The State of the Printing Industry:  The Real Story

manroland Sponsors WhatTheyThink Event at Graph Expo Featuring Dr. Joe Webb with the Latest Industry Survey and His 2009 Forecast

August 4th, 2008 -- Lexington, Kentucky USA -- WhatTheyThink.com today announced the opportunity for industry professionals to attend a free event with Dr. Joe Webb. Sponsored by manroland Inc., it will be held Tuesday, October 28th from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. in Room S105B, McCormick Place in Chicago in conjunction with Graph Expo.

Sign up today.

This one hour event is entitled "The State of the Printing Industry: The Real Story." It will offer printing and publishing executives direction and insights into what to expect as a new year unfolds with a new U.S. President in office. Dr. Webb will also provide a 2009 economic outlook, both in terms of the printing industry and the general economy. This forecast is based, in part, on WhatTheyThink surveys of printing businesses, reflecting their concerns and their investment strategies. A continental breakfast will be provided.

"There is no question that 2008 has been a turbulent economic year, and the worst may not yet be behind us. Graph Expo offers the perfect venue to share Dr. Joe Webb's insight with show attendees," stated Randy Davidson, President of WhatTheyThink.com. "manroland's generosity as the exclusive sponsor of this important event has enabled WhatTheyThink to make it free to all attendees for the sixth year in a row. We are honored by their decision to support this event."

Dr. Webb will discuss a number of other topics in addition to the forecast, including:

• What to expect post-election in the world of business and taxes
• How content creation markets (agencies, designers, publishers) affect the demand for print
• The industry’s bright spots: Learn from the growth leaders
• An overview of the updated “Renewing the Print Industry” report
• Debunking everyone’s favorite industry myths

“We appreciate manroland’s ongoing support for this event,” said Dr. Webb, “as well as the support from industry executives and professionals.  Each year, the audience has grown, and in 2008, we have expanded our room size to accommodate that growth.  This event is always a good opportunity to both catch up on the state of the industry and to see old friends. As always, we will leave plenty of time for audience questions, which we consider to be a critical element in all of our events.”

Dr. Joe Webb is the director of WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center, a recognized marketing authority and forecaster, and one of the best known speakers in our industry. In addition to his role in the Economics and Research Center, he contributes a weekly column at WhatTheyThink for Premium Access Members entitled “Mondays with Dr. Joe Webb.” The column offers timely analysis of recent economic data as well as management advice for senior printing and publishing executives.

To register for this event, 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 manroland

manroland Inc., a division of manroland AG, is the world's second largest printing systems manufacturer and the world's market leader in web offset. manroland employs almost 9,000 people and has annual sales of some Euro 2 billion with an export share of almost 84%. Web and sheetfed offset presses provide solutions for publishing, commercial and packaging printing.

For more information visit www.manroland.us.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, including forecasts and more. Dr. Webb is a 30-year graphic arts veteran, a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in our industry. He is known for his ability to interpret the latest market conditions in the graphic communications industries and translate what they mean for executives and their strategic decisions.  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." 

See more WhatTheyThink.com Press Releases.

Become a Member

Join the thousands of printing executives who are already part of the WhatTheyThink Community.