Dana Consulting, a company specializing in helping printers and print buyers communicate, and PINE, the Printing Industries of New England, co-sponsored a print buyer panel discussion and networking event called “Straight from the Heart: Print Customers Speak Out,” from 6 - 9 pm last Tuesday, February 11, at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Waltham, MA.   Over 150 print professionals, print customers, designers, and paper and mailing specialists came out on a frigid mid-winter night to “eavesdrop” on a candid, 90-minute discussion moderated by Margie Dana, president of Dana Consulting. Panelists represented a range of experience and diverse industries. They were: Jill Alex Connolly, Corporate Communications Manager of Analog Devices; Dan Rollins, General Director of Corporate Publishing at the John Hancock Funds, Inc.; Janice Dottin of New Leaf Studios; former sales rep turned professional buyer Beth Callahan; Jim LaBelle, Manufacturing Director/Boston for Fast Company magazine; and Chris Mitchell, Design Director for Boston-based Right Angle Group. The panelists fielded 15 questions that Ms. Dana had compiled ahead of time. Their comments about working with the printing industry were candid, insightful, and straight from the heart. The audience asked many follow-up questions as well. “Bringing printers and print customers together, where they can learn from one another, is important,” says Ms. Dana, who is a former print buyer who founded Dana Consulting in 1997 to promote effective communication between the two groups. Beth White, PINE’s director of education, said, “evaluations from the event were overwhelmingly favorable.” White said plans are already in the works for a follow-up event. Please email [email protected] or [email protected] for more information, or call (617) 730-5951.