The seventh annual digital printing forum draws a 20% increase in attendees over last year

Charlottesville, VA - INTERQUEST, a leading market and technology research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry, today announced a highly successful seventh annual Digital Printing in Government and Higher Education Forum. The event, which was hosted by the Government Printing Office (GPO) in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, November 14, 2012, drew nearly 120 attendees, 20% higher than the event in 2011. Speakers from government and higher education shared innovative applications, opportunities, and challenges in their work environments; INTERQUEST presented its most recent research results from these markets; and suppliers updated the audience on their companies and their strategies.

According to Gilles Biscos, President of INTERQUEST, "We had the perfect venue to network, educate, and share information dealing with innovations in printing and publishing for government and higher education professionals. The GPO facility provided a wonderful backdrop for the conference, with the added bonus that GPO provided guided tours of its operations. In these challenging and exciting times, our attendees value the opportunity to learn from one another and find answers to the right balance of communication media as well as the role digital printing adds to the mix."

Davita Vance-Cooks, Acting Public Printer, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) kicked off the forum with the keynote presentation entitled "GPOs Transformation Toward an Official, Digital, Secure Platform." The 151 year-old agency provides publishing and dissemination services for the official and authentic government publications to congress, federal agencies, federal depository libraries, and the American public.

GPO has faced challenges in the past few years with a shift from traditional ink on paper to digital technology. But even with these significant challenges, the GPO sees opportunity, currently engaging in strategic planning to ensure that it has a roadmap to navigate the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. "Our strategic plan is customer-centric, employee driven, and it addresses the four major critical initiatives that we think we need to survive: we must strengthen our organizational structure; we must engage our workforce; we must satisfy or stake holders; and we must offer relevant products and services," Ms.Vance-Cooks said.

She concluded by noting "The GPO views the challenges as opportunities to redefine ourselves. GPO is doing less conventional printing, but we are increasing our database capabilities. We are building best in class manufacturing operations. We are increasing our security printing capabilities. We are providing multiple electronic options. And we support open government and transparency. We are official, we are digital, we are secure and we are moving forward."

Following the keynote, Gilles Biscos, President of INTERQUEST, Ltd., presented key trends in the publishing, print-on-demand, transactional, graphic arts, and in-plant markets. He also examined the impact of the latest vendor announcements and the synergies between paper-based and electronic communications.

A panel of government and higher educational print professionals explained how they leverage new digital printing technology to improve productivity and enhance the documents they produce. Speakers included: Greg Estep, Superintendent Press Division, GPO; Walter Wingo, Superintendent of the Binding Division, GPO; Kate Dunn, President, Digital Innovations Group; Richard Beto, Director of Document Solutions, University of Texas at Austin; and Jeff Yake, Printing Officer and Head of the Printing Management Section, Library of Congress.

Following lunch, executives from leading printing systems vendor companies provided updates of their strategies and developments for the government and higher education markets. Speakers included: David J. Murphy, Director of Marketing, Americas Graphics Solutions Business, Hewlett-Packard Company; Bruce Collier, Vice President, United States Customer Operations (USCO), Xerox Corporation; and Robert Riendeau, Enterprise Account Manager, Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (EFI).

Toby Cobrin, a Director at INTERQUEST presented key findings from recent INTERQUEST research in the government and higher education printing markets. Among the topics discussed were variable data and personalized communications, the synergies of electronic delivery and print, and opportunities for growth and innovation.

The day ended with a panel of management-level printing professionals from in-house print/publishing operations in government and higher education discussing current and future needs from suppliers. Speakers included Jeff Yake, Printing Officer and Head of the Printing Management Section, Library of Congress; Sam Kasmai, Associate Director, Print Services, George Mason University; Wilma Grant, Publishing & Website Manager, Supreme Court of the United States; and Kelly Hogg, Director Printing Services, University of Virginia.

The 2012 Digital Printing in Government & Higher Education Forum was sponsored by leading players in the market including EFI, Epson, Finch Paper, Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, Magnum Magnetics, NPC, NewPage, PCI Graphics, Pitney Bowes, RISO, Standard Graphics, and Xerox, with additional support from the Association of College and University Mail Services (ACUMS), the Interagency Council on Printing & Publications Services (ICPPS), the National Association of College and University Mail Services (NACUMS), the National Government Publishing Association (NGPA), Xplor Mid Atlantic Region (MAR), and In-Plant Graphics.