Lexington, KY - WhatTheyThink, the leading media organization serving the printing and publishing industry, today announced the availability of their most current report titled “North American Monthly Printing Shipments, Issue #42.” This report is available for immediate purchase at:

www.wttstore.com/monthly-us-printing-shipments.html

“March commercial printing shipments were $7.67 billion, down -9% compared to March of last year,” said Dr. Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “March is historically one of the strongest printing months, but this time was quite a disappointment.”

Dr. Webb continued, “2009 is emerging as a severe challenge the commercial printing industry overall. There are companies that are providing innovative cost-effective solutions for their clients, and taking business away from weak competitors through that innovation.” Dr. Webb noted that the downturn in consumer and business magazine ad pages, the decline in newspaper inserts from retailer cutbacks and decreases in newspaper circulation, and reductions in mailings by catalogers have affected big printers the most. “Printers of all sizes have been affected in this downturn and the shift to digital media. But we feel that future growth of the printing industry will rely on how well they serve small and mid-size businesses.”

The North American Monthly Printing Shipments Report contains both current and inflation-adjusted analysis of commercial printing and print services shipments, and forecasts for 2009 through 2014. It is comprised of Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint files, and an MP3 file of audio commentary from Dr. Webb. The cost of the report is $50.00. Those purchasing the it can easily repurpose the charts and data in presentations, and reports.

The report contains significant and proprietary analysis and by Dr. Webb and WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. It is a top-level analysis of the U.S. commercial printing and trade services markets such as commercial offset, digital, and other printing processes, as well as prepress and postpress contained in the standard business classification NAICS 323.

www.wttstore.com/monthly-us-printing-shipments.html

WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center contains a blend of free and premium content for graphic arts and publishing executives. It offers an online library of primary research reports, executive summaries of economic trends, and related industry columns, videos, podcasts and webinars.

The Economics and Research Center is exclusively sponsored by MindFireInc, a provider of software technologies that leverage direct marketing and the Internet.

About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS. The organization also provides consulting and speakers bureau services to the industry.

About MindFireInc

Since 1999, MindFireInc has provided innovative applications and services that help marketers synchronize their direct mail campaigns with the Internet. MindFireInc's flagship product, LookWho'sClicking, is a web-based application suite that links the impact and power of direct mail with the interactive capabilities of the Internet. MindFireInc offers its product through a network of Value Added Resellers (VARs). The company's web site is www.mindfireinc.com.