WhatTheyThink Graph Expo Presentation by Dr. Joe Webb, Sponsored by MAN Roland, Draws Record Crowd

Industry Expert Shares Thoughts on Current State, 2017 Forecast, for Printing Industry

September 18, 2007 -- Lexington, Kentucky USA – At the second largest Graph Expo in history, the annual WhatTheyThink.com live event with Dr. Joe Webb - a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in the printing industry - drew a record crowd, with well over 400 registrants. Graphic Arts 2017: A Speculative Look at the Graphic Arts a Decade from Today, was a topic that clearly caught the imagination and interest of Graph Expo attendees who were at the show to learn how to make their businesses more competitive. Sponsored by MAN Roland Inc. for the fifth consecutive year, the event was held September 11th at McCormick Place in Chicago in conjunction with Graph Expo.

Download presentation and audio here.

"The energy level at Graph Expo this year reflects a renewed optimism on the part of managers and owners of printing businesses," stated Randy Davidson, President of WhatTheyThink.com. "Even though Dr. Webb’s forecast for the overall industry remains flat over the next couple of years, under the hood is a growing number of companies who are adopting new ways of doing business that are resulting in double digital growth for their businesses."

Dr. Joe Webb contributes a weekly column at WhatTheyThink.com for Premium Access Members entitled “Mondays with Dr. Joe Webb,” as well as free quarterly economic outlook webinars. These venues offer timely analysis of recent economic data as well as management advice for senior printing and publishing executives.

“While the overall number of workers in the printing industry is likely to decline from more than 600,000 in 2007 to about 375,000 in 2017,” said Dr. Webb, “the firms a decade from now are likely to be much more efficient operations with increased capabilities, automation and the resulting productivity enhancements. We expect the number of U.S. printing establishments to decline from about 32,500 in 2007 to 23,650 in 2017. Of those firms, more than 2,100 will have more than 50 employees, with the average number of employees per firm at 15.8.”

In introducing the event, Vince Lapinski, CEO of MAN Roland North America, said, "The overwhelming attendance at this event demonstrates the high level of interest on the part of printing business owners and managers in understanding how future trends in technology and innovation will affect their businesses. MAN Roland is sponsoring this event for the fifth year to share a snapshot of the future that can help printers be as prepared as possible for the changes coming their way.”

To download the presentation and audio, click here.

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink.com is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink.com also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS.

About MAN Roland

GRAPH EXPO attendees had the opportunity to observe the ROLAND 700 HiPrint working with MAN Roland's InlineFoiler. The innovation allows printers to apply foil effects while the job prints, adding maximum value at minimal cost. In addition, MAN Roland's printcom and printservices initiatives cover customer maintenance, consumables, and service packages, optimized specifically for MAN Roland presses. And MAN Roland continues its role as the pioneering proponent of computer integrated manufacturing with the company's exclusive printnet system.

MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG is the world's second largest printing systems manufacturer and the world's market leader in web offset. MAN Roland operates out of Offenbach, Augsburg and Plauen in Germany. It employs 9,000 staff and generates annual sales of $2.7 billion (EUR  2 billion), with an export share of 82%. Web and sheetfed offset are its major product lines for publishing, general commercial and packaging printing. MAN Roland is the only printing press manufacturer to be a partner of the WAN (World Association of Newspapers). In North America, MAN Roland Inc. operates a network of five regional sales and service facilities, staffed by over 250 employees.

For more information visit www.manroland.com.

MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG is the world's second largest printing systems manufacturer and the world's market leader in web offset. MAN Roland operates out of Offenbach, Augsburg and Plauen in Germany. It employs 9,000 staff and generates annual sales of $2.14 billion (EUR 1.7 billion), with an export share of 83%. Web and sheetfed offset are its major product lines for publishing, general commercial and packaging printing. MAN Roland is the only printing press manufacturer to be a partner of the WAN (World Association of Newspapers). In North America, MAN Roland Inc. operates a network of five regional sales and service facilities, staffed by over 250 employees.

For more information visit www.manroland.com.

About Dr. Joe Webb

Dr. Joe Webb is the director of WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center, where managers, researchers and analysts can find free and premium content about industry trends, statistics, forecasts and more. Dr. Webb is a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in our industry. He also conducts quarterly economic forecast webinars, interpreting the latest market conditions in the graphic communications industries and what they mean for executives and their strategic decisions.

A 30-year veteran of the graphic arts industries, he was the founder of the influential TrendWatch information service, which was sold to Reed Elsevier in 2000. Since January 2003, his "Mondays with Dr. Joe" column has been a must-read feature on WhatTheyThink.com.

He is a Ph.D. graduate of the NYU Center for Graphic Communications Management and Technology (1987) and serves on the Center's Board of Advisors. He holds an MBA in Management Information Systems from Iona College (1981) and was a magna cum laude graduate in Managerial Sciences and Marketing from Manhattan College (1978), and was a member of the economics honor society. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing, market research, quantitative analysis, business policy, and organizational behavior. He started in the industry with Agfa's Graphic Systems Division and was later a marketing executive with Chemco Photoproducts, entering consulting full time in 1987. Among his publications is the controversial "Renewing the Print Industry: A Contrarian's Constructive Perspective." 

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