North American Graphic Arts Suppliers Association (NAGASA) held its annual meeting in March in Indianapolis. The organization has been in existence about 10 years and has moved through several stages that parallel and illuminate broader industry trends. In many ways, the independent graphic arts dealers, NAGASA's main constituency, are the canaries in the mineshaft for the graphic arts industry. Anyone in the business would do well to watch closely what is happening to the industry's "middle men" and their relationships with their main suppliers.

The parallels and trends shown in this meeting are sobering - a scaled down meeting that was nearly canceled for lack of registrations; a bare budget program held in an inauspicious downtown business site - no more resorts; and a focus on "survival" in the featured presentation with dire warnings to attendees about facing extinction if new directions and actions were not taken immediately.

These are surface illustrations that are being replicated at industry meetings for other industry sectors including manufacturers, printers, publishers and trade specialists.