(Weymouth, MA) December 7, 2006 - With the increased interest in devices offering full, spot, or highlight color and with more monochrome pages being printed on color devices, the future of black & white-only production digital printing devices is in question. InfoTrends today announced a major new study entitled The Future of Black & White Production Digital Printing to examine this important market. There is no doubt that black & white devices have reached a state of maturity, yet they remain a significant part of the overall production digital printing market. In fact, black & white devices produced 874 billion impressions and generated $17.8 billion in the retail value of print in 2005. Total equipment revenues (equipment, services, and supplies) reached $7.41 billion. "In the future, we do expect to see the continued displacement of black & white devices by Universal Copier/Printers (UCPs) that can cost-effectively produce color and black & white pages on the same device," commented Charlie Corr, a Group Director at InfoTrends. At the same time, however, this does not mean the black & white production digital printing is without opportunities. "We also expect to see the introduction of new, higher-speed black & white devices that will compete with offset technology. New entrants are expected to penetrate the market, particularly within the ëlight production' segment. Continued improvements in finishing in addition to the improved cost and quality of output will make black & white devices attractive for niche applications," continued Corr. The question now becomes, how do you identify new opportunities? InfoTrends' study will clearly define these opportunities as well as the key factors that are driving the market. It will examine the planned investments in this class of equipment, explore page trends, and obtain information to gain a greater understanding of the application mix and digital migration of pages moving toward and away from black & white production digital printing. Research for this study will include an extensive review of existing data and over 300 interviews with technology vendors, resellers, and end-users (including print managers and operations executives). InfoTrends will also provide a detailed market forecast for black & white production digital printing equipment, servers, supplies, and related document services through 2011. Profiles on the leading applications for black & white output will assist companies in understanding product requirements and key selling points. Finally, InfoTrends will identify, categorize, and summarize the leading technology vendors and related service providers in the black & white market. This information will be vital in understanding competitive positioning as well as potential partners. Companies can now arrange for advanced participation at a discounted price and help direct the focus of this research. For more information, please access our Web site at www.infotrends.com or contact Alison Hipp at 781-616-2100, ext. 126.