SOUTHBOROUGH, MA and NASHVILLE, TN—September 7, 2004 - - The Printing Industries of New England (“PINE”) and Point Balance, LLC today announced that they are co-sponsoring an in-depth course regarding activity-based costing that is specifically designed for printing company owners and managers. This timely and important educational event is titled “Activity-Based Costing for Printers” and will be held on September 29, 2004. This full-day course will begin at 9:00 am and will be conducted at PINE’s offices located at 5 Crystal Pond Road, Southborough, Massachusetts The course is also co-sponsored by Syskoplan Consulting Incorporated, a leading provider of enterprise resource planning software to the printing and converting industries. G. David Dodd, a principal with Point Balance, will lead the course. Dodd is a co-author of Activity-Based Costing for Printers: An Implementation Guide, the authoritative work concerning the use of activity-based costing by printing and publishing firms, and the newly published Activity-Based Costing at CMYK Communications. During the upcoming course, Dodd will explain why budgeted hourly rate cost systems are inadequate for today’s printing companies and discuss how activity-based costing systems more accurately measure the profitability of individual print jobs, non-print services, print contracts and programs, and individual customers. The course will also include a discussion of how printers can use activity-based costing for estimating and pricing, how ABC systems support process improvement efforts, and how printers can use activity-based costing to measure the cost of excess capacity and make better capacity-related decisions. Dodd contends that interest in activity-based costing is high because of changes in the competitive environment within the printing industry. “The evolution of the printing industry,” he says, “has created competitive conditions that make the time right for activity-based costing to emerge as a critical management tool for printers. To meet expanding customer demands and deal with increased competition, many printers are diversifying to provide a growing array of non-print services. In these highly competitive conditions, printers must understand which customers and which services are driving their companies’ costs and profitability. Activity-based costing can enable printers to determine which customers and services are profitable, and which are not.” Beth White, PINE’s Director of Association Programs, observes that providing educational opportunities is an important part of the Association’s overall mission. “PINE is committed,” she states, “to providing our members with opportunities to hear and learn about important business management practices and technological advances. If printers are to grow and prosper in the years ahead, they must constantly seek out ways to improve their operations, and education is the key to that improvement. This course will address a timely and significant topic, and we are pleased to make it a part of our educational program.” The cost of the course is $349 for PINE members and $399 for nonmembers. Additional attendees from the same company will receive a $50 per person discount. All attendees will receive a complementary copy of Activity-Based Costing for Printers: An Implementation Guide. Persons interested in attending the course may register online at www.pine.org or by calling Beth White at 508-804-4152.