NEW YORK, N.Y., October 14, 2005 - Next month, the Association of Graphic Communications (AGC) will celebrate the fifth edition of "Graphic Communications Day" with a program of exhibits and seminars that is expected to draw 1,500 attendees to the Pier 90 show venue on New York City’s West Side. The event, billed by AGC as the only local expo of its kind for printers and print buyers in the NY-NJ-CT tristate area, is supported by more than 80 exhibitors and corporate sponsors. Its theme, "Winning Strategies for Success," will be explored in a day-long agenda of panel discussions and workshops on new growth opportunities for graphics businesses. Award ceremonies and other special observances round out the program, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16. "The fifth birthday of Graphic Communications Day is a major milestone both for the event and for our association," said Diane Romano (Schawk Inc.), chairman of AGC. "It shows not only that our region wants and will support a show of its own, but that we can find ways to make it bigger and better every year for attendees and exhibitors alike." Susie Greenwood, president & CEO of AGC, added, "Joining us at Graphic Communications Day is a wonderful way to prepare for a coming year of growth and prosperity now that the industry in our region finally is on the rebound. Our educational agenda will be filled with ideas that everyone can use, and there’s no better networking opportunity anywhere." AGC, the Printing Industries of America affiliate for the tristate region, owns and operates Graphic Communications Day. With the relocation of the On Demand show to Philadelphia and the recently announced cancellation of the Seybold Seminars, the event is New York City’s only exhibition for the print and print buying community as a whole. Its new venue, Pier 90, is a spacious and convenient expo facility located at 50th Street and 12th Avenue on the Hudson River near the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The event’s original home was Madison Square Garden, where exhibitor demand led to a sellout of space last year. This year’s roster of exhibitors includes some of the best known vendors of equipment, supplies, and services for graphic communications. Providing special support are corporate sponsors Adobe, Agfa, International Paper, Kodak, MAN Roland, Quark, Ramsey Press, Stora Enso, Superior Printing Ink, TanaSeybert, Xerox, and XMPie. The educational program begins at 8:40 a.m. with a keynote address by Barry Meinerth, senior vice president-production of Time Inc. and a recent recipient of an AGC "Power of Communications" Award. After the keynote, a panel of vendor executives and trade media representatives will engage the audience in a discussion of the outlook for the industry. Seminars to follow throughout the day include expert panels on business reinvention; strategies for print buyers; and increasing print sales. Nine technical sessions will cover various digital technologies for print and review selected solutions for implementing them, including QuarkXPress 7 and the Adobe line. Attendees also will receive discounted coupons for continuing education programs from AGC’s Center for Graphic Arts Education. At 3 p.m., AGC will salute graphic arts education with its Education Awards. Also to be announced are the winners of AGC’s third annual Design Competition Awards for high school students in the region. A closing keynote on education will be delivered by Tom Saggiomo, president of Agfa Graphic Systems and the newly elected chairman of NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies. A reception with prize drawings concludes the program. Online registration for Graphic Communications Day is available at www.agcomm.org. For information about exhibiting, contact Betsy Love, conference manager, at (917) 939-9409 or [email protected]