As Converting begins its 20th year of serving the package-printing, coating/laminating, metallizing and converted-products industries with the November 2002 issue, we offer this Special Report. Included are a quick retrospective on Converting and our contributions to industry journalism; a thoughtful look ahead by top converters and vendors; and our picks for 20 companies to watch in the next 20 years. We hope you enjoy it.

— The Editors

Converting: A Magazine Retrospective

November: Chicago-based Delta Communications Inc. purchases Converting Product News from Miller Freeman Publications Inc., San Francisco. Circulation is im-proved, editorial is reformatted and graphics redesigned. The new bimonthly CONVERTING Magazine is born. The first issue—98 pages—features a post-show report on CMM4 held in Philadelphia.

Sept./Oct.: "Value Added," the first column by industry consultant and editorial advisor Norm Abrams, ponders "The essence of converting." Attorney Charles R. Goerth joins the staff as Legal Editor, penning an article on Clean Air Act compliance.

January: CONVERTING Magazine moves to monthly publication. The first of several Industry Roundtables is published featuring the comments of seven converter CEOs. The first Converting Machinery/Materials Marketplace monthly product section, our primordial Buyers Guide, goes into print.

February: The Machinery/Materials Marketplace gets its own issue—320 pages of supplier listings.

May: The first Product News Catalog hits the streets, earmarking our May issue as an annual spotlight on new products and services for the converter. Included are the Top Ten items based on the highest inquiry response over the previous 12 months.

September: A radiant-pattern hologram adorns the cover of our CMM6 Official CEMA Show Guide.

June: Technical editor Dave Dumbleton joins the staff, editing the Technical Forum articles.

October: The "Converters' Consultant" is launched in a "question and answer" format by technical expert Richard Podhajny.

January: CONVERING Magazine's first graphic redesign appears with a new logo and rearrangements of departments.

September: The CMM7 special pre-show issue is our biggest yet —256 pages.

January: Thomas Bezigian becomes our second consulting technical editor, sharing "Converters' Consultant" duties.

February: The first in our series of annual Resin Review features details the specifics for 240 LDPE, LLDPE, PP and PE extrusion resins.

June: A second graphic redesign revamps CONVERTING Magazine —from the body-copy typeface up.

January: David Roisum begins his popular monthly column, "Web Works"—with answers for all questions concerning web handling.

August: "Economic Outlook," the industry's only regular business-forecasting column, begins presenting data monthly.

February: A new annual feature, "Guide to Contract Converters," debuts, listing 105 companies cross-referenced with more than 75 converting-process services.

June: "Narrow Web Niche," a new Q&A column devoted to roll-label converting, appears, written by Skip Heintzelman.

September: Groundbreaking research into the true cost of environmental compliance for flexible-packaging converters is published via a joint project with FPA.

August: Pauline Covell, Editor of U.K.-based Converting Today, becomes our European Editor in a collaborative arrangement between the two magazines.

January: Industry consultant Mike Ducey begins writing "Paper Forum" columns on trends in paper and paperboard converting.

March-April: Our first CMM Intl. back-to-back issues top the charts at 420 pages of pre- and at-show information.

June: Coater/Laminator Technology, our first "mini-magazine" supplement, is polybagged with the regular issue. Five converting operations are profiled along with a Quick Reference Chart to 59 coater/laminator vendors.

July: Steve Utschig of Fox Valley Technical College begins writing his column on press operations: "Flexo Forum."

April: The first OEM Products & Accessories Guide is published, featuring listings for more than 165 converting-machinery components and subsystem suppliers for equipment design and retrofits.

September: Slitter/Rewinder Technology, a second "mini-magazine" joins the publication family. 1999 September: "Ask AIMCAL," written by a rotating team of technical consultants serving the association, replaces "Extrusion Forum."

December: Converting: A Look Back at the 20th Century offers readers a trip back in time to review major technical and business developments of the last 100 years.

January: We welcome the New Millenium with a new name, Converting, a new logo and total graphic redesign, Art Director Vicky Bellisario will win a Gold Award for her work from the American Society of Business Press Editors.

Converting's E-News, our new electronic E-newsletter, begins transmitting twice a month.

May: Our interactive Web site, www.convertingmagazine.com, is launched. Along with current features and departments, almost daily "Frontline News" updates keep the industry well-informed.

Diecutting/Diemaking Technology, our third "mini-magazine" supplement, is published in cooperation with IADD.

August: Our first full-coverage, holographic cover, highlighting a group of cartoon aliens making the long but vital trip to Earth for Labelexpo USA, is produced.

June: "Digital Printing for Packaging and Labels," our first conference organized with Pira Intl., is met with rave reviews.

July: When converters debate the wisdom of buying totally new machinery, our "Retrofit for higher profit" issue provides new avenues for modernizing older equipment.

November: Converting begins its 20th year of publication with a cover story on the hot topic of digital-flexo plates and platemaking.