Press release from the issuing company:
As the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA) has announced a year-long initiative in 2026 celebrating the essential role print played in the American Revolution—and continues to play in the nation today.
Print fueled the American Revolution, carrying ideas through pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, and founding documents that shaped public opinion and united the colonies. PICA’s semiquincentennial programming will examine the printers, printshops, and printed works behind independence and connect that history to the modern printing, packaging, and graphic communications industry.
“Print helped shape America by empowering citizens with information—fueling independent thought, public debate, and the pursuit of liberty,” said Carrie Epps, president of PICA. “As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, this milestone honors the printers who helped ideas take root in America and the professionals who continue that legacy today—advancing communication, opportunity, and the enduring spirit of a nation built on shared ideas.”
Year-Long Programming in 2026
Throughout 2026, PICA will release content examining print’s impact from the 18th century to the present. Topics include:
- Colonial printers such as Benjamin Franklin, Isaiah Thomas, Paul Revere, and Mary Katharine Goddard, along with John Davis and Thomas Whitemarsh, the first printers of North and South Carolina, respectively
- The tools and techniques of early American printing
- Print’s role in modern life through The PICA Foundation’s “Print Is” awareness campaign
- Printing as an innovative, technology-driven career pathway
Limited-Edition Prints and Education Support
PICA is also offering signed, numbered, limited-edition prints commemorating American print history. The collection includes works originally commissioned for the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution by artists Mort Künstler and Ward Nichols. Proceeds support scholarships and education initiatives through The PICA Foundation. The limited-edition prints are available on PICA’s website.
“We the People – 1787” by artist Mort Künstler.
PICA and The PICA Foundation are gifting limited-edition prints of The First Amendment or We the People to participating North and South Carolina schools. PICA has also developed an educational resource paper exploring how print shaped communication, political thought, and civic engagement during the founding era that is available to the teachers who receive those prints.
Podcast and Awards Programming
PICA’s podcast, PICATalk, has featured a historian, Frank Romano of the Museum of Printing, examining print’s role in the nation’s founding. PICATalk will also feature segments highlighting the ongoing impact of the printing industry on communities today.
PICA also announced the renaming of its “Our Story” award in the annual PICA Awards competition. Beginning this year, the award will honor Benjamin Franklin and recognize the story behind a print job. The inaugural Ben Franklin Award will be presented at the 60th Diamond Anniversary PICA Awards Banquet on April 18 at the University Hilton in Charlotte.
Looking Ahead
PICA leaders say the 250th anniversary offers an opportunity not only to honor history but to highlight print’s ongoing relevance in communities, communication, and career paths. More information is available here.
The Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc. (PICA) is a trade association representing the printing, converting, and graphic communications industry in North and South Carolina. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, it will be celebrating its 100th year in 2031.
