Andrew D. Paparozzi

PARAMUS, NJ—March 25, 2008—NAPL, the not-for-profit management association for business excellence in the printing and graphic communications industry (www.napl.org), has just released SOI (State of the Industry): 2008 Strategic Perspective. The report serves as a strategic planning tool that defines the challenges and opportunities facing today’s printing industry executives and offers actionable guidance on charting a path for sustainable success and profitability. NAPL SOI: 2008 Strategic Perspective is the latest report in the State of the Industry Series, now widely regarded as the definitive analysis of current and future industry trends. “The economy, protecting profit margins and rising costs are the overriding concerns

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Printing industry sales may no longer track exactly with GDP, but the two remain inextricably linked. Unfortunately, recent events have greatly increased the difficulty in trying to forecast the economy's track in 2006 with any degree of confidence. In the fall, the National Association for Printing Leadership's (NAPL) economic team revised downward both its printing industry forecast for 2005 and projection for 2006, reports Andrew D. Paparozzi, chief economist. Growing concern about the economy and ongoing resistance to price increases in the marketplace were the main reasons. "In an industry as competitive as ours, it doesn't take a

BY MARK SMITH Every boom must have its bust. It's still just the nature of the business cycle, despite all the talk about the "new economy." Knowing that really doesn't make it easier to cope with a downturn, though, especially one marking the end of one of the longest periods of economic expansion in U.S. history. But maybe it should be a source of some comfort. The U.S. economy has always shown the resiliency to bounce back, even from a depression, and printing sales have followed right along. In addition, many of the same fundamentals that fueled the expansion are still in place, working