White Stone, VA, February 2001˜The Research & Engineering Council of the Graphic Arts Industry has announced that its 51st annual Critical Trends Conference and Annual Meeting will be held May 3-5, 2001, at the newly opened Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore, Maryland. Each year, the annual R&E conference brings together key technical and top management personnel in the printing and publishing industries to discuss critical trends affecting the graphic arts business. At the 2001 conference, a variety of speakers will address external factors such as energy, paper, postal rates and transportation, as well as internal factors such as recruitment and retention, training, equipment utilization, benchmarking metrics, and implementing communications technology. The conference chaired by Laura Gale of priNexus will feature speakers representing industry associations, printers, publishers, manufacturers, government officials, and independent consultants. Andrew D. Paparozzi, senior staff director of applied research at the NAPL Printing Economic Research Center, will discuss the impact of the North American economy upon the print market, and will detail how profit leaders in the industry maintain their positions. Details regarding the conference may be obtained by contacting the R&E Council at 804-436-9922, via Email at [email protected], or at www.recouncil.org.