Rochester, NY - PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, is pleased to announce that seven corporate cornerstones of the digital printing industry will support the AppForum digital printing and direct marketing conference with Gold Sponsorship. The 9th annual AppForum www.AppForum.org will be held January 31 - February 2, 2011 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Canon, FUJIFILM, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Pageflex by Bitstream, Xerox, and xpedx will fill the prestigious top slots.

Says PODi President, Rab Govil, "With this record-breaking Gold Sponsor support, the 2011 AppForum promises to be a blockbuster event. Clearly, the industry recognizes the AppForum, with its unbiased, user-focused approach, as the perfect venue for promoting the power and profitability of digital printing applications."

Canon: "People come to the AppForum to get unbiased insights from the real winners in our industry, and to find the very best solutions and products for their digital printing companies," says Forrest Leighton, Director of Product Marketing, ISG Production Systems, at Canon USA. "The conference is a rare chance to connect with an extremely targeted group of decision makers who want to know how Canon products can improve their businesses."

FUJIFILM: "This is a wonderful opportunity for our print partners to learn how the latest innovations in digital printing can help them uncover growth opportunities – from workflow solutions, color management, and color validation to the latest in digital printing equipment," says Todd Zimmerman, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Graphic Systems Division, FUJIFILM North America Corporation,. "The graphic communications industry is evolving due to the rapid rate at which digital printing technology is advancing and the AppForum provides a venue where practical strategies and solutions can be shared, all geared towards helping printers reinvent themselves and remain competitive in today's marketplace."

Kodak: "We are pleased to renew our gold-level sponsorship of the AppForum and look forward to continuing to work with our partners on the real-time challenges of today and the growth opportunities for the future at the conference," said Vic Stalam, Director US&C Commercial Sales & Vice President, Eastman Kodak. "Kodak is a stand-out partner for solution planning – we have the broadest solution portfolio in the industry, a rich innovation pipeline, unparallel expertise and a focused commitment on driving digital printing towards profitability."

Konica Minolta: "As a Gold Level sponsor of the PODi AppForum, we look forward to taking part in this industry-leading event that highlights the most cutting-edge, innovative digital print solutions in the marketplace," said Kevin Kern, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. "The AppForum is the ideal environment for digital printing and direct marketing professionals to witness why they can count on Konica Minolta. We will be on hand to showcase our complete range of imaging and networking technologies to meet their business needs, as well as the customized solutions to help them remain successful in today's economy." 

Pageflex by Bitstream: Says Anna Magliocco-Chagnon, President and CEO of Bitstream, "We are proud to once again be a Gold Level sponsor of the PODi AppForum. The agenda at the AppForum consistently provides attendees with insights for leveraging best practices in digital printing. Pageflex technology is clearly at the heart of those discussions, helping users implement many of the ideas and strategies discussed at the forum. We look forward to seeing the same dynamic interaction at the 2011 forum."

Xerox: "In this turn around economy, print service providers are growing their businesses with high-value applications and Xerox is right there with our technology, workflow, and business development programs to help them succeed," says Gina Testa, Vice President, Worldwide Graphic Communications, Xerox Corporation. "PODI continues to do its part by dedicating a conference to industry-leading applications, giving printers the education, tools and insight needed to turn new and exciting offerings into revenue-generating opportunities."

xpedx: "AppForum attendees are clearly after one thing: to learn more about the digital technologies that will help them grow their top lines and become more efficient," said Dennis Killion, xpedx director of Marketing, Graphics. "xpedx chooses to invest in AppForum because we share the same goal: to increase awareness for the opportunities that exist within digital printing, and demonstrate how a strategic partner, like xpedx, can help digital printers navigate through new business challenges to grow profitably, faster."

PODi's AppForum is unique – this vendor-neutral conference's educational agenda focuses on ways to make more money with digital printing. In 2010, attendance grew over 20% and included owners driving the direction of their print and marketing service provider companies, sales and operations teams who create ultimate success, and marketers who use digital printing as an important part of their marketing plan.

2011 AppForum attendees will find the latest solutions represented in over 40 educational sessions and pre-conference intensives, networking opportunities, and a vendor fair. More than 60 speakers will be sharing insights into building and selling moneymaking applications. Sessions cover a wide range of business strategies and sales training, plus vital topics and trends like cross-media in direct marketing, social media, mobile marketing and QR codes, augmented reality, ecommerce and web-based applications, personalized landing pages, and more.

There are still opportunities for sponsorship. To date: Silver Sponsors – CGS Technologies, Online Print Solutions, Ricoh / Bronze Sponsors – Avanti, PrinterPresence by Firespring. Media Sponsors – CANVAS magazine, In-plant Graphics, Printing Impressions, The Seybold Report, and WhatTheyThink. Get more information on sponsorship at www.AppForum.org/sponsors-info

The AppForum is produced by Caslon, a PODi Affiliate.