August 8, 2003 -- Visitors to this fall's GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO 2003 will be able to download complete exhibitor information and show floor plans wirelessly into their Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) at data stations located in McCormick Place. The event, the largest printing, publishing, converting and digital equipment exhibition in the Americas this year, comes to McCormick Place South on September 28-October 1. More than 550 exhibitors are expected, occupying about 370,000 net square feet of display space. "The sheer size and scope of GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO has always challenged show attendees to organize their visits and use their time effectively," noted Regis J. Delmontagne, president of the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC), the show's producer. "Although GASC has always published comprehensive, useful show directories, we recognized that a growing number of show patrons prefer to have this key information in a digital format." To give attendees some additional help in planning and efficiently using their time in Chicago, those attending the event can download the show information from the show's website to their PDA. A few clicks, and attendees can have the entire on-site directory, including products, exhibitors, floorplan, seminars, special presentations and more, easily available as they navigate the show floor. GASC will also provide a kiosk in the registration area of McCormick Place, at which visitors will be able to establish wireless data connections using the infrared communications capabilities built into many popular PDAs. Transferring the show data either way will be virtually instantaneous, and visitors will then have complete exhibitor lists, floor plans, product categories, seminar schedules and other basic data at their fingertips throughout the four-day event. GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO has given high priority to visitor "e-support" in recent years. Show visitors have access to e-mail stations in the registration area, for example, and the "Attendee Assistant" feature of the GASC website offers a highly interactive and customizable means of planning a show visit.Also through the show website, GASC has been able to offer online registration for visitors right through the actual show days. In this way, a prospective visitor can register online in the morning and have a badge waiting at the hall the same day. "All of these electronic tools are part of the same strategy, to make our show as convenient and easy to explore as it can possibly be," says Delmontagne. Complete show information is available at www.graphexpo.com.