Afterburners on!
Speaking to Neil Felton, the managing director of FESPA exhibition and events, it is clear his ambition for the wide-format print show is that it will be none other than, ‘the greatest show on earth’.
Set to kick off on June 25th at London’s Excel, describing FESPA 2013 as a, ‘wide-format print show’ is perhaps selling it short.
While its official name, the Federation of European Screen Printers Association, speaks to its roots what Felton and his team have organised is pretty staggering and highly diverse. More than 600 exhibitors will shout their wears over five days, while a host of special areas provide in-depth business intelligence on everything from how to diversify into creating promotional print products, through to breaking the textile print sector and vehicle wrapping.
The main man at the show is also not short of passion, as he explains: “I can’t think of anywhere else in the world, in 2013, where printers are going to be able to meet hundreds of exhibitors, see more than 120 new product launches or kit, and get free education from the leading printers, brands, and agencies in the world.”
He continues: “And just by the fact that they are visiting the show, printers are already helping their community, because all the money that we make from the show is reinvested back into the industry.”
Robert Horne’s product development manager, Steve Pete, highlights that the influx of commercial print companies into the wide-format print sector has had a tangible effect on the development of the technology in areas like software and productivity
Leave the holding pattern
A key factor that is affecting visitor numbers for many exhibitions is that competition is so tight and the economy so slow—many business owners find it very difficult to justify spending two or three days out of their business, often using the internet and trade media to do extensive research to source new technology before heading out to see distributors.
Felton believes this is a false economy: “A print-service-provider (PSP)?planning to source up to five bits of kit over the next few months would need to invest around two or three days of their time going around seeing every one of those companies individually. The same PSP can actually save money and a whole lot of time by coming to FESPA to see and speak to all the key companies, under the one roof, including the substrates and software companies.”
This is a viewpoint shared by Steve Peet, product development manager at Robert Horne. The company is in the enviable position of spanning the visual communications industry with its parent company Paperlinx Group, with the corporation supplying every-thing from high-grade paper for glossy magazines through to recyclable material for banners and graphics vinyl.
Urban cool: This wall wrap uses Arlon DPF 8000, Spandex’ general manager, Leon Watson, says demand for media that can achieve this type of application is on the rise
Peet explains that a show like FESPA provides something that is just not possible to obtain without attending such events: “This year there has been some huge changes within the Paperlinx group and we are taking the opportunity to convey to the customer what this means to them, and we are encapsulating everything that is ‘Paperlinx’ in terms of product, service, support, and development. So the Paperlinx stand does not just have samples of materials or machines, it also tells the ‘story’ of our offering, which will convey to our customers why Paperlinx adds value to their business.”
Speaking to Peet about what kind of a return on investment (ROI) exhibitions like FESPA now provide for its exhibitors, and why they are attending, he explains that it is person-to-person experience that just cannot be replicated through any other form of marketing.
“We are a global company and having so many international visitors at FESPA provides a great platform for us; it gives our customers from the UK, Europe and further a field, the opportunity to meet us and learn about the broad depth of products and brands we have to offer,” says Peet, who adds: “FESPA is very well attended by customers and manufacturers alike and this is one reason why Paperlinx are exhibiting. Visitors to FESPA expect to see something new, and Paperlinx have technological innovation, workflow solutions, services, and products to talk to them about. FESPA is as compelling to exhibitors as it is to visitors of the show.”
Flying free
Another key player in the sign and display market that has targeted FESPA 2013 as a base to expand its market share across the visual communications industry is Bristol-based Spandex. Its footprint at show will see it occupy two stands, with its own Image Perfect brand occupying a separate space.
“Spandex has a multi-brand philosophy, and the separate Image Perfect stand is there to promote the specific opportunities associated with it and support the general Spandex activity. The brand has a huge range of sign-making and digital media products, but we also want to showcase to visitors opportunities such as window graphics and textile options. Our focus is also to make those core sign-making products more innovative and have more value to the end-user—so they are easier to use, more attractive, and better quality,” explains Steve Jacques, Image Perfect product sales manager.
He adds: “From a standalone perspective, one of our principal drivers at FESPA is to locate new distribution partners. Historically, Image Perfect has been a product that has been exclusively distributed through Spandex, but we are now looking to expand the areas it reaches. So we are using the show effectively as a launchpad to attract those new partners for us.”
Leon Watson, general manager of Spandex, one of the sign industry’s most diversified supply companies, is very clear about the value of such an exhibition and his objectives for the show: “We want to showcase Spandex as a business by allowing visitors to explore our house of brands. The potential of commercial printers coming to the show looking to diversify into wide-format printing is without doubt and is an ongoing trend. I went down to my local copy shop the other day and it is now doing everything from posters to large-scale banners, essentially making it a sign company. So the materials that Spandex supply in terms of hardware and materials are very applicable to those companies.”
Stop and stare: Spandex Image Perfect 3500 intermediate film creates attractive window graphics
Indeed, FESPA 2013 will see Spandex launch its Super Seven range of media specifically designed to address this new breed of ‘sign-maker’ in partnership with Ilford.
Watson continues: “If we look at the sign-makers and graphics houses that have been in the wide-format space for a long time now, then we find an element of our product portfolio will go into the vast majority of these businesses. Our mission at FESPA will be to show these companies how they can move their business on and take advantage of the latest technology we have in store to strengthen their business and improve the quality and creativity of its output.”
While Spandex has a wide array of brands under its umbrella, two key new offerings at FESPA 2013 will be from the flatbed arena in the form of Swiss-Q-Print with its new Nyala printer and Zund with its latest cutting technology.
“We can offer very productive turnkey solutions for both the large commercial printer and sign-maker. With seven years under our belts offering UV systems from Gerber and Durst, we decided to change strategy about two and half years ago. We wanted to be able to offer systems that allow the machine to grow as the customer grows, so being able to put in more channels, more heads, spot colours, varnishes, and whites. To cater for this specific demand the Swiss-Q-Print was the stand out option.”
London in-bound
Printing art canvasses for commercial and hospitality spaces is an easy business for any print-service-provider to set up, and provides very high profit margins
While FESPA as an organisation is based in the UK, just outside the M25 orbital in Reigate, it has based most of its shows in Europe, and has expanded into emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, and Asia. The move back to the UK is a major one for the association and is perhaps a testament to its confidence in the region’s return to growth.
“The show has not been to UK shores for a very long time. The UK audience always features in our top five no matter where we run it in Europe,” says Felton, who adds: “Therefore we know we have a very loyal fan base. We are also headquartered in the UK and so understand the market very well in this region, and particularly as London is the creative hub for print, graphic arts and advertising agencies and organisations.”
A trend that has provided a new stream of visitors to FESPA’s events throughout Europe and should bolster its numbers for the 2013 show, is the increasing number of commercial printers diversifying and incorporating wide-format digital print into their business model. Indeed, some 25 percent of former UK-based litho-only companies will have a wide-format arm by the end of the 2014 (source BAPC 2012 conference). This begs the question: If this trend continues, will it start to threaten sections of our industry through a market that is saturated with competition?
The same PSP can actually save money and a whole lot of time by coming to FESPA to see and speak to all the key companies—all under the one roof, including the substrates and software companies”
Like Paperlinx, Antalis is another company that has a footprint which spans the visual communications industry. I put this question to Michael Crook, product manager for its sign and display division: “I think the experienced sign-makers and industry professionals are now gearing up towards different applications that require in-depth knowledge on the fittings side of things. This spans jobs like interior fit-outs and architectural installations, that you need the contacts and specific knowledge for.
“This will continue to run alongside the day-to-day sign and graphics side of things. Commercial printers are building up their knowledge by moving into exhibition graphics, posters, and canvasses. I think in time things will stabilise and different sections of these industries will have their own set of products and areas they get involved with and those they don’t. There is enough room for everyone to enter new markets at a certain level and offer customers something niche.
“I don’t think it will ever be the case that you have hundreds of companies that all offer everything from A4 books to grand-format signs. This will only generally be the case for the very largest companies that have the capabilities to spread themselves out across several disciplines. It is more likely the case that tie ups between companies in these two spheres becomes more common place and draw on each others services to retain customers.”
Felton also weighed in on the topic: “I think it’s not just about commercial printers; it’s actually about a whole variety of different opportunities that wide-format printers traditionally had.
“Wide-format printers are a very innovative bunch of people and they absorb technology very, very well. It is also quite a profitable market and that is why commercial printers are interested in wide-format printing. But today it’s also about promotional print, it’s about industrial print, and it’s about a wide variety of applications, and that’s where the market is moving. It is more about the application rather than the print process.”
Change of heading
What Felton is alluding to in this last comment is that a major change is taking place, seeing the boundaries of what defines each separate sphere of the visual communications industry start to fall.
For instance, instead of a company selling a particular set of products and services that define it as part of the ‘sign industry’, this looks set to reverse. Instead, it will be the equipment and knowledge that each business has that will define what type of products they sell and who they sell it to.
Antalis will bring its Coala range to FESPA 2013, a key product line for the company as it continues its expansion into supplying wide-format print media
“The campaign theme for FESPA 2013 ‘Your Destination for Print’, underlines FESPA’s aim to make this years’ show a global event, guiding visitors towards a vast number of business destinations,” explains Felton.
He continues: “At FESPA we’re focused on creating inspiring events that motivate our global community of printers to drive their business forward. The image of FESPA as the ‘airline carrier’ which transports and guides the visitor emphasises this philosophy.
“There are so many different audience groups heading to FESPA. For example: wide-format printers planning to visit the Promotional Products Business Academy to see if there are ways they can move into this area, commercial printers checking out the wide-format opportunities, and sign-makers and corporates looking at sign-making and also general printing.
“We want visitors to experience London 2013 as a point of connection where they can continue their business journey.”
Back on the question of whether diversified commercial printers are becoming an increasing threat to the ‘traditional’ sign-maker, Spandex’s Watson believes this couldn’t be further from the truth: “If you look at a commercial printer that buys a large piece of equipment such as a Swiss-Q-Print, they will not be using it to tap into the same growth market as a sign-maker. The latter are concerned largely with supplying wide-format print as part of fitting and fabricating signs for larger technical projects. They also use their wide-format print capability for applications like vehicle wrapping that a commercial printer would not necessarily consider.”
Trompe O’leil: This innovative project used wide-format digitally printed wall graphics to bring a cultural space to life
On this note, Spandex has organised a fun competition dubbed, ‘Win a Vespa at Fespa’. Rather than wrapping an elite car on the stand, the supplier is taking this section of its stand back to 1960’s Carnaby Street, and will be showing the capabilities of its vehicle vinyl brands, which include 3M, Avery, Arlon, and Image Perfect, and encom-passes more than 170 colour change films.
Watson concludes: “As the market continues to change and become more competitive, the big players don’t want to just go out and buy a £250,000 machine. They want a partner that will help them understand the market, the technology, the application side of the business, and guide them through the various communications channels of which signage is one, and that’s where we try to pitch ourselves.”
Multiple connections
Afterburners on!
Robert Horne’s Peet also believes that with an overview of the industry, there are some very interesting trends that need to be taken heed of: “Quality and colour are and always have been important, but the customer is more discerning than ever before. It’s just not good enough to have the fastest any longer; customers are not prepared to compromise. They want speed, accuracy and quality in all the equipment they purchase.”
I went down to my local copy shop the other day and it is now doing everything from posters to large-scale banners—essentially making it a sign company”
Antalis’ Crook highlights its presence at the show will reflect this fact and be tailored to accommodate a range of businesses from different industries: “We may be relatively new to the sign-trade, but we aim to help our customers understand how to build our products into their business and grow. We have also very carefully picked the brands that we stock, and whatever their application need we can accommodate it.”
Crook continues: “Our stand will be split into key brands and application areas. We are trying to promote the core of what we do in sign and display, but also bring in the innovative products that we already have in stock that will be of interest to a much wider audience looking to diversify their businesses. A key element of this is our Coala range, which has a wide variety of different application possibilities for anyone with wide-format print capability from water-based, to latex, and UV.
“For sign-makers our offering will also see us highlight the benefits and creative possibilities of the 3A family of products, as well as the Orafol range of plotter, digital, screen, and self-adhesive vinyls. We will also be showcasing an extensive range of finishing materials, laminates, and mount films.”
Chocks away
FESPA 2013 is not just about the exhibitors and new kit—this years show will also see a host of interesting features for visitors. Print Inspiration Runway will see a huge variety of creative print applications to, as Felton points out, ‘get the juices flowing’.
Moving on from this area, visitors will be able to visit the Creative Corner, where beautiful print projects will act as a backdrop for big name brands, such as Coca Cola, to explain about how they interact with print.
The Wrap Cup Masters Series Grande Finale will also take place at the show, with 28 regional finalists going head-to-head over three days to capture the now coveted ‘Masters Champion’ trophy.
The Promotional Products Business Academy will also act as a platform to ‘concentrate minds’ on the diversification opportunities of wide-format print. And last but not least, the Jet Set Conference will also see a wide variety of business intelligence disseminated.
All these elements are in addition to popular ‘show-within-a-show’ FESPA Fabric, which services those exploring the garment printing and decoration sectors. This element will also see the Pilot’s Briefing Zone based within it, which will offer visitors insight into, ‘advanced garment design trends and decoration techniques’. Delegates will also be able to attend free presentations and demonstrations as well as hands-on interactive workshop sessions in this area.
Antalis’ Crook highlights that giving visitors such ‘inspiration’ works well for exhibitors that are themselves trying to educate customers about the value of their companies products and services: “Over the last twelve months we have worked hard and now Antalis is a much more serious player in the sign and display market, as we are already well known within the print sector.
There is enough room for everyone to enter new markets at a certain level and offer customers something niche”
“We are a little bit different in that we have a very tight range of products from all the key brands that are well known as, ‘best in class’ for a number of years, and really it’s about making visitors aware of who we are and what they can achieve with us.”
Indeed, Antalis has a very structured approach to helping its customers, seeing it set-up an academy at its headquarters to showcase the plethora of applications and products that can be produced with different levels of wide-format digital print technology. At the core of its strategy is a consultative approach, something it aims to transplant to FESPA 2013, where its representatives analyse each customer’s business individually and help them identify new markets and grow.
Touch down
With his overview of the market, Felton is in an ideal place to see what key market sectors are ripe for the picking.
Asked which stands out as his ‘hot pick’, he explains this is no easy task: “That’s far too difficult to answer simply as there are such a breadth of applications and trends which are developing. You could say interiors is very hot at the moment, and a really interesting sector of the market, or digital print for vehicle wrapping, as it is growing substantially.
“There is also a massive opportunity for the members of our industry from across the visual communications spectrum to come to FESPA to see the destination possibilities that they could head to with print technology. And if they come with an open mind they can find a whole host of new ideas that will help them expand their business.”
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