The mission of the Gravure Association of the Americas is to promote the use of the gravure printing process for publication printing, package printing and product (specialty) printing. GAA resources are dedicated to the collection and dissemination of state-of-the-art, as well as historic, information pertaining to gravure technology, marketing, environmental issues, government regulations, education and training. The Gravure Association of the Americas (GAA) is a trade association formed as the result of the merger of the Gravure Association of America, Inc. and Packaging and Label Global Gravure Association. The two organizations consolidated their resources with the intent to create a more effective and responsive association. Trade associations are formed to serve the needs of a focused group of people with common business professions, or interest. Members depend upon associations to advance common interests, to address economic and educational needs and to promote the status of their profession or industry. Dues are collected from members and used to fund the services provided by the association. Gravure is an advanced, high-tech printing process operating the fastest and widest printing presses in the world. It uses a unique image carrier, a gapless cylinder that can be imaged directly from the digital data. Gravure was the first printing process to employ a totally digital environment.