Richard Romano has been involved in the graphic arts industry since before birth. Romano is a freelance writer and consultant for the graphic communications industry and frequently contributes feature articles, news stories, and special research reports to WhatTheyThink, the leading news and information portal for the graphic arts industry. Romano is a former writer and senior analyst for The Industry Measure (formerly TrendWatch Graphic Arts), a division of Reed Business Information, for which he writes market research reports on various aspects of the graphic arts, printing, and publishing industries. He has also worked on consulting and market research projects for many organizations and companies, such as GAMIS/PRIMIR (a 2003 landmark offset press installed base study and a 2005 run-length study), Scientific Computing magazine (2005 and 2007 Laboratory Information Management Systems studies), Publishers Weekly magazine (several book and audiobook studies), and Library Journal, as well as Adobe Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Vio, and others. He has also contributed to such magazines as Graphic Arts Monthly, GATFWorld, Printing News, HOW, and others. He recently served as editorial director and designer of Dr. Joe Webb's book Renewing the Printing Industry: Strategies and Action Items for
Success.

In 2001, he helped launch, and was executive editor of, CrossMedia magazine, a periodical that, in its short but happy life, covered issues of interest to creative professionals creating content for print, Web, wireless, and other media. From 1995 to 2001, he had been either a full-time or contributing editor to Micro Publishing News, a newsmonthly for electronic designers and print buyers, and its then-sister publication Digital Imaging, for which he had reviewed graphics hardware and software and wrote regular features and news stories on various graphic arts technologies. Before fleeing California in Fall 2000, he had been Micro Publishing News’ managing editor. Micro Publishing News was discontinued in May 2001 after 12 years in business. He honestly has no idea whatever became of Digital Imaging; it's a sore point....

Romano is the co-editor, with his father Frank Romano, of The GATF Encyclopedia of Graphic Communications, a compendium of more than 10,000 graphic arts terms published in 1997 by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. As if that weren’t enough, he is also the author of several books on graphics hardware and software, including Sams Teach Yourself Adobe InDesign 1.5 in 24 Hours, published in significantly more than 24 hours by Sams Publishing; and The Scanning Workshop, published in 2001 by Que Publishing and has the distinction of being (as far as he knows) the only book that has an Amazon review written by a cat. In 2002, he was a contributor to Special Edition Using Photoshop 7, published by Que Publishing. In 2003, he was a contributor to Special Edition Using Photoshop CS, published by Que Publishing. Romano also does freelance editorial and graphic design work as Rich Text & Graphics. In 2005, he self-published his first novel Virus!, a sci-fi comedy that asks the provocative—and downright silly—question: What would happen if a computer virus could be transferred from machine to man?

He has vague recollections of having graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1989 with a B.A. in English and Writing for Telecommunications, and has a certificate in Multimedia Production from New York University.

Since 2001, Richard Romano has been a member of Toastmasters International, an educational organization that helps develop communication and leadership skills, with a focus on public speaking. He is a past President (2003–2004) of his home club (Thorobred Toastmasters in Saratoga Springs), past Area Governor for Area F4, a collection of six clubs in Saratoga and Washington Counties (2004–2005), and is currently treasurer of Thorobred Toastmasters, which has caused him to gradually turn into a Dickens character. Thanks to Toastmasters, he has been a featured public speaker at various graphic arts industry seminars and conventions, including Print, Graph Expo, Macworld, and Graphics of the Americas—often in conjunction with The Industry Measure. He has also done some stand-up comedy at local venues, for reasons passing understanding. In October 2008, he won the District 53 Humorous Speech Contest. He is also one of the co-chairs of the District 53 Fall Conference.

Romano is also on the Board of Directors of the Saratoga Film Forum, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to bringing quality cinema to downtown Saratoga Springs. Among many many things, he has been the editorial and production coordinator of the Film Forum's thrice-yearly tabloid newspaper, as well as writing and producing the Film Forum's monthly postcard mailing. He has also been involved with several other community organizations in Saratoga and Albany

A former resident of such disparate places as Salem, NH, New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA, he now lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.