2008 Executive Forecast

Richard Ghelerter, President, Apex Color

The print outlook for 2008 is a tough call considering the country’s housing and mortgage mess, [as well as] escalating fuel cost[s]. I believe our industry will struggle without a healthy economy. But, accepting that growth may be slight; I still see opportunity in commercial printing, as well as business forms. Both segments of printing are moving toward shorter runs, faster delivery cycles and non-printing value-added services, such as kit building and pick-and-pack services, along with warehousing and distribution.

At Apex Color we have positioned our company to help customers take advantage of these changing trends by investing in new technology that automates workflows and significantly reduces the time required for soft proofs and front-end processing. Our new prepress workflow will accept a certified PDF file from a customer, preflight, RIP, trap and bounce back a proof on the fly. Faster font-end response time[s] will allow our customers to provide the personal attention their customers demand, and in turn enable them to cash in on more print opportunities in 2008.

Vaughn Gordon, Vice President, National Sales, Continental Datalabel

Forecasting for the 2008 pressure-sensitive label (PSL) market is based upon past growth. A key factor driving demand for the total label market is our national gross domestic product (GDP).

Label growth in 2006 was slightly [more than] 2 percent, and forecasted the same in 2007. GDP for 2008 is forecasted at 3 percent. Label growth has historically been one to two-and-a-half times the GDP for the overall industry. These GDP factors would indicate a PSL growth between 3 percent [and] 7.5 percent for the overall label market.

This prediction depends on the continuation of U.S. GDP growth. The 2008 label industry will grow if the GDP reaches the 3 percent forecast.

James R. Schulty, CEO, AmeriPrint Corporation