TUCSON, Ariz.--Aug. 3, 2005-- AlphaGraphics Inc., a leader in the visual communications franchise industry, has launched an aggressive growth plan aimed at nearly doubling the number of locations over the next five years, CEO Kevin Cushing announced today at the company's annual conference in Tucson. "AlphaGraphics is well positioned to take on this ambitious goal of bringing the number of business centers to 500 in the next five years," said Cushing. "The outstanding network we have established over the past 35 years provides an excellent foundation. While our plan includes some innovative methods for increasing the number of AlphaGraphics locations throughout domestically and internationally, one of our key growth strategies is to increase our focus on being more than a traditional printing provider -- at AlphaGraphics, we partner with our customers to create and deliver solutions for all their visual communications needs." One important element in AlphaGraphics' expansion plan is the introduction of new digital business center franchises. These centers, which will offer customers the same level of consultative service and visual communications solutions as other AlphaGraphics business centers, will have highly enabled digital printing capability. A major advantage of the new digital business center concept is that it requires a lower initial investment, allowing a greater number of individuals to join the AlphaGraphics network. In addition, it will enable existing franchisees to expand in their local markets. "AlphaGraphics Digital Business Centers will help us increase the productivity and profitability of our existing franchisees by strengthening our presence in existing markets," said Cushing. "Our experience has shown that our business center revenues are higher in markets where there is a larger concentration of AlphaGraphics locations. With the digital business centers, it will be possible to add a greater number of locations because of the lower investment requirement. We expect that approximately 50% of our anticipated growth will come through expansion by our existing franchisees." Additional growth areas for AlphaGraphics include new locations in targeted geographic regions and the acquisition of independently owned print shops. "Our research has shown that more than 1,000 independent operations fail every year," said Cushing. "Joining an established, growing network offers independent operators significant benefits, and, as part of our growth plan, we will be working closely with these independent operators to help bring them into our network."