Lexington, Kentucky, USA - July 16, 2001 - (Charts and Graphs Available at www.WhatTheyThink.com) WhatTheyThink.com, a leading on-line community and research firm, surveyed print vendors about their awareness and favorability of major equipment suppliers and manufacturers serving the graphic arts industry. This survey took place with 522 print vendors located throughout the United States. The goal of the survey was to determine brand awareness and favorability on a national scale. We included 26 suppliers in this survey including: AB Dick, AGFA, Akiyama, Canon, CreoScitex, Dupont, Epson, Fuji Film, General Binding Corp, Heidelberg, Hewlett Packard, Ikon, KBA - Koenig & Bauer AG, Kodak Polychrome Graphics, Komori, MAN Roland, Mitsubishi, Oce, Pitney Bowes, Polaroid, Presstek, RISO, Sakurai, Scitex, Xeikon and Xerox. This survey reached printers all over the United States. 34% of these printers described their revenue as under $1 million, 30% described their annual revenue between $1 and $5 million and 36% said they had annual revenue over $5 million. (Next week, we will break out the results by annual revenue.) The question asked: Please select your perception of the below major equipment suppliers to the industry. Favorable Neutral Unfavorable Never heard of the company Nine companies tied for the top spot with 99% selecting an answer other than “Never heard of the company.” Those companies included: Canon, Dupont, Epson, Fuji Film, Heidelberg, Hewlett Packard, Mitsubishi, Polariod and Xerox. In terms of favorability, Heidelberg was number one. Not only does the company have a 99% brand awareness rating, but 84% of printers have a favorable view of the firm. Hewlett Packard was a distant second with a 68% favorable rating, then Epson with 56%. Competitors CreoScitex and FujiFilm tied with a 52% favorable rating. Agfa followed with 50%. Premium Access Members at WhatTheyThink.com can examine the entire list and results including: Companies with the lowest brand awareness. Companies with the lowest favorable ratings. Companies with the highest unfavorable ratings. Companies with the lowest unfavorable ratings. To receive Premium Access free for 15 days, visit: http://members.WhatTheyThink.com/register1/register1.cfm Next week, WhatTheyThink.com will release findings cross tabulated by the printer’s annual revenue. Which supplier is best known to printers with over $5 million in revenue? Who is most out of favor with printers with under $1 million in annual sales? Stay tuned.