Few people in print buying and printing don’t know Frank Romano. The foremost printing and publishing industry expert with a career that spans 50 years, he’s perhaps best known as the editor of the International Paper Pocket Pal or from the hundreds of articles he’s written for publications in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia.

Founder of eight publications and author of over 45 books, including the 10,000-term Encyclopedia of Graphic Communications (with Richard Romano), the standard reference in the field, Frank is a world-renowned authority on digital printing. He has served as publisher or editor for TypeWorld/Electronic Publishing, Computer Artist, Color Publishing, The Typographer, EP&P, and both the NCPA and PrintRIT Journals, and his books on QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, and PDF workflow were among the first in their fields.

Frank lectures extensively and he has addressed virtually every club, association, group, and professional organization at one time or another. His mastery of the subject, not to mention his personal charm and warmth, have made him one of the industry’s most popular keynote speakers.

He has consulted for major corporations, publishers, government, and other users of digital printing and publishing technology. He wrote the first report on on-demand digital printing in 1980 and ran the first conference on the subject in 1985.

He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Times of London, USA Today, Business Week, Forbes, and many other newspapers and publications, as well as on TV and radio. He has partnered with InfoTrends on strategic information for the printing industry. He continues to teach courses at RIT and other universities and works with students on unique research projects.

With over 40 years’ experience in photography, design, pre-press, printing and color science, Don Hutcheson has pioneered many techniques we now take for granted, like RGB workflows, soft proofing, extended-gamut printing and digital proofing.

In 1995 he started the world’s first color management consultancy, HutchColor, LLC, to bring the concept of ICC color management to professional graphic users. Today he continues to train the world’s top printers, publishers, agencies, photographers and designers through private consulting and public conferences.

In 2006 as chair of the IDEAlliance GRACoL committee Don used his own Proof-to-Press calibration method (now known as “G7®”) to produce the current GRACoL and SWOP data sets. Since then G7 has made standardized printing and proofing easier and more accessible to thousands of printers and print buyers world-wide.

For more information, go to www.hutchcolor.com

Dr. Joe Webb is one of the graphic arts industry’s best-known consultants, forecasters, and commentators. He is the director of WhatTheyThink’s Economics and Research Center.

A 32-year veteran of the graphic arts industries, his “Mondays with Dr. Joe” column has become a must-read feature on WhatTheyThink since 2003. His economic forecast webinars and industry presentations assist C-level executives, owners, and analysts to understand how changes in the economy, technology, and the industry, affect their strategic decisions.

He is a Ph.D. graduate of the NYU Center for Graphic Communications Management and Technology (1987) and has served on the Center’s Board of Advisors. He holds an MBA in Management Information Systems from Iona College (1981), was a magna cum laude graduate in Managerial Sciences and Marketing from Manhattan College (1978), and was a member of its economics honor society. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing, market research, quantitative analysis, business policy, and organizational behavior. Dr. Webb started in the industry with Agfa’s Graphic Systems Division, was a marketing executive with Chemco Photoproducts, and entered consulting full time in 1987. In 1994, he founded the influential TrendWatch information service, sold to multinational publisher Reed Elsevier in 2000. His first book, “Renewing the Print Industry,” received wide recognition, and was the subject of many keynote speeches and workshops.

His latest book, “Disrupting the Future: Uncommon Wisdom for Navigating Print’s Challenging Marketplace” was published in Spring 2010. Written with Richard Romano, it has been described as “the manifesto for a new generation of printers.”

Print Buyers International (PBI) is dedicated to serving print customers worldwide through online education and event production. PBI has produced five annual print and media conferences. The 6th Annual Print & Media Conference takes place September 13 – 14 at Graph Expo in Chicago!

Margie is a long-time print buyer who turned her passion for printing into a print consulting business. She writes her popular e-newsletter, Margie’s Print Tips, to build bridges between the printing industry and its customers. She started the Tips in 1999, and this weekly publication is currently read by 5,000 subscribers worldwide.

For years, Margie’s been a sought-after speaker at industry events that target printers and/or print customers. She has presented in New Zealand, the UK, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Wisconsin, Miami, and throughout New England. She’s chaired the first-ever Print Buyers forum for Graph Expo since its inception in 2007.

She’s published two books and is working on her third. Her new book,”Print Buying Made Simple,” is available on Lulu.com. Currently, Margie is a blogger for Piworld.com and the buyer columnist for Printing Impressions.

An accomplished marketing & communications professional, Heather serves as the Director of Marketing & Business Development with b+p+t communication solutions in Cincinnati, Ohio. Throughout her career, she has gained significant experience on both sides of marketing; serving clients and managing campaigns within a direct marketing company and also in a corporate environment, developing and executing strategic marketing activities. Heather has advanced in progressively increasing roles using her skills, background and initiative to successfully direct programs that meet the specialized needs of businesses across a variety of industries.

Melissa has over 25 years’ experience in advertising and print production. She has held leadership positions in many Chicago advertising agencies, including Leo Burnett and Foote, Cone & Belding, and she has worked on some of the world’s most recognized brands. Her love of both art and science informs her career and drives her ongoing quest for both aesthetic exactitude and manufacturing excellence. She has produced award-winning creative across the full spectrum of print media and has a passion for innovation that she expects her colleagues and supplier partners to share.

Jeff Dickerson is responsible for a corporate team that buys millions of dollars of commercial print and media replication a year. His group handles more than 2,500 unique warehoused items annually as well as hundreds of direct shipped items, and oversees the print and media production of a wide variety of materials including sales and marketing collateral, DVDs, variable print, kits and mailings, and more.

A consultant to State Farm’s internal creative group for print and paper specifications, Jeff led the development effort for, and is the gatekeeper of, quality standards for the company’s collateral materials. His team supports printing for several internal departments including agency sales and training, claims communications, human resources, training, bank, mutual funds, marketing and systems.

Building on 12 years of experience as State Farm’s print buyer and 10 years of work in print production, management and sales, Jeff is a Certified Purchasing Manager and has earned the Chartered Financial Consultant designation.