Training and Education

High-level Buying and Capital Investment Results in Record Onsite Sales for Next Year MIAMI BEACH, FL—March 15, 2007—Graphics of the Americas-Xplor, the second largest U.S.-based annual international graphic communications exhibit and conference, today announced the positive results of their 32nd annual exhibition held in Miami Beach, Florida, March 2-4, 2007. The event organizers are eager to report that this year’s attendance exceeded the previous year by 4%, with close to 500 exhibitors filling the Miami Beach Convention Center, both representing an increase over 2006. More importantly, exhibitors reported larger than ever high-level buying activities and capital investments. In a survey conducted during the event with

RESTON, VA—Visitors to GRAPH EXPO will see more machinery, more top brand manufacturers and more innovative processes than at any other industry exhibition and conference in the Americas this year. Held in the mammoth McCormick Place South, September 9-12, 2007, in Chicago, IL, GRAPH EXPO’s dedicated Mailing & Fulfillment Center will be more comprehensive than last year, with the largest showcase of mail processing, sorting, stamping, weighing, addressing and preparation equipment in one place. Space sales in the Center at the same time in 2006 totaled over 25,000 square feet with 42 exhibitors, and it has already grown by nearly 10%, with well over

CHANDLER, AZ—The highest attendee turnout of the decade marked the PIA/GATF Presidents Conference at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass & Resort here March 4-8. More than 300 attended the five-day affair, including the conference’s largest number of newcomers. Among the highlights of the event was a silent auction that helped raise $17,000 for the association’s political action committee, PrintPAC. The NAPL’s Top Management Conference got underway Thursday in Santa Barbara, CA, with NAPL VP and chief economist, Andrew Paparozzi, telling a record crowd of more than 250 that the printing industry is in expansion, with sales for 2006 growing at their fastest rate in eight years.

SEWICKLEY, PA—March 5, 2007—Employing Printers Education Trust (EPET) has given over $650,000 to the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF). The Trustees, under Chairman Charles Pecher of Skinner & Kennedy Company, have directed PGSF to establish educational scholarships following the tradition started by EPET in the 1960s. The funds will be used to build an endowment in the name of the Education Trust. This large endowment will be used to provide a number of scholarships at the highest “Gutenberg level” of $5,000, or more, annually. “In this day of technological explosions, the only advantage any employer has is an educated and committed work force,”

SEWICKLEY, PA—PIA/GATF will be taking its Mission:Possible seminar back on the road this spring to help designers and printers learn what they can do together to make the production process more efficient. Mission:Possible—A Mutual Strategy for Creatives and Printers addresses the issues between creative and prepress teams that can result in frustration and unsatisfactory performance. The seminars cover everything from design considerations for print and color communication to soft proofing. The eight-city tour starts May 22 in Charlotte, and continues to Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Vancouver, and New York, ending on June 28 in Atlanta. Information on dates and meeting

Collaboration Will Help to Identify Emerging Postal Issues and Facilitate Education PHILADELPHIA—March 2, 2007—Printing Impressions, the most influential journal for printing and graphic arts worldwide, today announced a partnership to sponsor mailing education programs developed by The Bennett Group, Inc of Rochester, NY Mark Michelson, Editor-in-Chief of Printing Impressions states, “Our goal has always been to keep printers informed, inspired and enlightened and the upcoming USPS postage rate increase is the most crucial concern facing our industry today. By affiliating ourselves with the mailing training products, programs and services of The Bennett Group, we continue our commitment to lead the way in addressing

IT’S HARD not to be skeptical about the movement toward acting in an environmentally responsible way. Isn’t sustainability just a redux of the push to use recycled paper that fell far short of the goal? What about those stories of recyclables still ending up in landfills, now just in pretty blue bags? Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary may have garnered an Academy Award nomination, but it’s likely just speaking to the converted…and how many of them still drove an SUV to see the movie or rent the DVD? How can anyone be sure that electricity really is being generated by wind power, and

THE PRESENT selling conditions represent the most unusual opportunity in the history of the printing industry—the realistic possibility to acquire, lock down and sustain new market share at unprecedented rates. Today’s printing services companies have the potential to transform from a commoditized print selling environment to one in which they are truly perceived as trusted advisors to clients and prospects—so much so that their competition is somewhat or completely removed from any discussion of the client’s future production requirements. Many service providers have already begun the required makeover, although all indications seem to point to a sales skills maturation level of well under 15

RESTON, VA—02/28/07—The Graphics Arts show company released the following statement regarding its planned launch of the new PackPrint exhibition: The Graphic Arts Show Company has decided to delay the inaugural staging of PackPrint, which was scheduled to take place on September 9-12 in Chicago. Because we continue to believe strongly that the marketplace needs and will ultimately support PackPrint, we will consider producing this event in the future. Our marketing contacts, interviews and other feedback have revealed an impressive amount of goodwill toward PackPrint on the part of prospective exhibitors, including commitments to the show by a number of leading firms. We appreciate the support

ANAHEIM, CA—PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, billed its 5th annual Application Forum as the “Hottest Ticket in Town,” a play on its conference location south of Hollywood and directly across the street from Disneyland in the Anaheim Hilton. Held this week, the event featured a day of pre-conference intensive sessions and two days of seminars for some 380 attendees looking for the ticket to digital printing success. A vendor fair also showcased 36 sponsoring companies. Pricing strategies, how to calculate an ROI for a customer, and solution selling were among the hot topics. Many of the attendees were veteran digital printers who already output variable