AmeriPrint

A little change never hurt anyone. With that in mind, this year’s big show promises a change of pace, a change of scenery and a change in demand. The newly revamped PSDA (formerly DMIA) will host its annual Print Solutions Conference and Exposition on Oct. 23-25 at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore. This year’s featured general session keynote speaker will be Charlie Pesko, founder and president of InfoTrends, a leading market research and consulting firm in the digital imaging and document solutions industries. Technological advances and refined marketing strategies are just some of the issues gaining momentum in a slowing economy. To encourage print

By Maggie DeWitt The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act—better known as Check 21—became effective on October 28, 2004. Undoubtedly, it has had the greatest impact on the way banks process checks since the introduction of MICR. Check 21 optical processing is in wide use today, as more banks are choosing to scan original checks to create substitutes for digital processing, which saves time and lowers operating costs. Conventional security features, such as fluorescent printing or fibers and artificial watermarks, protect original checks, but they do not survive the binary scanning processes, and can offer no protection to electronic or paper image

On November 29, the White House lowered its forecast for next year’s economic growth, saying unemployment would rise as the housing slump and credit crunch weigh on national economic activity. Under the administration’s new forecast, gross domestic product will grow by 2.7 percent next year. The previous projection called for a stronger, 3.1 percent increase.

1 Ennis Headquarters: Midlothian, Texas Annual Sales $(000): 584,713 Principal Officer(s): Keith Walters, Chairman, President, CEO Employees: 6,200 Locations: 44 2 Champion Industries Headquarters: Huntington, W. Va. Annual Sales $(000): 145,188 Principal Officer(s): Marshall T. Reynolds, CEO Employees: 740 Locations: 22 3 Western States Envelope & Label Headquarters: Butler, Wis. Annual Sales $(000): 117,900 Principal Officer(s): Mark S. Lemberger, President Employees: 731 Locations: 5 4 Printegra Headquarters: Peachtree City, Ga. Annual