NEW YORK -- January 08, 2004 -- Many of the forces and key issues that the industry was wrestling with a year ago continue today, and are joined by new challenges and trends that have emerged over the past year. In the demographic data sections for printers and design and production firms, we reference the demographic data from last year's report, for comparison purposes while edifying how things have changed demographically in the past year and adding publishing market data to the report. How This Report Is Organized... -- Section 1 is an executive summary; -- Section 2 covers the commercial printing industry in general, beginning with a demographic breakdown, followed by current industry trends; -- Section 3 covers the design and production markets, graphic designers, ad agencies, and other design and print-buying concerns; -- Section 4 covers the publishing markets. Readers who are familiar with last year's report know that we had quick printers broken into a separate section. In this current report, we roll quick printers back into the commercial printing discussion in Section 2. Some Sample Data... -- There are an estimated 29,945 printing and prepress establishments in the U.S., just about half of them small commercial and quick printers; -- Although small commercial and quick printers account for half of all printing establishments, they only account for 13% of all shipments in the industry; -- Sheetfed offset presses-be they duplicators or larger-account for 95% of the presses installed in the United States; -- The number of small commercial and quick printing establishments hit a high point in 1990 at 37,352 establishments. That number has been declining ever since; -- From 1989 to 2002, the number of commercial and quick printing establishments having presses 14x20 inches or smaller has declined by more than 12,000; -- 70% of commercial and quick printing establishments having presses 14x20 inches or smaller have fewer than 10 employees; -- There are an estimated 53,057 design and production establishments in the U.S., more than a third of them graphic design shops; -- Design and production establishments will spend an estimated $102 million on software purchases in 2003-2004; -- 36% of design and production firms say their digital color printing jobs are increasing. Roughly the same number-35%-say that their traditional offset printing jobs are decreasing; -- There are an estimated 13,048 publishing establishments in the United States-one-third of them magazine publishers. How to Use This Report... This report is an overview that describes the size and the trends in the U.S. commercial printing, design and production, and publishing markets. It has been designed for: -- Printers and Printers' Clients: The report summarizes the major trends affecting the industry for use in planning, financing, as well as management training. You can take TrendWatch Graphic Arts numbers "to the bank," which makes this report an excellent resource for strategic and business planning; -- Investors: Use the reliability of TrendWatch Graphic Arts market sizing/demographic numbers to help you assess your investment involvement in print industry businesses. Also, those considering participating in the printing industry via investment or providing financial services to print businesses will benefit from the contrarian perspective that is TrendWatch Graphic Arts' hallmark. This report will aid in a more thorough understanding of the risks facing the printing industry today and provide a realistic assessment of the opportunities; -- Vendors: Suppliers to the industry benefit from an understanding of how printers and their clients think and how they make capital and other purchase decisions. TrendWatch Graphic Arts printing industry numbers are always based on surveys with print business owners and executives. Knowing what these decision makers think makes for more effective sales efforts, improved marketing, and a better sense of how to develop a closer partnership with customers; -- Researchers and Analysts: Executives and managers who need to quickly grasp the key printing industry issues and trends and the size of these U.S. markets will find that this report is an insightful overview of the business. This report also provides direction to further research without time-wasting Internet searches or library hunting expeditions-or going to the expense of doing your own market research surveys. Methodology... Demographic information is gleaned from TrendWatch Graphic Arts' own proprietary market sizing (see our TrendWatch Graphic Arts Demographic Atlases for more detailed information), combined with supplementary data from the Graphic Arts Blue Book and GraphSTATS. Industry trends and current industry profiles are derived from our most recent TrendWatch Graphic Arts Printing, Design & Production, and Publishing survey reports, twice yearly questionnaires that, since 1995, have provided comprehensive looks at the changing dynamics in the graphic arts markets. Availability... The 122-page TWGA "Graphic Arts Market Demographic Profiles: Where Are We Today-And Where Will We Be Tomorrow?" report is available for purchase by visiting the secure TrendWatch Graphic Arts eStore online at www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com or by phone at 866-873-6310. The price for the report is $1695. TrendWatch Graphic Arts eStore customers can download this report in PDF Acrobat format immediately after purchase.