PARAMUS, N.J., JUNE 15, 2004 – Andrew Paparozzi, NAPL vice president and chief economist, will present a State of the Industry Update in an NAPL “webinar” scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT. Following the in-depth presentation, Paparozzi will address individual questions from participants. During the online event, Paparozzi will report on the current status and future direction of the graphic communications industry in an up-to-the-minute mid-year update of NAPL’s comprehensive 2003-2004 State of the Industry Report. The presentation is based on the latest research from NAPL’s Printing Economic Research Center (PERC). “The printing and graphic communications industry is entering a new phase of the business cycle. The recession is over, but that shouldn’t signal a return to the status quo for printers,” cautions Paparozzi. “We’re growing again, but we’re also facing broad cost increases in paper, materials, energy, wages, and interest rates. “The key issue for an industry as highly competitive as ours is how printing companies will deal with those rising costs,” Paparozzi notes. “How much will they be able to pass on to customers as increased prices, and how much can they absorb through increased efficiencies and productivity? Graphic communications companies must develop ways to operate successfully in this new environment, and that’s one of the critical issues we’ll be addressing in the upcoming webinar.” “That the state of our industry is improving can directly be attributed to printers changing the way they do business,” said James Martin, senior vice president of marketing, Heidelberg USA. “Successful printers realize that they need to be flexible, opportunistic, creative, and smart in order to thrive in these changing times. They know that they must understand their customers like never before. The more printers can understand why their customers choose print to communicate a message and why they should spend a greater percentage of their communications dollars in print, the more financial success they will enjoy.” Fee for the webinar is $75.00 for NAPL members and $175 for non-members (non-members registering for the seminar who join NAPL by Aug. 20, 2004, may apply a $100 credit to their membership dues.) To register, go online to www.v-workshops.com/pby/napl. For more information, call Susan Reif, (800) 642-6275, ext. 1350, or Joan Kasper (800) 642-6275, ext. 1344.