ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 21 - Professionals throughout the printing and publishing industries will have the opportunity to exchange information with the developers who create Kodak products and workflow software at the 2008 Graphic Users Association (GUA) annual North American conference, April 20-23, at the Wynn Las Vegas.

The annual conference is sponsored by Kodak's Graphic Communications Group and is open to users of KODAK Solutions.  It provides owners and employees of printing companies with a forum in which they can exchange information and ideas, gain a deeper understanding of the industry's current and future directions, and connect directly with Kodak product and software developers.  Attendees come away with a better understanding of Kodak's strategic vision and how the company can help their businesses.

"No other company offers this type of access: the chance for operators, technicians, and presidents of companies to meet with the people who are writing their software and designing their products," said Tom Clifford, Prepress Technology Specialist with RR Donnelley in Appleton, Wis., and GUA President. "In this day and age, workflow is critical; and when you can sit down with the people who write the software that runs your business and have direct impact on what they do next, the value is tremendous. I've gone to every GUA conference since 1997, and every year my trip is paid for by the time day one is over because of the people I have access to in the roundtables and one on one discussions. It's about solving problems, making it work, and making your life easier."

Conference attendees include printing company owners and presidents, prepress managers, technology decision makers, specialists and operators?many of whom represent the most innovative and influential printing firms in the United States and beyond. In past years, the attendee list has included printing professionals from countries throughout Europe, as well as from the United States and Canada.

"The GUA is hands down the best conference I attend all year," said Rick Riegger, Color Manager for Japs-Olson Company in St. Louis Park, Minn. "The opportunity to network with my peers, Kodak project managers and engineers is priceless.  The combination of the business and learning tracks, open labs, and classroom training creates a perfect blend of information that all print professionals can benefit from."  

 Early registrants can attend the conference for $995 if they register before Feb. 29. After this early deadline, the conference price is $1,095. The Wynn Las Vegas offers a per night conference rate of $239, plus tax, per hotel room. The special GUA conference rate is only available by registering via http://www.mygua.org.

To offset the cost of travel and attendance at the conference, Kodak also offers a $3,000 credit toward the purchase of select KODAK Software for each attendee at the GUA meeting (maximum total credit per company is $9,000). Details on the credit program are available at www.mygua.org.