Business - Events

Visitor pre-registration for FESPA 2010 (22 – 26 June 2010, Messe Munich), the industry’s largest global imaging event is now open. All those who pre-register before 26th February 2010 will be entered in a draw to win an IPod Touch.

Promising a fresh and vibrant event that showcases the latest in screen, digital and textile printing, industry professionals cannot afford to miss FESPA 2010. Visitors that pre-register will not only gain admission to the exhibition free-of-charge, but they will also be kept abreast of the very latest FESPA 2010 show news and developments.

For your chance to ‘Catch the New Wave of Innovation’ at FESPA 2010 in Munich and to win an IPod Touch, simply visit the FESPA 2010 website at http://www.fespa2010.com and click on the ‘register now’ logo. The lucky winner will be announced on Friday 5th March 2010. Good luck!

The 2008 SGIA Expo (Atlanta, October 15-18) was recently honored at the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 Awards & Summit for its positive impact on the specialty imaging industry and on Atlanta—the host city.

Trade Show Executive (TSE) magazine annually honors the top 100 trade shows in the United States based on net square feet of exhibition space, technological innovation, green initiatives, global participation and brand leadership. SGIA `08 was ranked among the top 100 trade shows that represent the most important commercial activities in the world and as a vital economic engine for the cities that host them.

"SGIA '08 was an extremely successful show for the specialty imaging marketplace," said Michael Robertson, SGIA's President and CEO. "We are honored to receive this award and look forward to showcasing the most innovative technologies and business solutions next year at the 2010 SGIA Expo in Las Vegas."

SGIA '08 Statistics:

Total registrants: 19,201

Number of exhibitors: 487

Total size of Expo floor: 225,686 square feet

"This has not been an easy year for the trade show industry—or any other industry for that matter," said Darlene Gudea, president, Trade Show Executive Media Group. "By honoring the shows that set the Gold Standard for the industry, we are not only recognizing those events that have thrived during the severe economic downturn, but are also putting a spotlight on the new ideas and strategies that others can follow."

Award recipients were honored during the annual Gold 100 Awards & Summit in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, organized and presented by Trade Show Executive magazine.

Roland DG (UK) have confirmed their presence at Sign & Digital UK 2010, with a 60% increase in stand size from the previous show.

According to Brett Newman, Head of Product Management at Roland DG (UK): 'Sign & Digital UK is regarded as the show for the sign & digital industry and delivers us new customers year on year. It is the perfect platform to showcase our products, achieve sales and meet both existing and new customers. The 2009 show was a great success for Roland DG and we received a very positive return from that event, and as a result we have significantly increased our stand presence for Sign & Digital UK 2010.'

For the latest show information visit: www.signanddigitaluk.com

2009 was HP's first year exhibiting at FachPack and the event was a great success.

HP presented innovative packaging solutions from HP Scitex, HP Speciality Printing Systems (HP SPS) and its partners at the show.

Visitors were fascinated by the solutions that demonstrated the flexibility of digital printing in POP industry and were keen to find out more about HP Indigo digital presses for labels, flexible packaging, shrink sleeve and folding carton applications. For instance, the new HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press has an enhanced thick substrate capability and can handle materials from 12 - 450 microns, making folding carton production on final substrates, for short-runs or trialling, cost-effective.

End-to-end rigid substrate production

The HP Scitex FB6700 Printer with inline laminator was in operation at FachPack. This six-colour printer uses standard format artwork files to print a range of rigid applications including POP/POS displays, samples, short-run packaging and exhibition graphics. Using water-based inks, the HP Scitex FB6700 Printer produces up to 29 1.6 x 3.2m (5.2 x 10.5 feet) sheets per hour. Inline lamination takes advantage of the printer's full automation capabilities. A Kongsberg XP 24 digital cutting table, from EskoArtwork was also on the stand to demonstrate the versatility and productivity of a fully digital production line.

Teams from two HP Scitex FB6700 Printer owners, Pankarte PLV, of Strasbourg, France, and STI Group (STI - Gustav Stabernack GmbH), of Hessen, Germany, printed six real jobs from customers in a "Tower of Production" demonstration on the stand. This provided a powerful illustration of the quality and production capabilities of the printer.

Thermal inkjet solutions for packaging

HP SPS OEM partners were exhibiting with HP at FachPack, demonstrating solutions for 2-D barcode printing using HP thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology.

Weber Marking Systems and Mark-O-Print (both part of the Bluhm Weber Group) were printing on non-porous substrates using UV-curable ink from Triton Ltd.

Wolke Inks & Printers GmbH was demonstrating its solution for printing on primary packaging using HP Universal Black ink.

HS Automatic ApS presented its solution for printing on secondary corrugated packaging.

Visitors to Ipex 2010 can expect to discover an impressive line up of new wide format products with a number of wide format suppliers already committed to launching new technology at the show. Wide format companies already confirmed on the floor plan include Agfa, Canon, Durst, EFI, Epson, Fotoba, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Mimaki Engineering, Océ, Roland, Screen, Vivid Laminating and Xerox.

The growing number of wide format technologies on display at Ipex 2010 clearly reflects the exciting and buoyant nature of the sector and highlights the importance that these suppliers place on Ipex as the number one international graphic arts exhibition in 2010.

Trevor Crawford, Ipex 2010 Event Director says that, “Over a quarter of the commercial printers that visited Ipex 06 were in the business of printing posters and billboards and we would expect that number to grow significantly in 2010. In a climate where market conditions are tougher than ever, the wide format sector has continued to exceed expectations so we foresee much interest from a broad spectrum of visitors who will use the event to explore the technical advances and stunning applications achievable with wide format technology.”

He continues: “The current climate is providing a massive opportunity for printers to diversify, with a world of options awaiting them in the wide format sector. With the high proportion of major large format vendors committed to Ipex this makes the event unmissable for businesses looking for growth.”

Tim Taylor, marketing manager, Screen Europe comments: "Large format printers are an important element of Screen's full range of digital 'print on demand' solutions that will be demonstrated at Ipex. Commercial printers are increasingly investing in large format printers and many of them who are familiar with Screen quality and reliability trust us to provide the right products. In turn, display graphics specialists are looking to invest in more general digital printing products, such as our B2 Truepress SX digital colour press coming to market in 2010 which allows fast, quality printing onto substrates up to 400 gsm. Ipex is the ideal opportunity to show a broad range of equipment to a broad audience - which is the special nature of the event.”

Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, industrial and textile/apparel markets has increased its stand space by 35% compared to 2006. Gert Jan van Hilten, manager marketing communications at Mimaki Europe explains that, “Ipex is a key highlight in the 2010 calendar and will provide an excellent international stage to show Mimaki’s fast growing digital printing and cutting solutions, especially for industrial printing markets.”

A dedicated wide format trail finder is 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.

Sign & Digital UK will be held at Birmingham’s NEC on the 13th, 14th and 15th April 2010. This unrivalled opportunity is a ‘must attend’ event for anyone who is already in, or wants to be in, the sign & digital industry.

 

Show Update

Following the success of the 2009 show, exhibitors and visitors are already looking to Sign & Digital UK 2010. Coming at the start of the show season, Sign & Digital UK 2010 offers the unique opportunity to get ahead of the game by seeing the latest products, services, innovations and launches in the market, not to mention benefiting from the wealth of other show features onsite.

With high demand for floor space, exhibitors are being encouraged to book their stand now to ensure that they don’t miss out on the best stand positions.
Exhibitors already booked include: Alcan Composities, Axyz Automation, Doro Tape, Expand International, Fujifilm Sericol, Graphtec, Harman Technology, Hexis UK, Hybrid Services / Mimaki, InkTec Europe, Plex Display, Robert Horne Group, Signwaves, Touch Systems, Triangle Wide Format Inks, Ultima Displays, William Smith, Xpres … to name a few.

With over 70 exhibitors already booked, Sign & Digital UK 2010 is set to be a big hit!

The show is already attracting a high number of NEW exhibitors such as; AgripaFlex, Elements Trade, Eurobond Adhesives, Isik Plastik, Keramikos, Print United, The Allsigns Group, Trade Sign Supplies and Vistech Technical Services.

Also exhibitors that are looking to build on their success at the 2009 show by taking bigger stands than previously include: Crown Norge AS, Harman Technology, Innova Solutions, Fujifilm Sericol, Laserite, Lion Picture Framing Supplies, Print One, Rose Plastics UK, Sign Up Systems, Signmaster Systems, Signwaves Trade, Silver Screen UK, Triangle Wide Format Inks UK and William Smith.

New Website

Sign & Digital UK are delighted to announce the launch of the new show website…

With the re-structure of the website, this new and improved service is geared towards bringing the introduction of new show features, such as the NEW Demo / Software theatre to your attention. The site will continue to bring the latest exhibitor news / launches, and information on the FREE seminar programme - including the return of the popular ADOBE and Corel sessions along with other important show information at your fingertips. 
ADOBE will again be loaded with new innovations for print design and publishing, web authoring and mobile delivery – the Adobe workshops promise to save you money, simplify tired workflow's, improve efficiency, deliver high-end results and prevent costly and unnecessary production errors. The question is... Are you ready to take advantage of its true potential? Make sure you’re there early to get a seat! Terry Steeley from Iridius comments “Adobe CS4 allows designers to explore new creative disciplines with ease, saving money and more importantly saving time”

In addition the new website features that have been added will help you make the most of your visit to the show – see the NEW ‘Special Offers’ page, where visitors can come to the show to get the best deals, a link so you can follow us on the social networking site Twitter and an improved ‘plan your day’ section that offers the visitor more in depth search criteria to allow them to personalize and plan their visit.

Visitor Pre-registration is now open

Alan Caddick, Marketing Manager, Sign & Digital UK comments on the need to pre-register now:
‘Sign & Digital UK 2010 is the ONLY place in the UK where you will see a wide-reaching range of products on display for the sign and digital industry. Visitor Pre-Registration for free entry to the show has just gone live on our website and already we have seen some high level visitors registered from: Waitrose, Ikea, Derbyshire County Council, Signs Express, Hampshire County Council, Crown Paints, NHS Trust, Hawes Signs, Halbro Sportswear, McCann Erickson, Victoria and Albert Museum, C3 imaging, Fast Signs, Alphagraphics, Apollo Screenprint … with many more signing up each day.’

Registration is FREE and only takes a minute to complete at www.signanddigitaluk.com

All pre-registered visitors will benefit from regular updates on show news and features, special offers, exhibitor launches and promotions.