BOSTON (Feb. 4, 2005) — Printing Industries of New England, the region’s largest trade association for printing and graphic communications companies, is hosting Graphic Communications Day — New England Thursday, April 21 at the John B. Hynes Veteran Memorial Convention Center in downtown Boston. Graphic Communications Day — New England will provide information to help working professionals who purchase print and print-related services gain a deeper understanding of emerging technologies and trends that strengthen the value of print. The one-day event will consist of a series of informational seminars, tabletop displays, a keynote address, and a cocktail reception-celebration. It will be held on the third floor of the Hynes Convention Center in Copley Square, Boston. Anyone whose work involves the purchase of printing and print-related services is encouraged to register in advance through the PINE web site at www.pine.org. There is no charge to attend Graphic Communications Day — New England to qualified registrants. Additional information including a growing list of more than 25 exhibitors and details about the event’s keynote address can be found on the PINE web site. SEMINARS Three 90-minute seminars will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m., and three additional seminars will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. A separate 3½-hour session on the benefits of digital printing will be held as well. Individual seminar topics include: •Proofing Practices Panel •Beyond the Invoice: Evaluate the Cost •Creating Press-ready PDFs •Putting Images into Print •Mail It, Distribute It •The 10 Commandments of File Preparation •Great Ideas to Thrive in This Digital Age This is a 3½-hour session hosted by Jim Olsen of Imagination Ink. Jim will explain how print buyers benefit from a digital workflow. He will use examples of the types of work that may be better suited to be printed on digital equipment. He’ll also devote time to how and when digital reproduction can be the most cost-effective process buyers can choose for their communications needs. (There will be a 30-minute break during this session.) DISPLAY SPONSORS There will be between 30 and 40 exhibits of companies who complete the value chain of print communications solutions providers including traditional offset and digital printers, paper suppliers, converters such as packaging firms, specialty finishers who offer binding, embossing, foil sealing, lamination services and more, and mailing, fulfillment and distribution companies. The exhibit area will be open from 2:30 to 4:30 and following the keynote address, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Current Exhibitors •Capital Offset Company, Concord, N.H. •Bradford & Bigelow, Danvers, Mass. •DS Graphics, Lowell, Mass. •Winthrop Printing Company, Boston •Quinn Printing Company, Newton, Mass. •Bay State Envelope, Mansfield, Mass. •Graphic Imaginations, Middleborough, Mass. •Unisource, Southborough, Mass. •Xerox, Waltham, Mass. •Seaboard Bindery, Woburn, Mass. •Matheson Higgins/Congress Press, Woburn, Mass. •Creo, Vancouver, B.C. •Enfocus •Flagship Press, North Andover, Mass. •Concord Litho, Concord, N.H. •Sappi, Boston •Northeast Offset, Chelmsford, Mass. •Graphic Litho, Lowell, Mass. •Kodak – (KPG & NexPress) •HP Indigo KEYNOTE ADDRESS At 4:30 p.m., Nancy Harhut, senior vice president/executive creative director of relationship marketing at Boston advertising agency Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos, will present "What It's a Great Time to Be in Direct Mail and What We can Do to Keep It That Way." Her address will be followed by a question and answer session. “Printed materials are enormously important to clients of advertising agencies in terms of helping them acquire, retain and grow customers,” Harhut said. “Direct mail in particular allows for the precise targeting and accountability that are increasingly important to clients today, especially in this age of media fragmentation.” Harhut said the ongoing strength of direct mail — which proved its value through the arrival and adaptation period of the Internet and one to one electronic marketing — has contributed to a resurgence of print. “Many professionals whose work involves business communications have re-acquired a new respect for the value of print in its many and wondrous forms. It’s like they’ve reconnected with an old friend.” COCKTAIL RECEPTION-CELEBRATION A cocktail reception for all attendees and exhibitors will begin following the keynote address. It will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The reception will celebrate the coming of Spring and allow attendees to gather informally. Live music will add to the celebratory atmosphere. Additional Information •There is no charge for admission to Graphic Communications Day — New England (including the informational seminars) for attendees whose work involves the purchase of printing or print-related services. All attendees must pre-register. Go to www.pine.org and click on Graphic Communications Day — New England for registration information. •There is a $50 admission charge for attendees whose work does not directly involve the purchase of printing or print-related services. •Parking is available in the underground parking garage that serves the Hynes Convention Center, and the adjoining Sheraton Hotel at Copley Square, and the Prudential Shopping Center. •The Hynes is located just off the Copley Square exit of the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). •Registration and badge pick-up begins at 11:30 a.m. •Check the PINE web site at www.pine.org and click on Graphic Communications Day — New England for regular updates. •For additional attendee, display sponsor and major sponsor information, contact Joe Venti at PINE at 508-804-4105 or by email at [email protected].