Mergers, marketing, JDF, and the future of digital technology
25th Northeast Regional Print Management Conference packs information punch
Nowhere else in New England does a gathering of respected leaders within the print and graphic communications industry occur other than the annual Northeast Regional Print Management conference hosted by Printing Industries of New England.

The 2004 conference, the 25th year of the event, is no exception.

As print company owners continue to get a handle on the changing economy, acquire a better understanding on how emerging technologies enhance profits, and how print buying professionals look to printers for more than just putting ink on paper, industry visionaries will address these topics in keynote speeches over three days to help print company owners and managers better understand the changes and challenges they face on a daily basis.

Mergers and acquisitions
Harris DeWese, president and chief executive officer of Compass Capital Partners Ltd., will discuss what attributes make a printing company attractive for a merger or acquisition. He’ll also share the characteristics to look for when searching for good candidates for a merger or acquisition.

Are you thinking about selling your business over the next few years? If so, you’ll want to know what you can do in the next 24 months to position your company for the best sale possible.

Are you looking to grow? Growth by acquisition is a common strategy worth exploring. DeWese can help.

Changing dynamics of marketing
Fresh from an academic appointment at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Barb Pellow has taken the reigns as as chief marketing officer of commercial print for Kodak as the former film giant enters the commercial print arena.

Pellow will discuss her new employer’s goals and why it entered commercial printing. She also share with attendees the importance of being able to do more for clients than only print.

Today’s companies that are serious about survival and future growth are transforming themselves into complete solutions providers to buyers who now look to printers for more than just printing services.

Pellow will talk about how variable data printing is being embraced by the creative community. She’ll offer additional insight for company owners and managers struggling with how to grow their firms.

Ongoing digital evolution
Xerox Senior Fellow Peter Crean has been a part of the digital revolution since the beginning. He was part of the team that developed the first prototype electronic copier., an activity that led generations later to the development of the Docutech. Later, he was a member of the iGen3 digital color press team.

Crean will take conference attendees on a journey that projects the future trends of digital color printing and the impact these trends may have on traditional commercial printing.

JDF doesn’t mean “Just Dam Fun”
Conference speaker George Ryan is executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, the research and technical component to the national trade association PIA/GATF that also includes Printing Industries of America.

Only a handful of individuals throughout the world other than Ryan have been following the concept JDF (Job Definition Format).

For printers with modern workflows, JDF will soon be a reality. In its simplest terms, JDF is an electronic job information management system designed to streamline information exchange between disparate systems during the manufacturing process.

When implemented, printers can easily access every piece of information about the job being printed.

Ryan will discuss the importance of JDF and how it will help improve manufacturing efficiencies even further and facilitate information exchange between the printer and client when necessary.

A fall weekend on Cape Cod
This year’s conference is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 21–24 at the Chatham Bars Inn, at the elbow of Cape Cod in Chatham, MA where a block of group priced rooms has been held.

The conference is hosted by PINE and co-hosted by the Association of Graphic Communications of New York City, Printing & Imaging Association of New York State, and the Graphic Arts Association of Philadelphia.

The event is an opportunity for industry executives and their spouses to enjoy themselves.