Charlottesville, VA — INTERQUEST, a leading market and technology research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry, today announced that Lulu.com Founder and CEO, Bob Young will headline an impressive lineup of speakers and panelists for its annual educational forum on trends and opportunities in digital book manufacturing.

According to INTERQUEST President Gilles Biscos, “Self-publishing is one of many important trends digital printing has enabled in book publishing, so we are excited to have Bob share his unique insights and experiences at Lulu with our attendees. We’ve also assembled a stellar lineup of leaders from all sectors of the book publishing industry for this year’s event. They’ll address a full range of topics that are actively shaping the twenty-first century book printing business.”

Bob Young will kick off the 2011 Digital Book Printing Forum with the opening keynote address. Prior to founding Lulu in 2002, Young co-founded Red Hat, the open source software company that provides a standard platform for hardware and software vendors to certify their technology. Young was named one of the “Top 50 Agenda-Setters in the Technology Industry in 2006” and ranked fourth as the “Top Entrepreneur in 2006” by Silicon.com.

Following the keynote address INTERQUEST will present key results from recent research it has conducted in digital book printing. A panel of leading book printers will then present their experiences, applications, and challenges in digital book manufacturing and explain how recent technological developments are helping them enhance their solutions. Speakers include Chris Greene, President and CEO, Frederic Printing, a Consolidated Graphics Company; Rick Dunn, Vice President Manufacturing, Hamilton Books; Jim Robinson, Vice President of Operations and Administration, Harlequin Enterprises; and Mike Collinge, President, Webcom.

Following lunch, executives from leading digital printing systems vendors will update their companies’ strategies, developments, and recent successes in the book market. Speakers include Vince Ferraro, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, Digital Printing Solutions Group, Eastman Kodak; Avi Basu, Manager, North America Business & Market Development, Indigo and Inkjet Press Solutions, Hewlett-Packard Company; George Promis, Vice President for Global Production Continuous Forms Solutions & Technology Alliances, InfoPrint Solutions Company; Francis McMahon, Vice President Marketing, Production Printing Systems Division, Océ North America; and John Conley, Vice President of Publishing, Xerox Corporation.

After additional INTERQUEST research findings are presented, a panel of experts will focus on challenges and developments related to workflow, paper handling, finishing, and substrates. Speakers include Bruce Watermann, Senior Vice President, Print Operations, Blurb; Adi Chinai, President, King Printing; as well as Johan Laurent, Business Manager, Standard Finishing Systems

In the final session of the day, publishers will share their experiences with digital book printing as well as their views on synergies between eBooks and printed books and the impact of new digital printing technologies on their business. Speakers include Craig Bauer, Senior Vice President, Operations, Hachette Book Group USA; Michael DeFazio, Vice President, Production Planning and Paper Purchasing, Random House, Inc.; Dick Hanson, Data Operations Manager, Vance Publishing; and Lynn Terhune, Global Digital Print Administrator/Corporate, John Wiley & Sons.

The 2011 Digital Book Printing Forum will be held Tuesday, April 5, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis New York in midtown Manhattan during the annual Publishing Business Conference Expo organized by Book Business magazine. The Digital Book Printing Forum is sponsored by leading players in the market, including Blurb, Bridgeport National Bindery, Gasch Printing, Glatfelter, Hewlett-Packard, InfoPrint Solutions, Kodak, Lulu, Océ, Standard Finishing, Webcom, and Xerox. The event is supported by the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) and the Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN).