(NORWELL, MA) October 15, 2002.... CAP Ventures, Inc., the leading worldwide strategic consulting and market research firm for the business and visual communications industry, today announced a new multi-client study entitled "The New Corporate Print Customer: A Profile of a Market in Transition."   Print service providers are finding that just selling ink on paper is no longer enough. Customers are looking for new ways to improve work processes and reduce costs. Many customers are looking for fewer suppliers that can offer a wider range of products and services. The print service provider has a unique opportunity in this environment to expand the portfolio of products and services to meet this wider range of customer needs, while extracting as much revenue from the print supply chain as possible. According to Holly Muscolino, Director of CAP Ventures' Production Workflow Solution Service, "Corporate print customers of the 21st century are presented with a number of communication options that were not available to their earlier counterparts. In addition, the print buying process itself is changing rapidly as e-procurement, strategic sourcing, and other technologies eliminate geography and time restrictions." CAP Ventures' new study will provide the advice and insight for print service providers as well as software, hardware, and supplies vendors to capitalize on these emerging opportunities. The study will answer the following key questions: * What is the profile of today's print market? Who is buying print and how much print are they buying? What is the share of total corporate revenue spent on print? How has this changed over the past five years? What will the market look like in the future?       * What are the changing patterns in print sales volumes by application? What are the key applications in each major vertical market? How are the print applications themselves changing?       * How are technological trends impacting the print-buying process? How are corporate e-sourcing and e-procurement initiatives impacting the corporate print-buying process?       * What are the current and future trends in internal versus external print spending? What is the current and projected impact of outsourcing, including facilities management, on corporate print procurement?       * What are the changing patterns in print sales volume by print technology? In each major vertical market, where are the biggest opportunities for color digital printing? For variable data printing?       * What share of print become obsolete, by application and by vertical market?       * What are current and planned expenditures on ancillary, not-print services?       * What do corporate managers and print providers say about the current market, and their expectations for the future? How can print service providers leverage current trends for growth? The research will include over 300 interviews with application owners and individuals responsible for purchasing print for their companies. Interviews will provide answers to key questions concerning topics such as spending patterns, who specifies and purchases print, the impact of the Internet, and use of document outsourcing services.   The research will also include in-depth, one-on-one interviews with end users to understand customer motivations, requirements, and expectations for purchasing print, as well as interviews with service providers to discuss strategic plans to maintain and gain print customers in a changing marketplace. Companies can now arrange for advanced participation at a discounted price and help direct the focus of the research. CAP Ventures anticipates the delivery of "The New Corporate Print Customer: A Profile of a Market in Transition" by the first quarter of 2003. For more information, please access our Web site at www.capv.com or contact Stewart MacDonald at (781) 871-9000, ext. 175.