MIAMI, June 17 – Barbara A. Pellow, chief marketing officer and vice president of Eastman Kodak Company’s Graphic Communications Group, delivered the keynote address at this week’s 2005 Digital Smart Factory Forum of the Research & Engineering Council of the National Association for Printing Leadership. The event was held at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort in Miami, Florida, June 15 to 17. Pellow’s keynote, titled, “Integrating Companies, Processes and Customers into the Digital Smart Factory,” focused on how printing businesses are redefining themselves in a communications environment that is rapidly being transformed through digital technology. “Customer expectations are changing. They expect fast, accurate turnaround from service providers. While there is heavy emphasis on ‘de-commoditizing’ print, operational efficiency and excellence are critical. The most efficient producer can claim the highest margins,” Pellow said. Print manufacturing has not embraced process automation as other manufacturers have, since unlike appliances, apparel and cars, each print job is a custom product. But, Pellow said, the tools are here today to make increased automation possible. It is critical for print service providers to track and understand every aspect of their business to build a strong return on investment component. “The good news for the graphic communications industry is that process automation is finally feasible, despite the fact that we are still in the business of manufacturing custom products,” Pellow said. “The key is automating and integrating the process of manufacturing printed products to ensure a rational, logical flow of work from customer engagement through delivery of the printed piece. It’s about doing more with less and delivering more customer value. It’s about differentiating yourself in a marketplace where high quality and competitive price levels are table stakes. It’s about better positioning yourself for continued growth in the future regardless of the accelerating changes that are coming your way in an industry that is more dynamic than ever before.” Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group was created to help customers meet these challenges by delivering breakthrough products and services designed to operate throughout the entire graphic communications environment. Kodak offers customers the broadest portfolio of technologies, products and services to meet their business needs, with solutions ranging from intelligent business scanning, prepress and workflow to high-quality digital and offset output. The 2005 Digital Smart Factory Forum – the seventh in an ongoing annual conference series – brought together the foremost thinkers in the field for a thorough discussion of the issues that will determine how printing computer integrated manufacturing is being implemented and how the process is likely to evolve. The event was held by the Research & Engineering Council of the National Association for Printing Leadership. NAPL is a not-for-profit trade association representing some 2000 printing companies in the $88 billion commercial printing industry.