PARAMUS, N.J., JUNE 20, 2006 – Vigorous April 2006 sales were not enough to sustain NAPL’s Printing Business Index (PBI), the graphic communications industry trade association’s broadest measure of print activity, which fell to 55.6 in May from 57.4 in April and 59.9 in March, due in large part to an ongoing profit squeeze. (A PBI reading above 50.0 means more printers report activity is picking up than report activity is slowing down; a reading below 50.0 means the opposite.) “There’s no mystery to what’s contributing to the ongoing pressure of profits—broad, persistent cost inflation. And markets are still very resistant to price increases because our competition is more diverse and intense than ever,” says Andrew Paparozzi, NAPL vice president and chief economist, who forecasts that “the profit squeeze will tighten over the next year, as our industry slows with the economy.” 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. The economic analysis comes from NAPL’s Printing Economic Research Center (PERC) which produces research and publications sponsored by Heidelberg, Kennesaw, Ga.