ASSIST Hotline Helps Imagers with Questions & Concerns

for immediate release

FAIRFAX, VA — Fast, reliable support from a team of experts ready to help imagers with solutions to a variety of challenges they face is the mission of SGIA ASSIST, the toll-free telephone and e-mail support service provided to members of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association.

“If you haven’t already, one day you’ll run into a question you won’t be able to answer.  You’ll get into a technical jam.  Or a customer will ask you something and you won’t know how to respond,” explains Sondra Fry Benoudiz, SGIA’s Vice President for Membership & Marketing.  “That’s where ASSIST comes into play.  SGIA can give you the answers you need and help you to satisfy your customers.”

ASSIST helps SGIA members deal with management, screen printing, digital printing and government affairs matters.  By connecting members with its technical experts, ASSIST also provides unbiased solutions to quality control issues.

Al Anderson, the Association’s Vice President for Education & Management Services, says he’s typically asked to ASSIST with such questions as: How do I find, hire and compensate sales people?  How do I determine what my business is worth?  How do I create a business and/or marketing plan?  How do I determine my cost and selling prices?  Who owns the art and screens: me or my customer?  Where can I find market information?

Similarly, technical questions recently submitted to ASSIST via e-mail by an international member brought answers to these concerns, among others: What is light balancing or light diffusing and how do I distribute the light evenly?  What are the parameters to achieve superior dot gain?  How do we measure backlit light and what sort of halftone dots should we use?

Other topics for which members frequently seek ASSISTance deal with four-color process, air quality, alternative technologies, index separations, ink systems, digital pre-press, screen making, ergonomics, garments, and sublimation, among others.

In a single year, SGIA staff and consultants responded to nearly 2,500 ASSIST calls.  Every completed call is followed by a satisfaction survey.  Over 90% of callers say they are extremely satisfied with the support they receive.

If you spend more than five minutes on a problem, you’re wasting time and money.  That’s why SGIA encourages members to pick up the phone and call.  Active SGIA members have unlimited access to ASSIST through e-mail and toll-free telephone, while those who haven’t yet joined SGIA can receive one free ASSIST call to try the service.  Call the ASSIST hotline, toll-free, at 888.385.3588 or send an e-mail to assist@sgia.org.

“Whatever the question, the ASSIST team works diligently to find the needed answer as quickly as possible,” says Benoudiz.  “They can also help locate a product or service.  We’re here to help our members work more effectively.”

For more information about ASSIST and other membership benefits designed to give SGIA members the competitive edge, contact the Membership Department at SGIA headquarters.  Telephone: 888.385.3588.  E-mail: sgia@sgia.org.

SGIA is Leading a New Generation of Imaging Professionals — “Specialty imaging” comprises digital imaging, screen printing and the many other imaging technologies SGIA members use, including those they’ll tap in the future.  These are the imaging processes and technologies employed to create new products and to enhance existing products including point-of-purchase displays, signs, advertisements, garments, containers, and vehicles.

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