5/16/01 - What new tools will be unveiled at this September’s PRINT 01 that could dramatically boost productivity and profits? How will next year’s economic conditions affect print businesses looking to compete and grow? Where will the people come from to use those new tools and build those new profits? These are the three key questions that weigh into every sound investment decision, and they form the basis for EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK 2001, a full day conference to be held on the eve of PRINT 01 in Chicago. EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK will be held at McCormick Place, Chicago, on Wednesday, September 5, the day before the doors open for the eight-day run of PRINT 01. PRINT, the world’s leading printing, publishing and converting trade show in 2001, will be held on September 6-13 at McCormick Place. The full day EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK conference is intended to give PRINT attendees the background and perspectives they need to evaluate the many new product and technology offerings that PRINT showcases in close to one million square feet. "Technology, economics and people are the three critical factors for success in our industry," says conference chair William Lamparter of PrintCom Consulting. "EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK will help attendees view the world’s largest industry exhibition of 2001 in light of these three vital elements." The conference luncheon presentation, for example, will focus on "People - Where Will They Come From?" "Typically printers steal people from each other," Lamparter says. "But the real long term solution to the industry’s foremost continuing problem is to grow a trained labor pool, not just pass around a few qualified people." Dean Flowers, associate dean of the Graphic Communications Center of Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee, WI, will describe an industry-government partnership that helped his program grow in less than four years from a part-time evening effort to a full-time curriculum housed in a new 50,000 square foot facility. WCTC organized a partnership that secured passage of a multi-million dollar building referendum and secured more than a million dollars in discounts, gifts and in-kind contributions. "It’s a model of how to grow them rather than steal them," Lamparter says. Economics - always critical on the eve of a major industry trade show - will be the topic for Andrew D. Paparozzi, director of the Printing Economic Research Center at the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). "After reviewing current economic conditions, Paparozzi will discuss what factors are likely to shape the print economy in 2002, and provide the business and economic background necessary for informed technology and capital investment decisions," notes Lamparter. As to the third vital component, technology, EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK will offer a full day of general and breakout sessions exploring such topics as waterless inks, digital photography, direct imaging presses, fulfillment operations, foil stamping and embossing. The conference will close with the new edition of GASC’s popular "Must See ’Ems" program, identifying products and services selected by a panel of industry editors and consultants as the "don’t-miss" features of PRINT 01.