Oct 6, 2006 -- (Special to WhatTheyThink.com) -- When you spend six weeks sifting through hundreds of product announcements and award nominations, you get a pretty good sense of where an industry is headed technologically. That's just what has happened to the panel of industry experts responsible for choosing the "Must See 'ems" at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO 2006. The panel's job was to choose the most compelling technologies and products at the big show, the items a visitor simply shouldn't miss. While the result of this evaluation won't be announced until Saturday, October 14, consultant Bill Lamparter, who is leading the process, says it has already revealed some continuing themes that will be clear to show visitors. "The Committee has identified the show's most important and compelling technologies with emphasis on those developments that are most likely to have the greatest impact on a printer's ability to thrive," Lamparter says. The products and displays designated as "Must See 'ems" will be announced at the conclusion of EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK, the full-day industry conference slated for McCormick Place on Saturday the 14th. The next day, the biggest national graphic communications exhibition since 2000 opens its doors for a four-day run. "A technology avalanche is what is in store," says Lamparter. "Thousands of individual products will be shown by nearly 600 exhibitors whose wares will be spread out across some 440,000 square feet of exhibit space." As a result of evaluating the candidates for Must See 'ems, the judges identified a number of key technological developments that were likely to be prominent among the displays at the exhibition. Lamparter reports the findings: Management information systems (MIS) were, in what many will consider to be a surprising result, identified as the product and technology area most important to a printer's profitable survival. A prime consideration was the Selection Committee's opinion that printers must operate as a business, running their operations based on information rather than instinct. Also a factor in this selection was that MIS is a core component of computer integrated manufacturing. Job Definition Format (JDF)-enabled computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) ran a close second in the Committee's identification of top technologies to be demonstrated at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO. The judges also noted that in-depth knowledge of integrated automation will become increasingly important. Digital printing developments edged out conventional lithography improvements as the next most important technology development area for printers to see at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO. In terms of process adoption, digital printing is the industry's high growth technology. Selection Committee members expect that GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO will mark the beginning of a fiercely competitive battle for supplier market share as new suppliers enter the color digital printer arena. Anticipated is the real start of a digital process battle between toner equipment and ink jet imaging. Nevertheless there will also be important developments in sheetfed lithography equipment improvements and some unique web offset configurations. Workflow enhancements with emphasis on the development of hybrid digital/offset workflow developments were also prominent among nominations for Must See 'ems recognition. Color management from graphic image creation to on-press printing tied with bindery developments for fifth spot in the Must See 'em's Selection Committee hierarchy of technology developments. Other technology areas receiving multiple mentions included: - Computer-to-Plate - Mailing and Fulfillment - Unique Coating - Wide Format Product Printing (not proofing) "The combination of the Committee's selection of critical technologies --- MIS, JDF, digital printing, workflow, color management, and postpress enhancements -- represents the core technology competencies that printers who expect to prosper in an increasingly competitive media world must understand and utilize. The old adage of faster, better, and cheaper is now joined by innovative diversified offerings. Lamparter, who heads the PrintCom Consulting Group and chairs the EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Conference, adds: "The subjects covered in the EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Conference help the GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO attendee to understand the show's technology happenings before he gets on the show floor. The detailed information available at the conclusion of the Conference from the Must See 'ems program helps the printer plan his following days' tour of the exhibition. The combination of the supplier offerings on the floor of the show, attendance at EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK, and participation in the exhibition seminars is an extraordinary package that can provide a survival insurance policy." A full Conference agenda and registration information is available on the Graphic Arts Show Company's website www.gasc.org by clicking on the GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO logo and then on the EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK name in the listing on the left side of the next page.