Place YOUR BETS

Las Vegas—where dreams can be made but just as easily lost on a single spin of the roulette wheel. Although perhaps best known for its casinos and gambling, Sin City, as it is referred to by some, is also home to one of the most famous signs in the world.
 
The ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign that greets visitors that journey to the city via car on Las Vegas Boulevard South was first erected in May 1959, but has been updated and upgraded many times over the years as technology has improved. With this serving as one of the best examples of improvement and advancement within the sign industry, it is rather apt that Las Vegas is one of the hosts of the International Sign Association (ISA) International Sign Expo.

The trade show, which alternates annually between Las Vegas and Orlando in Florida, will this year take place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre from April 20th to April 22nd, although the education and events programme will begin a day earlier.



With such a glamorous location, coupled with the fact that a host of major names are due to attend, it is easy to see why the show is still so popular after almost 70 years. However, are the bright lights of Las Vegas enough to draw visitors from across the pond here in the UK, and, for those that make the trip, what can they expect from their visit to Sin City?

Rolling the dice

Set aside from the main casino and hotel, the Convention Centre, which opened in January 2003, is spread across an area of one million square feet. The facility is able to support 75 breakout sessions and has a number of ballrooms, the largest being 100,000sq ft. Although there may not be much dancing at ISA Sign Expo, the quality of exhibitors featured on the floorplan suggests that those in attendance could well be swept off their feet.

Lori Anderson, president and chief executive of the ISA, explains that, much like events in the UK and Europe, ISA Sign Expo has witnessed an upturn in visitors from various sectors of the industry and the lookout for growth opportunities in other areas of the market. As such, the event has now evolved into a meeting place for the entire industry to discuss new ideas.

“More sign, graphics, and visual communications companies are branching out into new areas and ISA Sign Expo 2017 will showcase the products to help them do so,” Anderson says, adding: “ISA Sign Expo is the only event that shows the breadth of products available for the sign, graphics, and visual communications industry.”



In terms of whether the event is suitable for visitors from the UK, Anderson has no doubt that those who opt to make the trip will not be disappointed: “ISA Sign Expo always features a number of new product introductions and we expect 2017 will be no different. Sign, graphics, and visual communications companies based in the UK will have an opportunity to see these products first, potentially giving them a jump on their competition.



“It also is a powerful place to build connections with the top sign, graphics, and visual communications companies in the United States and Canada. I hope to see a strong contingent of attendees from the UK and all of Europe at ISA Sign Expo.”

Widespread demand
 
With this in mind, Anderson picks out some of the in-show features that visitors can look forward to in Las Vegas. Such co-locations include the Sign Research Foundation’s National Signage Education and Research Conference, which brings presentations of the latest sign-oriented research.

Elsewhere, Xplor International will serve as the go-to resource for education for transaction printers and direct mailers, with Xplor to host an education session on using data to increase profits. In addition, NAPCO Publishing will host two panel discussions, one on in-plant success stories and the other on commercial trends and best practices, while franchisors Sign Biz and Signarama will host meetings of their partners.

The co-located CPP Expo will be of great interest to those thinking of expanding into or are already established in the converting and packaging printing sector, while the National Association of Sign Supply Distributors is set to host a special networking reception in an effort to ramp up interest.

Anderson continues: “In addition to the massive tradeshow floor, attendees always look forward to the networking opportunities. Besides the print reception, there are networking events aimed at those in digital signs and young professionals.


“There are a number of events aimed at bringing the industry together, including ‘ISA Rocks: The Industry Party’, which made its debut in 2016 and proved very popular. And we close out each day on the tradeshow floor with a happy hour. These events provide unique opportunities to build important relationships with peers, vendors and potential partners.”

Connecting with visitors

One of the many high profile brands in attendance this year will be Roland DG, which will be using the event to showcase some of its latest solutions to the Americas. Dan Wilson, marketing director at Roland DGA says that the show will allow the company to do much more than just meet potential customers.



Wilson explains: “Exhibiting at the ISA Sign Expo is valuable to us, not only from a promotional and sales standpoint, but also for connecting with end users, prospective customers, dealers, partners, and members of the press.

“This show allows attendees to get a first-hand look at Roland’s latest technologies, including our most popular wide-format printers. We use this event to impress attendees with the cutting-edge capabilities of our devices, while showing visitors the kind of customer experience they can expect when they buy a Roland.”

Visitors to the Roland stand at ISA Sign Expo will be able to view various models from the firm’s range of TrueVIS series wide-format printer/cutters, as well as upgraded UV printers from the VersaUV LEF series, the VersaUV LEJ-640 flatbed, high-performance dye-sublimation printers from our Texart family, as well as the new MODELA MDX-50.



With such an array of kit on show, Wilson says this is a perfect opportunity for members of the UK market to view the latest technology, as well as solutions from a host of other companies, first-hand: “While many of the technologies and exhibitors might be found at events closer to the UK, it’s still an event that would be of interest to a UK audience.

“Many global technology providers are on hand and products are often being introduced for the first time not only in the US, but in many cases, internationally.”

Opportunity for innovation

Also exhibiting at the April show will be Avery Dennison, a regular attendee at major industry events. Jeff Losch, marketing director of Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions North America, agrees with Roland’s Wilson by saying that ISA Sign Expo is a useful exhibition for industry professionals in both the US market and further afield.

Losch says: “ISA Sign Expo is a great opportunity for sign shops and wrap installers, from the US and around the world, to see new film technologies and digital printers in action. Our goal at the Sign Expo is to share our new and recently launched graphics films for a variety of applications and talk with the customers who are using them.
 
Highlights on the Avery Dennison stand in April include the recently launched MPI 2600 Textured Wall Films and MPI 1105, the latter of which the firm has billed as a next generation digital cast film for car, vehicle, and outdoor graphics. Avery Dennison also plans to launch new finishes and films in the Supreme Wrapping Film portfolio.

O Factoid: Mandalay Bay opened in March 1997 and in addition to housing a 135,000sq ft casino and over 3,300 hotel rooms, the site features a Convention Centre and Events Centre. The latter of these has played host to major events such as the Miss Universe beauty pageant, NBA basketball games, and several events from the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts series. O

Losch adds: “We’re showing our films for windows, walls and floors in their actual applications in the booth. Renowned installer Justin Pate will demonstrate how easily and quickly Avery Dennison films are to install and we’ll encourage attendees to join the action and try installing them as well.”

Although our minds may be firmly set on events such as Sign and Digital UK, The Print Show, and even new event Signlink Live, it seems that there could be a lot gained from expanding our horizons further and taking a trip over the US. Of course, the downside to such a venture would be the cost of travel, not to mention the length of the journey, and the almost inevitable jet lag that would follow at both ends of the journey.

However, from what has been said here by the organiser, and some exhibitors, ISA Sign Expo 2017 is more than just relevant to members of the UK market—it could prove to be vital in helping some companies not only identify new technologies, but also forge partnerships with operations based overseas. If you play your cards right in Las Vegas, then you could come away with a lot more than a sun tan.


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