Essential Free Business Advice and Knowledge at IPEX 2010

With the launch of the Printers’ Profit Zone, The Great Print Debates and the Knowledge Centre, the Ipex 2010 organisers are offering a comprehensive and interactive learning programme which will equip printers with practical business solutions and free expert advice on topics such as increasing sales and profit, raising capital, finance, education, marketing, print buying and the environment.

Other educational highlights at Ipex 2010 include a special Print Automation Pavilion organised by CIP4 to highlight advances in print automation technology and some educational conference sessions presented by Xplor UK & Ireland, in conjunction with the BAPC.

Comments Nick Craig Waller, Ipex 2010 Marketing Director: “Whilst our exhibitors will take centre stage at the exhibition, visitors can also benefit from our thought provoking educational programme designed to spark lively discussions and debates, stimulate minds and evoke positive change. Whether or not visitors are ready to invest in new technologies, a visit to Ipex 2010 can provide them with valuable tips to boost their businesses. Every company faces different challenges so we’ve tried to cater for as many printers as possible by teaming up with some of the brightest and most experienced minds in the industry.”

For the first time ever, visitors to Ipex will be able to take advantage of a new, free of charge seminar programme at the event designed to tackle the issues that keep many printers awake at night.

Designed to accommodate up to 60 people, the Printers’ Profit Zone will offer dynamic and interactive Master Class sessions. Launched as a result of the findings of the comprehensive Ipex Global Print Survey, each session will offer practical advice such as growing sales, increasing profit margins and improving cashflow. The sessions are being run by Nick Devine, the founder of www.theprintcoach.com

There will be four Master Classes a day on hot topics such as ‘Lead Generation for Printers’, ‘Compensating your Sales Team’, ‘Value Based Selling’, ‘Wealth Protection’, ‘Raising Finance’, ‘Profitable Marketing’ and ‘Attracting Ideal Clients’.

The seminars are all free, but spaces are limited, so visitors are advised to reserve their place by registering in advance. Simply visit www.ipex.org/ppz

A series of free of charge expert panel debates at Ipex 2010 will tackle some of the most critical issues facing the print industry today. Produced by Pira International in association with Ipex, The Great Print Debates will take place every day from 13:00 – 14.00 and are located in the Printers’ Profit Zone.

• More than ink on paper: how should printers be selling print?
• What will the printer of the future look like?
• Will an Ipod for publishing kill printed media?
• Green print: is it worth it?

With full audience interaction, The Great Print Debates will take expert commentary, lively debate and audience participation to a completely new level unseen at a major trade show before.

Joining Sean Smyth and Frank Romano as debate chairs will be Neil Falconer, Senior Consultant, Pira International and Laurel Brunner, Digital Dots. For a full list of panellists see www.ipex.org/greatprintdebates Visitors can attend The Pira/Ipex Great Print Debates free of charge, but places are available on a strictly first-come first-served basis.

Designed to heighten the visitor experience and maximise time at the event, the Knowledge Centre provides an easily accessible information hub at the heart of Ipex where visitors can seek advice from approximately 30 not-for-profit organisations about memberships, pensions, industry accreditation, best industry practice, print buying as well as educational matters.

Leading trade bodies already confirmed on the floor plan include: the Asian Flexographic Technical Association; Association for Print and Communications Managers (APCOM); the Forest Stewardship Counsel (FSC); the Ghent Workgroup; the Independent Print Industries Associations (IPIA); the International Print Purchasing Standards Association (iPPSA); the London College of Communication; the National Association of Paper Merchants (NAPM); Pakistan Association of Printing and Graphic Arts Industry (PAPGAI) the Printers Charitable Corporation; Printing Industries Association of Australia; The Printing Industries Federation of South Africa (PIFSA); the Printing Industry Pension Scheme (PIPS); Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC); Sri Lanka Association of Printers (SLAP); UNITE, the Welsh Centre of Printing & Coating.

Attached to the feature will be a seminar theatre in which participating organisations can book presentation slots on a first come first serve basis. These sessions will last 30 minutes and are free of charge for visitors to attend. To maximise the schedule certain topics will be available on certain days so the topics for example will range from the Environment to Business and Training. Check out the latest programme at www.ipex.org/knowledge

The Ipex organisers and the International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organisation have teamed up to highlight advancements in print automation. The print automation programs will include a special Print Automation Pavilion for exhibitors to demonstrate top-of-the-line automation technology, distribution of a Print Automation Roadmap to attendees, and “Print Automation Live”, a new Ipex show feature. The Print Automation Pavilion has room for 15 to 20 companies to demonstrate print automation technologies in a cloistered area. Located in Hall 7, booth 7E460, every company in the Print Automation Pavilion will be networked together, allowing printers to learn about individual systems and software and to see first hand how systems from different vendors can be networked and integrated together.

Xplor UK & Ireland, in conjunction with BAPC, will host educational conference sessions during Ipex 2010 to bring together industry experts, leading-edge users, analysts and vendors to share information, experiences, and solutions on the latest technologies, strategies and thought leadership for the digital document industry. Two sessions will be held each morning and afternoon from Saturday, 22nd May — Monday, 24th May, featuring a keynote speaker, end-users and industry vendors who will challenge participants’ thoughts on the latest topics of interest including:

• New approaches to customer communications through social networking
• Future trends discovering the value of augmented reality
• QR matrix codes
• Digital migration
• TransPromo - the current state of affairs

This event is open to all attendees at Ipex 2010 on a complimentary basis.

In addition to the extensive learning programme, visitors will also benefit from other valuable Ipex initiatives to ensure their visit is ideally structured and as efficient as possible.

With 159 countries visiting Ipex in 2006, part of the line up at Ipex is the International Days programme to make the show as enjoyable and effective as possible for international attendees. The programme will include welcome receptions, exhibition briefings in several languages and an international lounge (Hall 12), providing an attractive driver for visitors and an excellent internal communications device for exhibitors.

The following days will have a particular focus and theme on a country/region:

Tuesday 18 May: Middle East & Africa

Wednesday 19 May: China

Thursday 20 May: India

Friday 21 May: Germany

Saturday 22 May: Scandinavia

Sunday 23 May: Eastern Europe

Monday 24 May: North America

Tuesday 25 May: Europe

For greater insight into the various thematic areas at Ipex, visitors can join one of the daily Guided Tours in association with the Proskills Academy. Ideal for visitors who want to investigate a particular product or service area in more detail, these tours take visitors by the hand and lead them to the expert partners at relevant stands. Areas covered:

• Pre-media / pre-press / digital solutions
• Printing / output and ancillary services
• Post press and finishing

Visit www.ipex.org/guidedtours to book a space as they are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

My Ipex is an interactive planning and navigation tool which creates personalised plans for visitors so that they can maximise their time at the event. My Ipex - www.myipex.org - allows visitors to:

• Explore an interactive plan of the NEC and individual halls
• Search for exhibitors by name, hall or product type
• Link to exhibitor information and product details
• Create, save, email and print your own personal event plan
• Get information on facilities, travel and accommodation
• It will also be linking to all the educational event content on Ipex+

With more than 1,000 exhibitors at Ipex, there is something happening on someone’s stand every minute of the day. Ipex+ brings all the exhibitors’ educational contents and product demonstrations plus Ipex-related events together in an easy to use online diary: www.ipex.org/plus

Also new is IpexTV, a new section on the Ipex website offering regular ‘video-blogs’ to communicate news about Ipex 2010 initiatives, visitor and exhibitor updates as well as short interviews with key industry figures. Take a look at www.ipex.org/ipextv

Dedicated product trial finders are being produced to provide visitors to Ipex 2010 with a sector specific route map around the exhibition and to make their visit as effective as possible. The route guides will be available in the registration area and cover the following themes:

• Green print
• Finishing/ post-press systems
• Offset
• Digital/ inkjet processes
• Workflow/ MIS
• Newspapers
• Packaging
• Wide format

Once again, the Ipex Daily newspaper is published by Haymarket Publishing and will provide visitors to Ipex 2010 with the latest news from the exhibition floor. Ipex is the only major international print event to publish a daily newspaper on-site.

Additionally, with the growing popularity of social media sites, the Ipex organisers have set up dedicated industry groups on websites such as Twitter and LinkedIn to keep visitors and exhibitors up-to-date about developments but also to reach potential new visitor groups. These sites will also be used to offer exclusive Ipex content to visitors.