COMMERCIAL PRINTING -- Running Lean and Mean

Printers' financial performance should continue to improve markedly, the economist believes. PIA's projections for fiscal year 2003 call for before-tax profits to reach between 2.3 to 2.7 percent of sales. Industry profits as a percent of sales should return to their normal range of 3 to 3.5 percent in 2004, if the economy continues its performance trend, Davis predicts.