PARAMUS, NJ and WHITE STONE, VA, May 8, 2001 – The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) and the Research and Engineering (R&E) Council of the Graphic Arts Industry, Inc. have agreed to enter into a strategic alliance, it was jointly announced today. The agreement will immediately benefit the two organizations’ respective memberships and may lead to future co-marketing initiatives for industry events and publications. "Because our cultures and foundational values are so closely aligned we’re confident our strategic partnership will enrich members of both organizations, as well as the printing industry as a whole," said Gregg Van Wert, President and CEO of NAPL. "Together we have a long history of running successful conferences, seminars and workshops, and we’re exploring the potential for collaborative activities that could generate wider audiences and greater value for our respective members." Ron Mihills, Managing Director of the R&E Council, stated: "By leveraging our offerings, we’re adding value to both memberships through increased access to the diverse product mix of each organization. The resulting synergy will have a positive impact on our mutual objectives of educating the graphic arts community about new developments and opportunities for growth." As a result of the new alliance, the R&E Council’s 500-plus members, including publishers, printers, educators, consultants and suppliers, have been enrolled as individual Operations and Technology Career Track members of NAPL, adding specifically targeted NAPL content value to their Council memberships at no additional cost. NAPL also offers individual professional career track memberships in Leadership (executive management), Financial Management, Human Resources Management, and Sales and Marketing. In turn, NAPL’s membership roster of more than 2000 commercial printing firms now have access to the members and resources of the R&E Council, which is dedicated to the education of printing industry personnel in the latest technologies and productivity improvement methods. The R&E Council’s content contribution to co-produced and co-published conferences and information is also expected to improve the value of services provided to members of NAPL. Similarly, the co-marketing of each association’s membership, products and activities will introduce the value of both organizations to a wider audience. Chartered in 1933, NAPL is a not-for-profit trade association representing the $88 billion commercial printing industry. NAPL’s mission is to "Prepare the printing community to profit from change," through a full range of management and educational services to its membership. In addition to on-site training at its Center for Professional Development in Paramus, New Jersey, and Management Institute (MI) courses held at Northwestern University, NAPL offers consulting services as well as an annual Top Management Conference (TMC), recognized as a leading source of strategic ideas. The organization’s Printing Economics Research Center (PERC) produces both the Economic Edge newsletter and the Leading Indicators Service, a source of late-breaking data on trends within the graphic arts industry, and its Publications Department develops and distributes a variety of other publications, guides and special reports, including Printing Manager magazine. NAPL is also one-third owner of the Graphic Arts Show Company, which owns such major industry events as GRAPH EXPO® and PRINT®. The R&E Council, headquartered in White Stone, Virginia, is a worldwide technical trade association that was founded in 1950. The Council conducts four annual seminars – "Progress in the Pressroom," "Binding, Finishing & Distribution," "Digital Smart Factory Forum" and "Critical Trends in Printing and Publishing." The R&E Council also holds technology breakfasts at key industry trade shows and conducts two Executive Committee meetings at which critical trends affecting the graphic arts industry are explored in depth. All R&E Council-sponsored conferences, meetings and events are open to guest attendees.