Vol. 6, No. 7, July 1995

If you've never attended a Newspaper Association of America annual technical exposition and conference (a.k.a. NEXPO), you might think the comparison to an athletic event is facetious.

You would be wrong.

Attendance at NEXPO '95, to be held June 24-28 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, will require stamina and strength. For those of us involved in newspaper pre-press systems (which we define as business systems and newsroom services, in addition to front-ends, display ad, imaging and output systems), there will be more than 140 supplier exhibits to visit (down a few from last year, but still up from years in the past).

That's a lot of walking, a lot of talking, a lot of standing. Not the kind of thing you usually find at the Olympics, but maybe we can get them included in next year's summer events in Atlanta.

In the meantime, we'll have to perform these feats without international sanction.

It looks to be a good show. Quite a few new companies are represented, and virtually all the "old-timers" will be there, too.

If the trend last year was the growth of digital ad delivery specialists, the trend this year is on-line. A lot of companies seem to be providing either converters for HTML (HyperText Markup Language, the lingua franca of the World-Wide Web) or complete on-line solutions (ranging from bulletin board systems to Web servers).

The other big product category seems to center on classified. More than 25 companies have some sort of classified solution (front-ends, remote transmission systems, database converters).

This shouldn't come as a surprise: As we've moved completely away from proprietary editorial systems toward open editorial solutions (a big category in itself), the only industry-specific products being developed are for classifieds.

The lack of surprise also comes from the fact that classifieds are revenue sources, and more and more of our publishers are looking toward revenue enhancement.

Early reports indicate attendance probably will be down, and this too shouldn't come as a surprise. With the cost of newsprint skyrocketing, publishers are looking to cut anywhere they can, and a leisurely week in Atlanta for a team of five usually gets cut down to one or two days for one or two people.

I think this is a case of amputating one's nostrils to spite one's visage; the way to learn how to enhance revenues and cut costs is to go to industry parlays where you can glean ideas from suppliers and colleagues.

Nonetheless, inside you'll find our top 60 picks of the show, along with our unparalleled full-color map of the show floor.

Our team in Atlanta will represent a cross-section of experience and newsroom responsibility: Senior Editor Pete Wetmore (a copy editor at The News-Gazette in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.), Correspondents John Bryan (in editorial systems at the Los Angeles Times), Christopher J. Feola (computer guru at the Waterbury [Conn.] Republican-American) and George Powell (production manager of the San Francisco Examiner Sunday Magazine) will ferret out the best and brightest of the suppliers and explain their peccadillos to you. (Correspondents L. Carol Christopher and Tom Shorten have personal or professional commitments keeping them away from Atlanta this year.)

They will be assisted by Circulation Manager Marge Wetmore and Researcher Donna Bryan. Cole Group Consultant Mike Middlesworth will provide his sage advice (and harass a supplier or two).

And, for the 14th time in 15 years, I'll forgo what's usually the nicest week in San Francisco to amble on down to a hot, Southern city to talk about newspaper technology for a week.

We'll put together all our thoughts and impressions for you in the August and September issues.

If you have the Olympic prowess, we'll see you in Atlanta.

-- David M. Cole

Also:

And don't forget:

From THE COLE PAPERS, July 1995, Copyright (c) 1995, All Rights Reserved.