Business - Events

FESPA expects to run the first FESPA Americas in Orlando, Florida, from 24-26 February 2011, alongside Graphics of the Americas, pending final confirmation of an agreement with the Printing Association of Florida.

The first FESPA exhibition on US soil is designed to provide visitors from the US and Central and South America with a pan-regional, high quality event that will showcase the world’s leading manufacturers and inspire the regions screen, digital and textile printers.

“In response to strong demand, FESPA Americas, taking place alongside the Graphics of the Americas show at the Orlando/Orange County Convention Center, will provide exhibitors with a new opportunity to reach an audience of printers with a pan-regional perspective. Visitors from the US, Central and South America will take part in a unique educational programme and visit a world class exhibition, something that FESPA has become renowned for”, says FESPA Managing Director Frazer Chesterman.

This innovative new event will complement the Graphics of Americas show and will give visitors an even more compelling reason to make the trip to Orlando in February. Building on the continued success of FESPA Mexico, FESPA Americas aims to unite all of the region’s printers in digital and screen printing and garment decoration, to attend one comprehensive exhibition for wide format that will sit alongside Graphics of the Americas, which is focused on commercial print.

Chesterman continues: “We believe that by collaborating with like-minded organisations such as the Printing Association of Florida, we are able to produce an event with scale and integrity that provides enhanced value for visitors and exhibitors alike.”

The announcement regarding Fespa of the Americas was made at the FESPA Global Summit, which took place in Miami from 25-26 March 2010. This event attracted 80 leading print organisations from US, Canada, Central and South America as well as Europe, along with other delegates from as far away as New Zealand and Hong Kong.

The success of the FESPA Global Summit in Miami further emphasises FESPA’s track record for running top level events, noted for high quality, value and insight. Fantastic feedback from delegates to this event further reinforces the demand for FESPA events in this region.

The first FESPA Global Summit - which took place from 25-26 March 2010 in Miami, Florida, USA - called for stronger business leadership and a strategic commitment to innovation for print service providers to grow again out of the downturn.

The event was designed to provide attendees with an open environment in which to tackle the challenges affecting the wide format printing industry, consistent with FESPA’s commitment to sharing examples of best practice across the global wide format printing community.

It was the first such forum to connect so many leading innovators from Europe and the United States & Canada. Over 100 delegates, sponsors and speakers from across the US, Canada, Central and South America were in Miami to share ideas, knowledge and insight with some of Europe’s foremost wide format entrepreneurs.

The FESPA Global Summit programme featured inspiring speakers from trend-spotting, marketing and creative agencies, mixed with leading print innovators from Europe and the US. In addition to the plenary sessions, Summit attendees participated in group discussions to assess the opportunities and threats confronting the modern print business as it recovers.

“This event was designed to support and motivate business leaders in our sector, at a time when FESPA felt the need to create a unique transatlantic connection in the wide format community”, says Frazer Chesterman, Managing Director, FESPA. “The Summit has given us fascinating insights into the challenges our market is facing. The valuable information exchange facilitated by this gathering offers us the opportunity to summarise clearly the global trends that our market now confronts. From there, FESPA can provide clear direction as to how business leaders can innovate to enhance their success in the recovery.”

Delegates responded enthusiastically to the conference programme and open discussion forums, describing the event in glowing terms: “Inspirational”; “Informative”; “Visionary”; “Awesome view of the future”; “Wow!”; “Energising”; “Very thought provoking”; “Very impressive”; “Actionable information”.

VP of Corporate Marketing at EFI, Frank Tueckmantel comments: "EFI was thrilled to be part of the inaugural FESPA Global Summit in Miami. As a European working and living in the US, I was honoured to be part of this exciting multinational meeting of graphic communications leaders. The event provided an excellent venue with engaging speakers and relevant, thought-provoking topics. As an event sponsor, EFI truly benefited from the valuable innovative strategies, collective intellect and customer partnerships. We are looking forward to the next event and hope this will become an annual tradition."

FESPA Sales & Marketing Director Marcus Timson concludes: “Print still has a strong place in the communication mix, but the Summit emphasised that traditional market structures have altered forever, and emerging techniques and trends are forcing a change in how we deliver print. Print service providers need to properly understand these forces for change in order to continue to provide value for their customers.”

A collaborative white paper entitled ‘Innovation - the Way Forward’ is currently being produced based on insight gained at the summit. This white paper will be available for the whole community.

Printers worldwide who are looking to interpret trends and apply innovation in their business can pre-register now for FESPA 2010 (22-26 June 2010, Messe Munich, Germany), and participate in the comprehensive FESPA Innovate! Programme of educational and knowledge-sharing sessions. For more information, visit www.fespa2010.com

Attendees at this year's International Sign Expo, April 7-10 in Orlando, will find on display two production UV inkjet digital print platforms from Durst – the 5-meter Rho 500R for roll printing, and the 98-inch Rho 800HS mainly for rigid substrate printing – both of which are well suited to the evolving market that sign shop operators are facing.

These two printers will be fully operational throughout the exhibit, which is taking place in Hall A of the Orange County Convention Center, in Durst booth #2548. Visitors will be able to evaluate their operating performance, as well as their versatility in executing an extremely broad range of display and signage applications, the company said.

"With the technology taking signage and commercial display into so many new areas, our Rho 500R and Rho 800HS can be an excellent fit for innovative sign vendors who want to go where the market is heading, and are always looking to improve their offerings and their performance," said Christopher Howard, senior vice president of sales & marketing for Durst US. "Whatever the application, whatever the media, whatever the turnaround time – these Rho printers deliver outstanding results. We're very pleased to be able to bring them to this year's Sign Expo."

The Rho 500R – selected as the Digital Printing & Imaging Association's Product of the Year in the grand-format roll-to-roll UV-cured ink printer category – can print three different images on three separate media rolls simultaneously across its 5-meter width. It prints six-colour, 600-dpi images on just about any roll media at speeds up to 400 sq.m/hr. The Rho 500R operates unattended, uses less ink than comparable superwide platforms, and minimizes operation costs due to its high productivity, advanced workflow and versatility.

A precise rail with linear motor drive system, a proven front-to-back registration system, along with a mesh and textile printing option, combine to make the Rho 500R one of the most effective, economical large-format imagers ever developed. It employs Durst's Quadro 30D Array print head technology, which doubles the number of nozzles per color to 2,048. Along with ink temperature regulation and Durst's proprietary Point Drop Setting system to deliver the highest image quality at the highest speed, print output capabilities are raised by about 80 percent.

The Rho 800HS employs Durst's Quadro 30D Array print head technology, and utilizes the same continuous board printing system found in the Rho 800 Presto. The Rho 800HS can print on multiple narrow boards across its 98-inch width, on materials up to 2.75 inches thick, at a top speed of more than 185 sq.m/hr. In its two-pass mode, it delivers exceptional image quality at nearly 110 sq.m/hr.

The Rho 800HS also is compatible with Durst's roll feed/take-up accessory, designed for long runs and fast media changes. It handles oversized rolls up to 440 pounds (200kg), diameters up to 12 inches (30cm), and widths up to 98 inches (249cm).

 

FESPA is setting out its ‘Eight Steps to Innovation’, encouraging wide format entrepreneurs to embrace innovation more actively as part of their strategy for future growth.

1. Prepare for Innovation

Gain a thorough understanding of the prevailing external conditions and the likely forecast for your market. When you’re fully aware of the facts, you can choose the direction and type of innovation you want to create.

2. Be creative

Innovation does not exist unless there is creativity first. Innovation is invariably a result of a team effort. No innovator charges into the surf without engaging in dialogue, debate and discussion with the right mix of thinkers.

3. Consider your customer

Being customer-centric is an essential characteristic of the successful innovator. Fully understand their needs, goals and visions. This will help you to get the concept right and the delivery perfect.

4. Make the Effort

Innovation isn’t easy. It takes time, energy and effort, and you must be flexible and challenge the ‘norm’. That ‘eureka moment’ will only come after much time, effort and energy have been expended.

5. Take the Risk

Overcome your fear and accept that innovation is a combination of creativity and risk. If it doesn’t work first time, respect yourself for taking the risk.

6. Leadership

To catch the new wave that hasn’t been caught before, innovation needs strong leadership for your team and for your customers. So invest in yourself to ensure your leadership skills, attitude and belief are strong enough.

7. Accept Feedback

Innovation always needs time to settle. Your ‘beta’ customers must accept improvement over time. The clever innovator will have a very strong relationship with their customers and will get the necessary feedback for success.

8. Communication is everything

Innovation is inspirational, but not if nobody is aware of the innovation! If you’re using innovation to differentiate your business, improve efficiency or profit, make sure you communicate proactively to all your stakeholders.

 

The Eight Steps to Innovation are reproduced in a surf-themed pocket guide for visitors to the FESPA 2010 show (Munich, 26 June 2010), which also includes details of the comprehensive FESPA Innovate! event programme. The steps will also form the basis of a live Innovate! Workshop, hosted on site at the show by FESPA Managing Director Frazer Chesterman and Sales & Marketing Director Marcus Timson.

“The Eight Steps to Innovation is a compact way of making a serious point”, explains Marcus Timson. “Innovation can be intimidating for entrepreneurs, especially when they are steering their businesses out of an economic downturn, with the inevitable focus on efficiency and cost- and cash- management that brings.

He continues, “Innovation is all too often misinterpreted as ‘invention’, making people think that they have to do something revolutionary. That’s far from the truth: often innovation is just about looking at things from a different angle, or harnessing your company’s skills, contacts and resources in different ways. Our clear focus at FESPA 2010 is on helping print service providers to develop the mindset of the innovator, which we firmly believe is one of the keys to the FESPA community’s success.”

To download a copy of the FESPA Innovate! Guide, or find more details of the FESPA Innovate! programme, surf to www.fespa2010.com. To be part of FESPA’s Innovators forum, join FESPA’s Wide Network at www.widenetwork.ning

Finalists from the PrintIT! 2006 competition gather in the atrium of the Birmingham NEC at Ipex 2006

With the final judging of the 2009/2010 competition entries complete, PrintIT! is looking to Ipex 2010 to join with industry supporters and sponsors to celebrate the best of Britain’s young talent, honour all the finalist students and their teachers, and present category winners with individual awards as well prizes for their schools in the form of print-related equipment.

Ipex 2010 marks another significant milestone for PrintIT!, and sees the culmination of the first five years of the initiative, which celebrated its inaugural awards ceremony at Ipex in 2006. Since then, PrintIT!, which has maintained its partnership with leading charity The Fairtrade Foundation, has engaged over 100,000 students from over 1,000-schools in England, won two awards, gained endorsements from Government and Royalty, as well as seen the launch of a new version for schools in Scotland. Designed to meet the curriculum criteria of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, PrintIT! Scotland has already attracted registrations from 30% of all Scottish secondary schools and nearly 4,000 students in the first few weeks. PrintIT! has also provided the framework for the introduction of ‘DigIT! to BuildIT!’ developed by Proskills, and covering a similar scheme of work and objectives for youngsters linked to the Building Products and Extractives industries.

Since taking over the management of PrintIT! from Picon in April 2007, Proskills has itself invested over £500,000 in the project, supplemented by the sponsorship and support gained from industry. Each year, on average, PrintIT! costs in the region of £200,000, of which approximately 25% comes from industry sponsorship, in the form of cash, prizes, advertising, paper, print, in addition to the time taken by printers who ‘twin’ with their local schools as part of the Twinning Programme which remains a vital element of the course.

“The significance of the support PrintIT! achieves from Industry is without question, and it is a testament to the commitment of Industry as a whole that we have been fortunate enough to maintain this level of support during a very difficult economic climate”, says Tom Bowtell, general manager of Proskills who is responsible for the team delivering PrintIT!. “We remain fully committed to the project and are currently working on plans for PrintIT! 2010/11 and I am delighted with the commitment we have already received from several sponsors to date.”

In addition, the recent restructuring of project resourcing within Proskills has resulted in the creation of a larger project team going forward. The new PrintIT! team is led by Jo Chapman, the Proskills Education & Schools Programmes Manager. Jo is supported by Jan Cassidy, Schools and Industry Co-ordinator, who will continue to provide the backbone of day to day project administration, and Richard Moore, Proskills Industry Lead for Print and Paper, as well as having access to the resources of the Proskills marketing team headed by Terri Jones, head of marketing & communications.

Jo Chapman, a former teacher, has been the Education Manager at Proskills for the last three years working on the development of the new government-backed 14-19 Diplomas. With her background in education, and her knowledge of working with industry partnerships gained when she managed an award winning ‘Schools Into Industry’ programme in the glass industry, Jo is well positioned to take over the role of Project Manager for PrintIT! and engage the support of the industry to develop PrintIT! going forward.

The PrintIT! team is already reviewing new developments for PrintIT! 2010/11, which will be launched to schools for the start of the new academic year in September 2010, with the awards ceremony scheduled for Spring 2011. While PrintIT! is keen to enlist feedback and suggestions from its sponsors and industry stakeholders, current proposals for next year include revisiting the scheme of work to update workbooks for students and teachers, introducing new paper and sustainability modules, taking a more proactive tracking of PrintIT! students through social networking sites, apprenticeship schemes and school career programmes as well as reviewing and updating the website.

Tom Bowtell adds, “PrintIT! remains a flagship initiative within our portfolio of education and schools programmes at Proskills. We are all immensely proud of PrintIT! and of what has been achieved over the past five years, and acknowledge the support and hard work that everyone involved has put into making this programme such a success. With the expanded PrintIT! team now in place, with access to greater resources and specialist skills, I am confident we can continue to work with stakeholders and industry supporters to build on a truly successful initiative and secure its long term success.”

The 2009/2010 PrintIT! Awards Ceremony takes place during Ipex 2010, on Saturday 22nd May 2010 in Concourse Suite 1 & 2. George Clarke, chairman of PrintIT!, managing director of Heidelberg and president of Ipex 2010 said, “Having been part of the final PrintIT! judging panel, I have been extremely motivated by the creativity, talent and understanding of print that these entries displayed, and where better to celebrate this talent and showcase our industry to these youngsters than at Ipex. To know that over 100,000 students have engaged in PrintIT! and learnt something about our industry can only help our long term goal to improve the image of UK Print plc and encourage this wealth of talent to consider a future career in print.”

City & West End Solutions Lead the HP Latex Channel

City & West End Solutions will be exhibiting the new HP Designjet L25500 Latex ink printers on its stand (C30) at Sign&Digital UK this year. Having already built an enviable lead in selling over 85% of all the larger L65500 latex printers in the UK this year, the company is looking forward to repeating its success with the smaller version of this ground breaking printer.

Managing Director of City & West End Solutions, Doug Gilbertson, is positive both about the forthcoming exhibition ‘Sign & Digital is the ideal showcase for the new 60inch and 42inch L25500 models, its already making a deep impact into the traditional solvent sign maker market. Quite simply if you’re a sign maker who wants to grow your business you need to look at these printers, the productivity benefits from its performance alone warrants this, if you add the wider environmental benefits as well its essential’

City & West End Solutions is also showcasing a full range of solutions with the HP Designjet L25500 at the core. With Summa cutters available in bundles with the new printer there is a solution for every user. As the leading Onyx RIP reseller in the UK there will be software upgrade and bundle offers through out the show period.

Gilbertson continues ‘Our philosophy is to help our customers at every stage in their investment in new technology whether it’s a new printer or updating their current Rip. We know that getting the best support possible is crucial to making new technology produce the profit our customers expect. Our customers simply get the best service in the market and will always do so.’

City & West End Solutions solution lead philosophy also extends to how new equipment is financed for their customers. With capital expenditure under constant pressure the availability of competitive leasing options is a vital element in putting the right solution together.

‘Our relationship with our customers is guided by the simple objective of getting the best possible overall solution for them and their business. This mean getting the right hardware, software and media to produce the result they want. It also means we give our customers the best options in how to pay for their solution. In terms of leasing options we are able to obtain the most competitive rates in the market so they have all the flexibility possible in ensuring that their solution produces the right return for their business.’ concludes Gilbertson.