Epson’s new Sure Color printers take the firm to the peak of the solvent printing market as they sold like hot cakes at FESPA and are the result of incremental gains made across the face of the print technology
Holland is a country that is unique among European nations in that its culture is an enigma that is difficult to penetrate unless you actually live there. And its capital city of Amsterdam is likewise a colourful, eccentric, and often slightly psychedelic place to visit. So it is fitting that a region that embraces diversity so readily played host to an exhibition that has holds such an ethos very close to its heart.
Hollanders
Printing Systems produced a vast array of textile print samples for its both. Pictured: Peter Hollanders, founder of Hollanders Printing Systems
The SignLink team was out at FESPA for its full four days and walked across the length and breadth of its core event and satellite areas recording a special series of video interviews that were intended to capture the essence of this mecca of all things wide-format digital print and sign. These can be found by heading on over to www.sign7tv.com and searching ‘Fespa’. The aim of this cinematic documentation was to try and convey just what a pivotal place this event now places in the European, if not the world’s, sign, graphics, and commercial print industries.
In the first part of this series I will focus on why FESPA has attained its current status, and in part two we will analyse some of the most important technology releases at the event. It must be highlighted though that the Mimaki UJV55-320 (see p62), was perhaps the single most talked about printer across the four days of the show, selling out its entire European allocation of machines in the first two days alone.
We have had customers from as far afield as Australia that are here to see all of the technology they need to run their business under one roof, and that is the magic of FESPA, its floorplan is an honest reflection of the market and the majority of its visitors are end-users here to research, make deals, and buy equipment”
My own mission saw me chart a course around a diverse range of suppliers and manufacturers, where I heard unilaterally that FESPA is now not just an industry event, but an event that shapes our industry, sets prices, stimulates its economy, and drives technological development.
“We have had customers from as far afield as Australia that are here to see all of the technology they need to run their business under one roof, and that is the magic of FESPA, its floorplan is an honest reflection of the market and the majority of its visitors are end-users here to research, make deals, and buy equipment,” says Duncan Smith, sales director at Brett Martin.
FESPA is always filled with an array of interesting pieces of kit you never knew
existed. Pictured: Anajet, which is now owned by digital print giant Ricoh, is one
of the fastest growing direct-to-garment printer manufactures in Europe
Brett Martin is the manufacturer of the well-regarded Foamalux range of rigid foam PVC sheet products that is distributed in the UK through Europoint International. Its latest barn storming invention though is Coexcell, a premium printing, cladding and fabrication sheet that comprises a co-extruded solid PVC skin and foamed PVC core. This means it can be machined into signage, overprinted, and fabricated without losing its structural integrity, while remaining light-weight.
My next stop on my tour of FESPA took me to the HP stand, which had thrown the kitchen sink at this exhibition by bringing almost its entire technology portfolio, all except its Indigo production print platforms.
Speaking to the firm’s Ana Perea, who is EMEA large-format marketing manager, she explained the motivation for its huge presence: “We are here to answer the demands of the market and provide technology that allows print-service-providers of every size the value added margin they need to achieve a sustainably successful business.” Indeed, HP’s stand was like a cross between a high-end design show-room and a photographic gallery. Decking the walls were ultra-high definition canvases, printed wall-paper, and a vast range of high value print products—all designed to inspire the thousands of visitors walking across its stand to pursue products that offer higher margins than your standard poster, banner, or hoarding graphic.
We are here to answer the demands of the market and provide technology that allows print-service-providers of every size the value added margin they need to achieve a sustainably successful business”
It is this kaleidoscopic approach to marketing and customer-engagement that makes FESPA such an overwhelming and yet insightful experience for the visitor, or reporter in this case. The cacophony of technology, materials, software and service providers are all doing two things, trying to draw in visitors to the unique selling points of their products, whilst at the same time trying to outdo their competition. It can also work to the disadvantage of some exhibitors though, which have not got a strong enough marketing message, or who’s stands are dwarfed by the giant exhibitors.
Mimaki’s
Mike Horsten was ebullient about the new UJV55-320, while the company's double-tiered booth
drew a lot of attention
“This is a mature industry now, and the visitors really know what they are looking at,” says Richard Barrow, senior product manager at Epson Europe. He continues: “FESPA really has exceeded our expectations in terms of the interest in and sale of our new SC printers (see
SignLink March p54). They are much better systems across the board than their predecessors and are the product of incremental advances that span every single facet of this technology.”
Concluding his estimation of the show, Barrow perhaps best sums up what this reporter heard time and again when speaking to a number of exhibitors: “What FESPA does so well is bring a very wide gamut of end users together from across Europe, in addition to those that travel from across the world. It means we can showcase the potential of our technology to businesses we would never have been otherwise able to reach.”
So, in the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen, ‘you can’t start a fire without a spare’, and so I would advise it is well worth taking some time out to listen to the wise heads we interviewed out at FESPA and discover how to ignited your businesses’ potential.
Sign7 News was given a special Interview from FESPA 2016 with head man Neil Felton
If you have an interesting story or a view on this news, then please e-mail
news@signlink.co.uk
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