Walk this way

‘If you build it, they will come’. Although perhaps one of the most misquoted film lines of all time, it is a phrase that has been used to describe everything from the venues for the London 2012 Olympic Games, through to new shopping centres. This phrase also rings true for The Print Show, which, since its launch in 2015, has become the must-attend event on the UK print calendar.

 
Focused on the commercial and wide-format print industries, the event hosts companies from some of the more traditional printing sectors, as well as those more familiar to the sign-making market.

This year, the event will again welcome a host of leading names from the wide-format print market, giving members of the sign industry the opportunity to catch up on the latest from this competitive, sector. For 2017 these include HP, Epson, Canon, Mimaki (Hybrid Services), Roland DG (Grafityp), EFI Vutek, Inktec Europe, and OKI coming as direct manufacturers. In addition, there are a large number of the industry’s top wide-format technology distributors at the show in the form of Colourbyte, Printmax, RGB UK, Your Print Partner, R.A. Smart, Antalis, YPS, Smart Print, Granthams, and Signmaster Systems. From finishing there will also be the likes of Vivid Laminating Systems and AXYZ International to name but two.

 
In addition, a key attraction of The Print Show this year for the sign-maker is not only the diversification opportunities that can be explored within its halls, but also of course its co-location with Signlink Live itself, which is dedicated to the UK sign-making professional.

Bigger and better

For 2017, The Print Show will switch over to the International Centre in Telford, a town that is known the locals as ‘the birthplace of industry’ and, from a quick glance at the floorplan this year, the event and this nickname go hand-in-hand with each other.

One person well placed to offer advice to returning and first-time visitors is Chris Davies, who has served as event director of The Print Show since its foundation. Looking ahead to this year’s edition, Davies is highly optimistic about what we can expect from the many exhibitors due to attend.

“The Print Show has grown in popularity each year since its launch,” Davies says, adding: “In year one, we far surpassed our initial visitor number forecasts, and were able to follow up on this last year with further growth. This shows that the UK market really does value the show and believe it is worth attending.

“However, despite the success of years one and two, we are not going to rest on our laurels. The organising team has been working since the doors closed at the end of the 2016 event to ensure that this year’s show will be bigger and better.



“Moving to the International Centre means that we have a much larger venue for The Print Show—so much so that we will also be running a new event alongside the show this year in the form of Signlink Live. Visitors can pass freely between The Print Show and Signlink Live to learn about the latest, and greatest in print and sign-making.”


Alongside the many exhibitors that will attend this year—some of which feature later on in this article—organisers have confirmed the return of various special areas of the show, which proved very popular in previous years.

One such area is the ‘Printers’ Bazaar’, which organisers have confirmed will be at The Print Show for a second consecutive year after a successful debut in 2016. This feature will once again house six areas, each of which focused on a certain sector of the industry that has been highlighted for its growth opportunities.

Visitors can drop in on the ‘Special FX Station’ for information on adding value to print, or the ‘Packaging Pavilion’, to learn more about the opportunities in this expanding sector. Also set to feature is the ‘Textile Trading Post’ for all visitors’ textile print and soft signage needs, as well as the ‘3D Print Express’, which is set to be one of the most innovative areas of the show. In addition, ‘The Branding Box’ will showcase promotional and personalised print, with the ‘The Label Loft’ looking at all things label.

Elsewhere in the International Centre, the ‘Business Seminar Theatre’ will again play host to a wide range of speakers, each of which will be offering advice and help on a number of industry issues, while the ‘Software Training Theatre’ will offer advice and training on leading programmes such as Adobe and Quark.



The ‘Traditional Print Masterclasses’ will allows visitors to cast their mind back in time and see technology that helped shape the modern print market, while ‘The Printers’ Arms’ will be back open for business, welcoming thirsty visitors and giving them a chance to recharge before heading back out to the show floor.

Davies says: “The Print Show 2017 is on track to be a record event and while we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of visitors from the print industry, we are also keen to see members of the sign-making market in October, and help them see the many opportunities available in print.”

Power of print

One of the stand-out names on the floorplan for those interested in finding out more about the latest in wide-format print is HP. The manufacturer recently revealed that it will be using The Print Show as a platform to showcase some of its large-format technologies.

Anne Sharp, large-format printing marketing manager in the UK and Ireland for HP, says: “HP sees The Print Show as a strategically important event for us this year in terms of connecting with our customers within the graphics printing market.



“HP will guide visitors through the world of applications through the HP Wall Art Suite platform, an easy and innovative web-to-print experience designed to help small-to-medium sized print-service-providers in the decoration space and explore new possibilities to express yourself through custom wallcoverings, blinds, and other applications for interiors in the HP application area.















“We will be showcasing our HP Latex technology and Page Wide XL range, with a key focus on applications both from our large-format business and Indigo business.”

Also confirmed for this year is Epson, which has had a presence at the show since its launch in 2015 through value added reseller partner Colourbyte, but has this year opted to take its own stand after a strong response from visitors in years one and two.

Colourbyte will be attending this year alongside Epson, with visitors able to switch between the two stands to see the full array of technology available on the market.

Phil McMullin, UK sales manager pro graphics at Epson UK, explains that the decision to relocate to the International Centre will be a bonus for Epson, as the manufacturer has a manufacturing facility based near to the venue.

McMullin comments: “We attended the first two shows in a very successful partnership with Epson reseller Colourbyte, but given the new location at the Telford International Centre, and Epson’s long-standing manufacturing presence in Telford, as our main European ink plant is located in the town, we decided to maximise the opportunity by attending The Print Show 2017 as Epson.

“Colourbyte generated a huge number of sales leads from both the previous exhibitions, which they converted into numerous sales of Epson large-format printers, media, and ink.”

Epson technology due to feature at The Print Show includes the Sure Color SC-S80600 and Sure Color SC-S60600 printers, both of which give users the choice of four to ten colours—including white and metallic—and up to 95.3sq m/h single-pass productivity.



For the professional photography, fine art, and proofing markets, Epson will show three printers from its Sure Color SC-P Series—the SC-P20000, SC-P8000, and SC-P5000—while the manufacturer will also display its Sure Lab D700 compact six-colour photo production printer.

In addition, those sign-making companies with a textile print focus may want to look on the Epson stand to see how students from Birmingham City University and award-winning fashion designer Richard Quinn will bring to life Epson’s textile printing solutions including the Sure Color SC-F2000 for direct-to-garment and the Sure Color SC-F6200 for dye sublimation.

McMullin adds: “The Print Show is a showcase for manufacturers and suppliers to communicate directly with print-service -providers, sharing the latest and greatest profit-making opportunities with them.”

A wider range

For more wide-format print solutions, visitors can drop in on a number of the aforementioned major resellers that will feature at The Print Show.

Michael Bolton, managing director of Printmax, comments: “For Printmax, exhibiting at The Print Show again will be about bringing new ideas to both prospective customers and existing customers alike, bringing hardware solutions capable of generating a large range of applications making for sound sense investments.

“As part of our commitment to The Print Show and Signlink Live, we will be offering free application advice and knowledge in the Promo Print Alley which is part of the Profit Factory—with an eye-opening array of printed products with which to inspire visitors.”



John de la Roche, national sales manager at Hybrid Services, adds: “Hybrid and its reseller partners will be presenting Mimaki’s latest solvent, LED UV, and textile printing and cutting systems at a range of sizes and price points as well as inspiring visitors with a host of revenue-generating applications for their print businesses to consider.


“Bringing wide-format inkjet into an existing printing business is an ideal opportunity to diversify and deliver solid revenue from day one—our team of experts will be on hand to guide you.”

Software solutions

Away from the many other examples of hardware on display this year, The Print Show will also allow visitors to find out about software solutions and how these products can help enhance the print section of a business. EFI—a brand that is synonymous with the print and wide-format markets—will be showcasing its various software solutions at the show this year, explaining to visitors how these products can benefit their business.

EFI has attended the past two editions of the show and Martin Mayo, inkjet regional sales manager for the firm, says it was an easy decision to return this year: “The business results we saw from these conversations and the visibility translated well for EFI in the UK market.

“We are confident to experience another successful Print Show—especially the co-location with Signlink Live will help broaden the audience and generate additional traction for EFI’s offering for commercial, but also, large-format digital printers.”

Mayo also revealed details of what visitors can expect on the EFI stand this year: “During The Print Show, we will mainly showcase our Productivity Software Solutions with its certified end-to-end workflows for the commercial and digital printing segment; in addition to our Fiery Server and Software portfolio.

“Additionally, we will proof our digital printing capabilities with a variety of samples produced by our inkjet printing systems.”

For those from sign-making or wide-format print backgrounds, the list of options and opportunities at The Print Show goes on. From finishing solutions from Vivid Laminating Technologies, through to even more printing kit from the likes of Grafityp, RGBUK, Canon, and OKI, there is plenty to see at the event this year.

Event director Davies concludes: “We designed The Print Show with the idea of appealing to all sectors of the print industry. Whether you are a smaller operation that offers traditional print services like leaflets and business cards, or a wide-format-focused business with customers requiring posters, banners and flags, The Print Show will be able to meet your requirements.”


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