PARAMUS, N.J., FEB. 9, 2005 – The Printing Business Index (PBI) of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), the Association’s broadest measure of print activity, rose fractionally in December 2004 to 59.7 from 59.6 a month earlier. While below the 62.7 PBI record high reached in October 2004, it is still a strong reading and marks the 18th consecutive month that the index has been above the critical 50.0 mark—the point at which more printers report activity is picking up than report activity is slowing down. “While the PBI readings of the past year and a half provide cause for optimism, we must keep in mind that the index, like everything else in our industry, is bouncing off very depressed levels,” said Andrew Paparozzi, NAPL vice president and chief economist. “Nonetheless, consistent readings substantially above 50.0 attest to the sustainability of our recovery.” The PBI combines input from NAPL’s Printing Business Panel about work-on-hand, current business conditions, expected business conditions (confidence), hiring plans, profitability, and other key indicators into a single measure of activity. The NAPL Printing Business Panel is a representative group of more than 300 printers that the Association surveys monthly on a range of key printing issues. Since the same companies are surveyed every time, data are strictly comparable from period to period.