April 17, 2002 - WhatTheyThink.com and CAP Ventures have released the monthly Print Buyer Pulse Index. The data is compiled each month from print buyers throughout the United States. The goal of the index is to provide real-time analysis of print demand directly from the end user. The survey asked print customers to indicate whether they expected their print spending to increase, stay the same or decrease over the next 6 months. It was followed with a question that asked what percent they expect their print spending to change during that period. The April polling of print customers indicated that 41.4% of print customers expect their print spending to increase over the next 6 months, up from 38.1% in March and 36.0% in the February poll. What was very encouraging is that only 9.1% of print customers indicated they expect their print spending to decline over the next 6 months – half the percentage from the March poll. Print customers’ outlook for their print spending over the next 6 months is to increase a robust 3.9%. This growth expectation is consistent with the increase over the 6-month outlook that print customers have indicated in the March poll (4.9%). Overall, the view from print customers is increasingly positive. Print spending levels are increasing and a growing percentage of companies expect higher levels of print spending over the next six months. The biggest improvements in print spending and outlook is coming from companies with large print budgets, the ones that appear to have been hit hardest by the 2001 recession. FREE ON DEMAND BONUS This month, as a special ON DEMAND feature, all visitors can view the charts, graphs, demographics and complete comparisons with previous months. The complete results also include March actual spending and projected spending for April. The data can be accessed at www.whattheythink.com