New NAPL State of the Industry Report Guides Printers to Full Participation in the Recovery

With economic recovery from the graphic communications industrys deepest recession finally having begun, companies counting on improving conditions alone to revitalize their businesses may be in for an unpleasant surprise, according to the economists of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) Research Center in the new NAPL State of the Industry Report, Ninth Edition.

In the past, once the economy recovered, demand for print would grow and everything would return to normal, but now recovery is what we make it, notes NAPL Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi. Build productivity, competitiveness, and value to our clients, and we will participate fully in the recovery. Expect recovery alone to make everything right and we get left behind.

An improving economy will act as a relief valve for the extreme pressure many businesses found themselves under during the recession, but a relief valve is temporaryit doesnt lead to a permanent fix and it doesnt create the changes needed to be successful going forward, says NAPL Senior Economist Joseph Vincenzino. Those changes will have to be generated internally. In other words, we need to generate our own recoveryour own futureto be successful. Our new State of the Industry Report provides guidance and assistance for doing just that.

The new report shows printers how to take the steps necessary to make the most of economic recovery, starting with a careful assessment of whats happening in the commercial printing industry and what lies ahead, looking at four different industry post-recession paths and the impact of each on sales growth, providing a set of realistic sales expectations, reviewing the key lessons learned from the recession, and explaining how to develop the organizational flexibility and agility that are critical to future success.

Recovery, like recession, comes with its own set of challenges, says NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Truncale. Understanding the cyclical and structural changes at play in our economy and