Michael K. Evans

Buoyed by the surging national economy, package printers are expected to buy, diversify,and go digital to profit in 2000. By Regis J. Delmontagne, President, NPES A national economic expansion unprecedented in its duration and vigor continued in 1999—and will continue in 2000—to power the package printing industry to strong growth. Economists speaking at December's PRINT OUTLOOK® 2000 program in Washington, DC, noted that 1999 was the fifth consecutive year in which the U.S. economy grew by 3.7 percent or more. Economic expansions throughout our history have averaged 32 months in length, while the current boom finished 1999 in its 105th month of growth. As