PARAMUS, NJ, January 15, 2002 – The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) and Printing Industries of America, Inc. (PIA) recently set up a joint committee to review business practices for the printing industry, including terms and conditions of sale. The result is "Best Business Practices for the Printing Industry," currently posted on the members-only areas of both the NAPL (www.napl.org) and PIA/GATF (www.gain.net) websites. "The new guidelines reflect the ongoing impact of digital technology on the industry as a whole," says NAPL President I. Gregg Van Wert. "Digital technology has had a tremendous effect on the ways that printers conduct business, including their relationships with customers and suppliers. The need for detailed information that identifies, defines and clarifies standard practices is correspondingly greater than ever." The new three-part "Best Practices for the Printing Industry" replaces the former set of "trade customs," and includes guidelines for best practices in digital asset management issues, terms and conditions of sale (including quotations, orders, delivery, production schedules and other issues), and a basic glossary of the printing industry’s most common workflow terms. "Printers can select the parts they wish to incorporate into their business practices as applicable to specific situations with customers and prospects," Mr. Van Wert points out. "In addition, the information will be monitored by the joint NAPL/PIA committee and revised as new issues develop. One of the reasons we posted ‘Best Practices’ on the Internet was to keep the entire document as fluid as possible." The joint NAPL/PIA committee that established the new guidelines included a representative from Idealliance (formerly Graphic Communications Association), as well as the following NAPL members: Don Duncanson, Dynacolor Graphics, Inc.; Jim Finger, Nies/Artcraft Printing Companies; Mark Kelly, News Printing Company; Ben Keys, Keys Printing Company; Jim Russell, Arbor Press; and Steve Toron, Graytor Printing Co., Inc. The Members Area of the NAPL website (www.napl.org) is specifically designed for, and only accessible to, members of NAPL. For more information about membership and its benefits, contact NAPL at 201-634-9600 or 1-800-642-6275. About NAPL Chartered in 1933, NAPL is a not-for-profit trade association representing the $88 billion commercial printing industry. NAPL’s mission is to "Enable the printing community to profit from change," through a full range of management and educational services to its membership. In addition to on-site training at its Center for Professional Development in Paramus, New Jersey, and Management Institute (MI) courses held at Northwestern University, NAPL offers consulting services as well as an annual Top Management Conference (TMC) recognized as a leading source of strategic ideas. The organization’s Printing Economics Research Center (PERC) produces both the Economic Edge newsletter and the Leading Indicators Service, a source of late-breaking data on trends within the graphic arts industry, and its Publications Department develops and distributes a variety of other publications, guides and special reports, including Printing Manager magazine. NAPL is also one-third owner of the Graphic Arts Show Company, which owns such major industry events as GRAPH EXPO and PRINT.