May 29, 2002 -- Discussions about using technology to build business, ten critical industry trends, and workflows that work, along with general sessions on industry growth paths and other critical topics, plus a "Battle of the Industry Curmudgeons," are highlights on the schedule of more than 60 top-flight educational seminars at this Fall's GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO 2002 in Chicago. The year's premier U.S. prepress, printing, converting and digital equipment exhibition will take place October 6-9 at McCormick Place South, Chicago, IL. More than 40,000 participants are expected, with 500-plus exhibitors occupying nearly 356,000 net square feet of display space (that's over 7 football fields!). Many of the seminar sessions address such urgent industry issues as remote workflows, value adds for increased profitability, digital asset management, pressroom automation, and quality improvement for all phases of production. A new panel, "Battle of the Industry Curmudgeons," will bring together four of the industry's most seasoned and acute observers to help attendees cut through all the confusion of rapid technology change and competing product claims. Scheduled for Tuesday, October 8 at 8:15 AM, the panel will feature William Lamparter of PrintCom Consulting, Richard M. Vinocur of Footprint Communications and Ray Prince of the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. The discussion will be moderated by another long-time industry mainstay, Professor Frank Romano of Rochester Institute of Technology. "If anyone in our industry can sort through the confusion and focus on what's really important, these four men can," said Regis J. Delmontagne, president of the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC), the show's producer. Moderator of the session Professor Frank Romano added, "One thing about this panel that is easy to say: they will tell you exactly what they think. This will be a open and frank discussion of what is happening in the printing industry today as observed by its leading commentators." The GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO seminar program also continues the popular series of industry brunches, centered on topics of wide interest. This year's three brunches include "Workflows That Work" with Howie Fenton, of GATF; "Building New Business" with Dick Gorelick, Graphic Arts Sales Foundation; and Professor Romano's "Ten Critical Trends." The "Curmudgeon's" panel is the second of three scheduled general sessions; the others are: "State of the Printing Industry" with Ronnie Davis of PIA, Vince Nascelli of TrendWatch, Andy Paparozzi of NAPL and Kip Smythe of NPES, and "Growth Opportunities For Print", with Dr. Joe Webb of Strategies for Management and industry consultant Bob Rosen. Professor Frank Romano will moderate this session. Exhibitor response to GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO has been strong, with over 90 percent of the available booth space committed more than five months before the show's opening. A reviving economy, favorable new tax laws and a surge of product innovation are all expected to contribute to a highly successful show. Additional details about GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO are available at our website, www.graphexpo.com, where updated information will be posted frequently in the months leading up to the show. Site visitors can also obtain information about other GASC-managed events, including PRINT, the GUTENBERG FESTIVAL, GRAPHIC ARTS THE CHARLOTTE SHOW and the VUE/POINT Conference. GASC is owned by the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, and the Printing Industries of America (PIA). GASC is located at 1899 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4367 USA, telephone: 703/264-7200, fax: 703/620-9187, e-mail: [email protected].