One of the biggest new sales and profit opportunities to emerge in the printing industry in many years- wide format digital ink jet printing -will be showcased in a special exhibit area of the upcoming 2003 edition of GRAPHIC ARTS THE CHARLOTTE SHOW. The event, the leading exhibition and conference serving the $17 billion Southeast printing industry, will take place at the Charlotte, NC Convention Center from March 13-15. It is produced by the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) in cooperation with the Printing Industries of the Carolinas (PICA). Nearly 200 exhibiting companies are expected. GASC will stage a special Wide Format Opportunities Pavilion on the show floor, where a variety of exhibitors will showcase systems incorporating every step in the production process from image capture to final output. This output can include indoor and outdoor signage, building wraps, vehicle graphics, trade show signage, point-of-purchase displays, banner, art reproductions and a wide range of other products. The special exhibit area at GRAPHIC ARTS THE CHARLOTTE SHOW is part of a continuing effort by GASC to use its exhibitions and conferences to help printers take advantage of a major new market opportunity. Market research, including a study done for NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies by I.T. Strategies, Inc. a national research and consulting firm, indicates that the demand for wide format ink jet printed products is expanding dramatically. Despite the fact that the NPES study predicted sales of more than $11 billion annually by 2005, commercial printers are currently winning only a small share of this big new market. For the commercial printer, wide format ink jet printing offers relatively modest equipment investment, quick set-up, a minimal learning curve, and large profit margins. Implementation can be quick and easy, particularly for printers already experienced with digital prepress systems. Thus, wide format ink jet printing could be an ideal diversification strategy, as well as a means of entering the digital printing business. To help printers understand how to configure a workflow that accommodates this equipment, and help them understand the features and requirements of selling the output product, GASC is supplementing the educational seminar program with additional sessions that speak to those issues surrounding wide format implementation. Patti Wiliams of I.T. Strategies and Brooks Tippet of Digital Printing Systems will jointly present a session titled "The Digital Factory - It's Here Now." Susan Patton, Associate Publisher of The Big Picture magazine, will moderate a panel discussion called "Wide Format Imaging - an Untapped Resource for Printers," designed to examine ways printers can incorporate digital imaging technology into their capabilities mix, learn what it takes to get started, know how to price the finished product, and understand essential marketing and sales strategy. "Printing industry leaders today realize the key to success in the future is not merely to diversify, but to diversify profitably," noted GASC President Regis J. Delmontagne. "GASC exhibitions always strive to show attendees practical ways to apply new technologies both to serve customers better and to boost earnings. The Wide Format Opportunities Pavilion is part of this mission." Complete information about GRAPHIC ARTS THE CHARLOTTE SHOW 2003 can be found at www.charlotteshow.org. GASC is owned by the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies (NPES), and the Printing Industries of America (PIA). In addition to GRAPHIC ARTS THE CHARLOTTE SHOW, GASC manages the international PRINT show every four years, the annual GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO in Chicago, the GUTENBERG FESTIVAL in Long Beach, CA, and the VUE/POINT Conference in the Washington, DC area.