February 13, 2003 -- How can you grow a printing company in a difficult economy? Keys to success include selling better, signing up new clients, delivering more service to existing clients, pricing more effectively, and recognizing major new market opportunities. The upcoming 2003 GUTENBERG FESTIVAL offers print professionals throughout the West a complete guide to achieving all of these goals, and building profitable growth even in tough times. The GUTENBERG FESTIVAL will be held in Long Beach, CA, on May 1-3. Some 12,000 industry professionals are expected to take part in the leading West Coast exhibition and conference. The exhibit hall will feature 225 company displays occupying about 60,000 net square feet. In both the exhibit hall and seminar rooms, GUTENBERG FESTIVAL will stress business growth through more effective sales and penetration of new markets. The GUTENBERG FESTIVAL exhibit hall will offer not only a complete showcase of the latest high productivity technology, but the opportunity to discuss business needs and operational challenges directly with the most knowledgeable technical people in the industry. Special events and displays include two new exhibit pavilions focused on emerging markets, the Wide Format Opportunities Pavilion, and the FLEXOTEK ShowcaseSM. Both provide opportunities for printers to educate themselves on the possibilities for expansion and diversification into growing sales markets. There are also several seminars available on both topics, providing a well-rounded educational opportunity for printers to fully explore these developing sectors. The event's schedule of nearly 40 educational workshops starts the day before the show opens, and includes a certification program for printing professionals, a free general session, and intensive training for business growth in sessions like: * Growing Your Business Strategically! This full-day seminar on April 30, the day before the show's opening, will offer practical tips on how to assess a company's current situation, size up the competition, and apply the principles of strategic planning to developing a customized growth plan for every firm. * Building New Business. Attendees will learn how to select above-average prospects, systematically sell target accounts, and communicate capabilities and expectations in a manner that leads to healthy, long-term customer relationships. This seminar will describe how to find hot prospects without cold calls. * Sustaining Profitable Growth with Your Existing Accounts recognizes that current customers are generally the best source of profitable growth. This session will focus on practical steps for developing relationships that lead to increased sales at reduced costs. * Effective Pricing Strategies for Today's Marketplace. This session starts with an understanding of traditional pricing methods, then explores how to re-evaluate hourly rates and mark-ups, think in terms of price and not costs, understand that customers are created equal, and create a feedback loop to analyze and validate pricing strategy. * Selling the Whole Value Added Package: From Database Management, Inventory Management, Distribution, Fulfillment and more... As printers increasingly look toward diversifying their offerings and serving more of their customers' needs, this seminar focuses on how to market and sell "the complete package" to both existing and new customers. In addition to these sessions addressing sales and growth strategies, the GUTENBERG FESTIVAL will focus on several "hot" growth markets. Four particularly valuable sessions are: * Value Added Opportunities in Variable Data Printing describes what many industry observers call the hottest application with the greatest potential for business growth in printing today. * Wide Format Imaging...An Untapped Resource for Printers looks at how printers can apply and profit from this affordable, low-cost, high-value output resource. * Digital Fine Art Reproduction...Opportunities Paint a Pretty Picture gives an overview of the art reproduction market, examines growth opportunities, and tells what's needed to excel in this robust specialty market. * Working With Databases for Value Added Dollars. Printers who can work with customer databases can turn this skill into a value added profit center. Other GUTENBERG FESTIVAL seminars address a full range of shop floor problem solving, sales and marketing, technology integration and business planning issues. For a complete program description, additional show information and more, visit www.gutenbergfestival.com