Foster City, Calif. – July 16, 2008 – EFI, the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, will welcome hundreds of customers to the ninth annual Connect conference from July 29 to August 1 at the Wynn Las Vegas. One of the print industry's largest user conferences, Connect enables leaders from around the globe to attend more than 130 educational sessions, test drive the latest EFI products, voice their opinions at user group meetings, discuss industry trends, and network with peers.
 
EFI has just added a panel discussion with industry experts to the agenda. Forrest Leighton (senior manager of product marketing, Production Systems Division, Canon USA), Dennis Mason (president of Mason Consulting), and Cary Sherburne (senior editor, WhatTheyThink) will discuss industry trends and opportunities in a question and answer format on Friday morning, August 1. Besides the panel discussion, Connect attendees will hear keynotes from Quebecor World president and CEO Jacques Mallette and EFI executives.
 
The conference also features exhibits of the latest printing technologies from 18 industry leaders including Canon USA, this year's Diamond sponsor. In addition to their large exhibit hall space, Canon will be hosting a luncheon for attendees on Wednesday, July 30 to discuss the strategic importance of business development to the printing industry. Canon is also hosting a break-out session on Wednesday afternoon entitled, "Where's the Money? Adding measurable business results to customers' document applications with digital printing."
 
Connect 2008's Gold sponsor is Adobe, and the Silver sponsors are Heidelberg, Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, Inc. and Xerox Corporation. Other sponsors/exhibitors are: Esko Artwork; Exact Software; In-Log Mailroom Tech GmbH/STI Systems Technology Inc.; Kodak Graphic Communications Group; Matrix Scale Service Inc.; NAPL; PIA/GATF; Printable Technologies; SAFEView; SmartLinc Channel Sales; Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc.; XMPie, Inc.; and X-Rite/Pantone.
 
Marc Olin, senior vice president/general manager, EFI Advanced Professional Print Software (APPS), said: "In today's challenging economy printers need to find every opportunity to save money and grow sales, and Connect is a great four day 'boot camp' on how to make your business more profitable. Connect 2008 goes 'back to its roots' with a focus on print management solutions and related tools, while continuing to educate attendees on EFI's other powerful offerings such as wide-format and digital label printing. As our theme promises, attendees will have more opportunities to discover, innovate, integrate and thrive."
 
For more information and to register go to http://www.efi.com/connect08/