RESTON, VA – Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) today announced that it will host a special display to educate show attendees on the uses and production of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, October 10 -13, 2004 at McCormick Place South, Chicago, IL. This educational display will offer attendees a glimpse of the possibilities for producing a wide variety of embedded electronic products using a printing process, opening up a potentially very lucrative market for commercial printers seeking diversification and value-adds for their customers. “Our events are often at the forefront of technological advancements and usually involve several new product introductions, and this year’s GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO is no exception,” noted Regis J. Delmontagne, President of GASC, the event’s producer. “The inclusion of an educational display highlighting RFID technology is the continuation of our support for new technologies and strategies that will help our attendees add value to their business offerings, and enhance their capabilities and profitability. RFID will be featured significantly in the future of tag, label, package and commercial printers as the technology develops and applications get more numerous,” he added. “We are excited to be working with GASC on this first-ever RFID Technologies educational initiative at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO,” said Dan Lawrence, Director of Technology and Commercialization, Precisia LLC. “Visitors to the booth (#456) will learn about the benefits of RFID technologies, and how the printing and converting industries can take advantage of the significant growth opportunities that RFID technologies have to offer,” noted Lawrence. RFID technology is a fast-growing niche segment in the printing community, but an important one to larger retailers and other enterprise-level entities that need to keep track of large volumes of items. Giant retailer Wal-Mart has mandated to all their vendors that they employ RFID tags at the pallet level for all goods sold as of January 1, 2005, and project the use of the tags at the unit level for all products by 2008. The U.S. Department of Defense has put similar regulations in place for all its contract purchases. Visitors to the display will be able to see the very latest in this cutting-edge technology, including printed antennas, smart tags, printed batteries and circuits, differing radio frequencies and antenna designs, uses and applications for RFID only imagined as little as two years ago, and much more. Attendees will see samples of the various processes for producing these technical marvels, view operating examples of the equipment and machinery used to produce them, be able to take samples home, and take part in other educational activities surrounding RFID. At the RFID Technologies booth, Precisia and a number of industry partners will provide educational information and answer questions on RFID at every phase of the process, including: chip manufacturing, chip attachment processes, integrators, RFID readers, labels, printers and complete RFID solutions.