Chris Davies, event director for The Print Show, said: “After the success of our debut show last year, we made the decision early on to make 2016 bigger and better, and this has paid off. The Print Show 2016 was 15 percent larger than last year, with the floorplan featuring plenty of returning companies, as well as a host of new names.
“It’s important to us to have returning exhibitors as it shows how important The Print Show is to them that they can commit for two consecutive years. At the same time, it’s fantastic for us to have so many new names this year as it shows how well our debut event went and brands are keen to take advantage of the platform that we can offer.”
Returning exhibitors included the likes of Konica Minolta, Presstek, OKI, Watkiss Automation, Grafityp, RISO, IFS, Vivid Laminating and Morgana, with support from new names such as Duplo, Spandex, Friedheim International, Apex Digital Graphics, Intec and Xeretec/Xerox.
The Print Show 2016 will be 15 percent larger than last year, with the floorplan featuring plenty of returning companies, as well as a host of new names”
The Print Show 2016 will was the launch platform for a number of exhibitors, with several new technologies shown, including Duplo’s PFi DI-CUT 300 die cutter, which attracted significant interest, as well as Konica Minolta’s new AccurioPro brand.
While the many exhibitors in attendance offered plenty of innovation and ideas to visitors, The Print Show 2016 also saw the return of a number of features that once again proved a hit with visitors.
The Business Seminar Theatre played host to a series of informative sessions, while the Software Training Theatre, sponsored by Roland DG, featured input from Adobe, Corel and Quark.
Also back this year was the Traditional Print Masterclass, where visitors were able to get up close and personal with print’s past, while the Printers’ Arms, sponsored by Harrier Print, proved popular with visitors, and also welcomed snooker great Ken Doherty as its guest of honour.
New feature the Printers’ Bazaar was also a hit with visitors, hosting series of six specialist areas dedicated to sectors of the market where traditional print firms can access new work.
Meanwhile, some lucky visitors went home with fantastic prizes after winning one of a number of daily prize draws, offering holiday vouchers, luxury hampers and even a brand new printer from Epson.
If you are a wide-format print technology supplier or manufacturer exhibiting in The Print Show you will benefit especially from the co-location by having your two core customer demographics delivered to your stand”
SignLink Live Announced
Organisers also used this year’s show to launch SignLink Live, a brand new event that will run alongside The Print Show next year at The International Centre in Telford from October 11th to 13th 2017 and feature some of the biggest bands from the UK sign-making industry.
Together the two shows will take the entire venue, which spans some 10,500sq m (113,021sq ft), boasts ultra-modern facilities, and is located five minutes’ walk from a large hospitality, entertainment, hotel, and shopping complex.
A key reason for co-locating the show is that SignLink Live will provide a focussed space for all the industry’s suppliers and manufacturers that focus on sign-making products, technology, and materials other than wide-format print technology—while The Print Show 2017, as its names suggests, will look to host wide-format print technology manufacturers in addition to its core commercial print technology suppliers and manufacturers.
Event director Davies said: “If you are a wide-format print technology supplier or manufacturer exhibiting in The Print Show you will benefit especially from the co-location by having your two core customer demographics delivered to your stand.”
The International Centre will play host to The Print Show 2017 and the
co-located SignLink Live exhibition
The key focus of SignLink Live will see it place host to sign-making industry suppliers and manufacturers, the product and services of which span everything from built-up LED illuminated letters, through digital signage, to materials for wrapping buildings in graphics.
Although specific details of the new event are being kept under wraps for the time being, Davies, who will serve as event director for both shows, explains that SignLink Live will be run in a similar way to its sister show, with the focus placed on helping visitors expand and grow their business.
“SignLink Live is a perfect event to co-locate with The Print Show,” Davies said, adding: “Those in the print industry are well aware of the many crossovers between commercial print and sign-making, and running these two events alongside each other will allow visitors to look into markets on either side of the spectrum and see the opportunities that are on offer.
It is no secret that commercial printers have been diversifying into offering large-format print services for the last decade, and SignLink Live will give them the chance to see what the rest of the industry’s technology and products could offer them in terms of business diversification”
“It is no secret that commercial printers have been diversifying into offering large-format print services for the last decade, and SignLink Live will give them the chance to see what the rest of the industry’s technology and products could offer them in terms of business diversification. At the same time, SignLink Live will of course be clearly targeted at the UK’s sign-making industry, who will be able to likewise consider the diversification opportunities on offer in commercial print by visiting The Print Show.”
As it its name indicates, SignLink Live will be a physical extension of SignLink magazine, the largest trade title in the sign-making industry.
