Chicago, IL – The 9th EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Conference will provide attendees with a comprehensive look at the most visible and perhaps confusing new technology for printers seeking automation efficiency – JDF (Job Definition Format). Professionals attending the Conference will be treated to a debate between a staunch supporter and evangelist for the technology, James E. Harvey, Executive Director of CIP4, and a vocal critic of JDF printing technology, and Frank Romano, Professor Emeritus at RIT, Rochester NY. The Conference, held on the day before the opening of GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, is attendees’ best source of hands-on information to help them to put this huge industry event in context and plan their most effective approach to visiting its displays. EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK 2004 will be held on Saturday, October 9, at McCormick Place. The next day, GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO begins its four-day run in McCormick Place South. The full-day conference will be chaired by William Lamparter, president of PrintCom Consulting, one of the graphic communications industry’s most experienced and knowledgeable observers. “EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK had a very simple genesis and a crucial role to play from the beginning - highlighting critical technologies for attendees on the show floor” Lamparter says. “This debate and other sessions on implementing JDF carry that mission to a new level, providing attendees not only with a review of things to see and look for on the show floor, but also providing the background knowledge and analysis to make purchasing decisions based on an overarching technological development.” EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK will provide both general and “how to” breakout sessions that will address topics ranging from the broadest strategic views of the industry to the most focused investigations of specific opportunities created by changing markets or emerging technologies. This year’s conference theme, “Keeping Pace With Tomorrow’s Technology - Innovation – Diversification,” describes the focus of this year’s forward-looking program content well. In general, frank, factual discussions of the latest technological developments and what they mean to printers and graphic communications professionals are the core of the conference. In keeping with the theme, the EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK program includes a luncheon presentation of a group of “MUST-SEE-EMSSM” and “WORTH-A-LOOKSSM,” newly released products or entire display booths selected by a panel of experts as the most innovative, exciting or attention-worthy at the show. Registration for EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK 2004 will also be included in full-conference packages and a variety of multi-session seminar registration plans offered at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO. Complete details, including program information, are published and posted online at www.graphexpo.com.