March 31, 2008 - Lexington, KY - WhatTheyThink, the leading online media organization serving the printing and publishing industry, today announced the availability of their most current report titled “U.S. Commercial Printing Profits, 1995-2007.” Authored by Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center, the report is available for immediate purchase at:

http://wttstore.com/prpr.html

“Profits for 2007 were down -18%,” said Dr. Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. “Print demand has been declining, but printers have been faced with rising costs in paper, energy, and other areas, and have not been able to fully pass these on to clients.”

In Dr. Webb's report, sponsored by MindFireInc, he also discusses how the seasonality of printing profits has changed. “From 1995 to 2000, profits per quarter were about the same share of the total years profits. Since 2003, more than one-third of the industry's profits are in the third quarter. This is a reflection of the major changes in the kinds of products that are printed as digital media have changed the nature of magazines, catalogs, and printed business information.”

The Printing Profits Report contains both current and inflation-adjusted analysis of commercial printing and print services shipments and profits from 1995 to 2007. The bonus audio file includes Dr. Webb's frank analysis, opinions, and strategic outlook. Containing PDF, Excel and PowerPoint files, the cost of the report is $50.00 and features the audio commentary in MP3 format. Those purchasing the report can easily repurpose the charts and data for internal, client presentations, and reports.

Dr. Webb continued, “The industry needs to build earnings levels for a significant restructuring, investment in new technologies, and improved workflows. Economic and market forces for consolidation and downsizing get more intense with each passing quarter.”

The report contains significant and proprietary analysis and by Dr. Webb and WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center. It is a top-level analysis of the U.S. commercial printing and trade services markets such as commercial offset, digital, and other printing processes, as well as prepress and postpress contained in the standard business classification NAICS 323.

http://wttstore.com/prpr.html

WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center contains a blend of free and premium content for graphic arts and publishing executives. It offers an online library of primary research reports, executive summaries of economic trends, and related industry columns, videos, podcasts and webinars.

The Economics and Research Center is exclusively sponsored by MindFireInc, a provider of software technologies that leverage direct marketing and the Internet


About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS. The organization also provides consulting and speakers bureau services to the industry.

About MindFireInc

Since 1999, MindFireInc has provided innovative applications and services that help marketers synchronize their direct mail campaigns with the Internet. MindFireInc's flagship product, LookWho'sClicking, is a web-based application suite that links the impact and power of direct mail with the interactive capabilities of the Internet. MindFireInc offers its product through a network of Value Added Resellers (VARs). The company's web site is www.mindfireinc.com.