3D"Graphics

Shocking Counterfeiting Demonstration on Tap for Graphics of the Americas

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Printers & Packagers Will Learn to Protect Themselves and Their Clients from Criminal Operations Raking in $700 Billion a Year

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Procter & Gamble's Paul Fox is Keynote SpeakerJanuary 18, = 2008 -- It's pervasive. It's a $700 billion dollar a year "industry." And it's illegal.

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It's counterfeiting, and because experts estimate that increasingly sophisticated fakes and forgeries move upwards of $700 billion a year worldwide -- = with at least $350 billion attributed to print, packaging or labels - Graphics of the Americas will host the most comprehensive conference on the topic in the western hemisphere, to date.

The Raw Truth about Print Counterfeiting

The Brand Protection Conference will be one of the hottest ite= ms on the agenda when Graphics of the Americas returns to Miami Beach February 28 - March 1. Taking place February 28 and 29, the Brand Protection Conference is where thousands of Graphics of Americas attendees can hear the raw and often terrifying facts about counterfeiting, and then learn the strategies that will protect them = and their clients from being vulnerable or worse, compromised.

Critical Information for Printers

"We've got to stop thinking this problem is confined to designer luxury products," says George Ryan, president of GOA and PAF. "Vital documents - documents that are relevant to people's lives and their welfare - are being 'hacked' and reproduced.

"Printers should not view learning about this as an optio= n. I haven't seen anything this critical, because of its potential to do so much damage, in my career. It's a must."

Incredibly, the sheer scale of counterfeiting has escaped noti= ce of all but a few, because brands aren't eager to spread the word that their product lines, including printing and packaging, have been contaminated. Dick Warner, a security consultant and one of the= premier anti-counterfeiting experts in graphic arts, is speaker chair for the Conference. He says that the desire of major brands to keep their counterfeiting troubles on the QT is just one of many disturbing and someti= mes shocking facts about this growing problem.

The Brand Protection Conference is sponsored by GOA, PAF, HP, TUV Rheinland and Videojet; as well as Package Design, RFID P= roduct News, and Converting Magazines.

Conference content was created for Contract Packagers, Design Directors, Creative/Art Directors, Structural/Graphic Packagers, Production Workflow Specialists, Vice Presidents of Production, Production Managers and Prepress Managers.

Customers Are Being Affected

"People will be surprised, and perhaps taken aback by the audacity of counterfeiters," says Chris Lyons, whose publishing house = is home to the Package Design and RFID Product News titles. "But most importantly, they'll recognize that they need to face this issue head on, a= nd be prepared to deal with it - because more of their customers are being affected and those customers are already looking for printers who can assure them that they are utilizing the best protection methods possible for their products."

As a result, Warner and his colleagues have assembled well-kno= wn CPCs; internationally-renowned, top-clearance security consultants, and manufacturers of protection solutions, to bring GOA this compelling session series.

Procter & Gamble Keynote

Attendees may want to forego coffee in light of the jolt they'= ll get when powerhouse Procter and Gamble's External Relations Leader for Glob= al Operations, Paul Fox, kicks the conference off with his keynote, "Thre= ats that Companies Face from Counterfeiters, Knockoffs and Fakes." =

Conference Culminates in Demonstration

Tension will rise - "a healthy tension," Warner says= - with follow-on discussions about security printing techniques, security ink= s, DNA, near IR dye taggants, holograms, RFID, des= ign, machine vision and more -- until the Friday morning session where Warner and Greg Bassinger= , who was manager of the process controls department at the former GATF and is to= day a consultant, will demonstrate the ease in which even the most vital, and l= ong trusted, documents, can be counterfeited.

Session leaders will discuss the latest trends and techniques = in anti-counterfeiting at sessions including:

Conver= ting Packaging Substrates to Security End

Produc= ts: Overt/Covert/Forensic Security Printing

Techni= ques and Packaging Design Options

Securi= ty Printing Inks -

Overt/= Covert and Forensic Counterfeit Deterrents

Hologr= ams: Security Packaging and Design

Knocko= ffs, Counterfeits and Deterrents

Serial= ization, Authentication, Verification,

Codes = and Digital Solutions

. . .and more

For 2008, Graphics of the Americas will be held February 27 through <= /span>March 1, 2008, providing a one-of-a-kind international event that showcases the convergenc= e of industry knowledge, products, and technology. For more information and to register for the Brand Protection Conference, call 1-800-331-0461 or visit = www.graphicsoftheamericas.com. Outside the United States<= /st1:country-region> and Canada, dial 407-240-8009.

About Printing Association of Florida (PAF)

The Printing Association of Florida is one of the most ac= tive and influential printing associations in North America, with headquarters in = Orlando, Fla. Today more than 500 Florida-based graphic arts companies consider the PAF their ultimate business partner. Governed by an all-volunteer board of directors elected by its membership, = the PAF is a not-for-profit association representing the interests of the graph= ic arts industry throughout the state. PAF is affiliated with Printing Industries of America/ Graphics Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF), the world's largest graphic arts trade association, making PAF members a pa= rt of the largest, most comprehensive graphic arts advocacy organization in the world. The Printing Association of Florida is located at 6275 Hazelti= ne National Drive, Orlando, FL 32822, phone: (407) 240-8009, fax: (407) 240-8333, and on the Web at www.pafgraf.org.

About Graphics of the Americas (GOA)

Now in its 33rd year, Graphics of the Americas (GOA) is produc= ed annually by the Printing Association of Florida, Inc., = an industry trade association. Taking place each year in Miami Beach, Fla., GOA is the largest, annual combined exposition and education event in the U.S. With worldwide attendance and exhi= bitors, GOA<= /st1:place> is one of the only conferences tha= t attracts print providers, suppliers and creative professionals. For 2008, Graphics of the Americas will be held Feb. 27 through March 1, 2008, providing a one-of-a-kind international event that showcases the convergenc= e of industry knowledge, products and technology. For more information call 1-800-331-0461 or visit www.graphicsoftheamericas.com. Outside the U.S. and Canada, dial 407-240-8009.

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All products and services are trademarks or registered tradema= rks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.

Media Contact: &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; =

Helene Smith =

HSPR

312-388-6511

smith@helenesmith.com<= o:p>

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