Reston, VA — Today's graphic communications companies are getting it from all sides. On one side are customers, demanding that their suppliers engage in sustainable sourcing and production. On the other, government regulations—from the EPA to OSHA—are requiring companies to be ever more vigilant about regulations and compliance. For graphic communications executives who feel like they're caught in the middle of multiple, divergent demands, the industry's top three associations offer the Vision 3 Summit. The groundbreaking new leadership conference—being jointly produced by the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL); NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies (NPES); and Printing Industries of America—will feature education and insight on "green," compliance, and other issues of top concern to management-level executives across the industry. The conference will take place March 13–16, 2011, at the Desert Springs JW Marriott in Palm Desert, CA.

The good news for graphic arts firms grappling with "green"-focused customers and stepped-up agency inspections is that sustainability and compliance are inseparable. In the session, "Current and Future Reality—Customer Score Cards, Stepped-Up Inspections, and More," Printing Industries of America's Assistant Vice President, Environmental Health and Safety Affairs Gary A. Jones will explain how compliance is actually at the heart of being green, and detail how leaders can chart a course of action to capitalize on the opportunities. Attendees will learn what areas of their operations they should focus on to maximize their sustainability and compliance initiatives, and what actions they need to take to meet, and exceed, customer expectations and government regulations.

"Sustainability and compliance issues are extremely complex, but they are not going away, and executives need to know what they must do to succeed in this new reality," said Michael Makin, President and CEO of Printing Industries of America. "The benefit to focusing on these issues is that articulating compliance and sustainability objectives, and committing the necessary resources to achieve those goals, offers a great competitive advantage for companies."

In addition to "Current and Future Reality—Customer Score Cards, Stepped-Up Inspections, and More," the Vision 3 Summit will feature educational sessions addressing future growth markets, new-media marketing strategies and sales tactics, potential legislative challenges with the new Congress, and more. All sessions are geared to issues of top interest to management-level executives, and emphasize real-world applications and 'best practices' and will offer actionable "how-to" advice. The Vision 3 Summit will also feature a variety of networking events and a number of receptions.

The Vision 3 Summit replaces NAPL's, NPES' and Printing Industries of America's individual leadership programs, including NAPL's Top Management Conference; NPES' Industry Summit that included the PRINT OUTLOOK Conference and PRIMIR Spring Meeting; and, Printing Industries of America's Presidents Conference. Both NAPL and NPES will hold their individual board of directors meetings in conjunction with this conference. Additionally PRIMIR will hold its Spring Meeting in conjunction with the Vision 3 Summit.

While the first co-produced conference by NAPL, NPES and Printing Industries of America, the Vision 3 Summit is not the first joint venture between the three organizations. NAPL, NPES and Printing Industries of America also co-own the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC), which produces the popular industry GRAPH EXPO and PRINT exhibitions.

For more information about the Vision 3 Summit, or to register for the Conference, visit: www.vision3summit.org. For all of the pre-event updates and news follow the Vision 3 Summit community online at: Facebook.com/Vision3Summit; Twitter.com/Vision3Summit; and Youtube.com/Vision3Summit.