COMMERCIAL PRINTING OUTLOOK -- Ambiguity is Certain

In fact, the end of a recession doesn't mean the beginning of good times, the NAPL economist points out. "It simply means the economy has stopped retracting. Recoveries can be very slow and not look terribly different from the recession itself," he says.

The second, and perhaps more profound, issue is that even when the recovery hits full speed, it's not going to lift all boats, Paparozzi asserts. "Our industry has been redefined. Companies that have not prepared for the way in which it is changing, the way communications is changing, are not going to share in the growth. It's no longer enough to simply hang on until the economy and ad spending strengthen again."