This year, manufacturers and businesses are trying something new, and one of those companies is RA Smart and REXframe. For the first time, RA Smart has not brought any kit but have focused fully on its new frame system. Alex Mighall, market development manager for RA Smart and product manager for REXframe, comments that it has been a good few days for the company at The Print Show, with a number of leads, including interest from larger companies that want to get involved.

For several exhibitors, it was also the first time showcasing products at The Print Show. Trotec celebrated its first year at the event, and demonstrated laser cutting abilities. Bryan Jater, national sales manager for Trotec, says: “This is our first time at The Print Show, so we’ve only taken a small stand this year and is very much a toe in the water for us. We just bought one machine, but we have videos of other machines that we supply as well, and we are displaying laser cutting onto printed media.

“In the print market, print technology has evolved so much over the last few years, that some of the previous cutting techniques are not viable for new substrates that you can print on because historically most people were printing on soft products, fabrics and vinyls, and now people are printing onto doors and thick pieces of acrylic, so that’s where laser comes into it. Laser can handle the substrates that some of the other various cutting systems can’t.”

Julia and Paul Hughes of Sign-making tools, which has supported The Print Show all four years

Without The Sign Show running this year, it was all geared up for The Print Show to take centre stage, which it definitely did. However, sign-makers were also able to benefit from a number of stands, and as the lovable couple from Sign-making Tools put it, they are ‘like the sweet shop of The Print Show’. Paul and Julia Hughes have supported the exhibition since it has started, and comments: “Because the show is based more towards printers, they’re buying into wide-format. They buy a machine, they perhaps buy it for a specific job and they just need to add this on, do that and now it’s like ‘oh we’ve got nothing to cut the substrate, what do we do with that? We’ve got all this media falling over, we need some racks. We need all the bits and tools.’ We can solve their problems.”

Julia Hughes adds: “We know it’s a market we can sell to. People come to us because we are seen as the sweet shop of the show, because we’ve got little bits to pick up and try, they can ask questions like, ‘I’ve got this job, how would you tackle it?’”

The team at Atlantic Tech Services

The Print Show smashed its visitor numbers this year, falling just shy of that glorious 6000 mark by 14 people, but there is no sugar coating it – it was quiet in the mornings. Maybe people in the print industry don’t like to get up that early?

But while some do not like to spring out of bed at 6am to drive to Birmingham, there were sales happening everywhere. Even on the first day, where binding specialists Renz sold kit worth almost £40,000. Konica Minolta were also part of the spoils, selling £90,000 worth of its latest machines.

But it’s the quality of visitors that are making the journey to The Print Show each year that really matters, as highlighted by Keith Pratt, managing director of Atlantic Tech Services. He says: “I think that all shows are changing in the amount of people that turn up to them. What happens is that you get to speak to people that are more interested in investing in new equipment, consumables and services than you would at, shall we say, exhibitions a few years ago.”

So, The Print Show has enjoyed its most successful year yet, its highest footfall since its first show in 2015, and a number of sales that equate to an eye-watering total. Why is this then? Well, I think that while exhibitors will always want and expect the highest number of visitors possible (and this is completely okay) manufacturers and businesses understand that in this day and age, it is quality over quantity. And I think The Print Show provides just that.

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