Association Lobbying Helped Gain Results

NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, Reston, Va., helped lobby for the tax incentives through the Tax Relief Coalition and the Cost Recovery Action Group. Present at the bill signing at the White House were Regis J. Delmontagne, president of NPES, and W. Bruce Goodwin, president of Glunz & Jensen Inc. and an NPES board member.

Mark J. Nuzzaco, NPES government affairs director, notes that Representative Jerry Weller (R-IL), who was instrumental in getting the new tax law enacted, planned to attend the Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2003 event held a few weeks ago in Chicago.

NPES, together with the National Association for Printing Leadership and the Printing Industries of America, launched a major effort to educate the printing industry on the benefits available under the new tax law. The three associations, which jointly own the Graphic Arts Show Company, manager of Graph Expo, are urging prospective buyers to use the incentives to upgrade their printing, publishing, and converting facilities while these savings remain available.

The groups have issued a statement showcasing the savings available for a variety of equipment categories, including prepress, press, finishing, and converting. The document, available on the NPES Web site at npes.org, is titled "Ten Good Reasons to Buy New Printing, Publishing and Converting Technology Now." The 10 purchasing examples given there include a $150,000 computer-to-plate system that, after deductions for expensing and depreciation, can be bought for $99,000, a savings of 34%. In another example, a $200,000 mid-range saddle stitcher can be bought for $137,000, a savings of 32%. NPES notes that the examples are intended solely to show the effects of the tax bill.