EDITOR'S notebook

Paparozzi, who addressed some 300 printers attending Heidelberg's recent President's Night event, concurs that the industry continues to show signs of sustainable growth. He suggests that industry sales grew 4.1 percent last year, and have the potential for another 4.5 to 5.5 percent increase in 2005. Expectations also remain strong, with more than 40 percent of NAPL's Printing Business Panel predicting that business conditions within their companies will improve over the next six months, and just 6.4 percent expecting business to decline. But improved conditions have also resulted in printers encountering steep price hikes for paper and other consumables, often due to higher raw material costs.