two bold statements we wanted to highlight in this post:

  1. “We have a tremendous workforce development problem, that is swiftly moving toward a crisis.”
  2. “Since I don’t have a vested interest to attract people to a specific program, print organization, or company, I can see the bigger picture. In this case, PRINT has a serious branding issue.”

Corn makes several suggestions in her article about what print providers should do in 2023 to help bolster the Print’s brand. We suggest readers of this blog read her article and share with her and the Joss Group their reactions. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Joss Group says, “PRINT is vital!” Deborah Corn says, “Print has a serious branding issue.” Both statements are true, but there is more to the story. It is time for more than a few serious discussions. Let us get started!

Article Excerpt: Old to New: Remanufacturing in the Print Industry

From Quocirca

Remanufacturing is a key contributor to the circular economy. It prolongs the life and value of a product by recovering and reusing materials from retired products. While circular practices such as recycling programmes (hardware and consumables) and the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) material are well established in the print industry, the remanufacturing of products is less widely adopted. With sustainability climbing the agenda, and supply chain disruption ongoing, should print manufacturers advance their remanufacturing strategies?

Print and imaging devices have various environmental impacts during manufacture, use, and disposal. These include raw material consumption; polluting in manufacturing; energy consumption in use; and waste generated during end-of-life disposal. However, through a mix of proactivity and response to regulations such as the WEEE Directive, the print industry has worked to embed sustainability principles. For companies at the vanguard of these efforts, this is paying dividends, as buyers become more scrupulous about the lifecycle impacts of the products they purchase.

Circularity in the Print Industry

A circular economy is an alternative to the traditional linear economy model of take-make-dispose. Circular practices reduce resource and energy use by extending the lifetime of products, components and materials. This keeps resources in use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them whilst in use, and then recovering or regenerating products and materials from them at the end of life.

Circularity is already well established in the print industry. Products are often designed to reduce environmental impact across their product lifecycle. Key elements include energy efficiency, reliability, repairability and recyclability. Recycling programmes for both hardware and consumables are widespread and in some cases recycling services enable print manufacturers to incorporate components and materials into new products.

Print manufacturers are also increasing the use of recovered materials, such as recycled and recyclable content into new products. For instance, according to HP’s Sustainable Impact 2021 report, HP’s goal is to use 30% post consumer recycled (PCR) content plastic across HP’s personal systems and print product portfolio by 2025. Meanwhile, Lexmark report that their goal is to increase the average post-consumer recycled content plastic in their printer models to 50% by 2025. In FY 21, Epson report that the company began sales of products that contain recycled materials and refurbished equipment.

Click here to read the rest of this article on the Quocirca site.

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