The Print Show 2020 will take place from September 27th to 29th in Halls 7 and 8 of the NEC in Birmingham, once again showcasing a wide range of solutions from across the print industry.

After a successful 2019 event, several companies have beat the rush and signed up to exhibit again next September. Vivid Laminating Technologies, The Magic Touch, Axzyra, Ribbon Writer, Versatility in Print and Ribbon Printer have all booked stands for 2020.

Reflecting on the decision to sign up almost a year before the 2020 show opens, Richard Marlow, sales director at Vivid Laminating Technologies, said after such a positive response in 2019, it was “impossible not to commit to the 2020 show”.

“After the success we had this year, we’re hopeful of more of the same next time round,” Marlow said. “By then, we’ll have plenty on new innovations to show visitors, which will hopefully have the same impact as the Velo Blade had this time round.

“Day one was a record-breaking day of sales for us, the most we’ve ever sold on a single day at a UK show, which was incredibly pleasing and affirmed to us the importance of exhibiting at The Print Show.

“Day one seemed to set the tone for the remainder of the show. We seemed to be busy throughout the show with lots of interest in the Vivid range. In fact, we broke another record, our total number of leads from a UK show.”

Another early booking for 2020 is The Magic Touch, which will return after a hugely successful 2019 show. Managing director Jim Nicol said the attendance numbers and the calibre of visitors “ticked all the boxes” for The Magic Touch in 2019.

Nicol said: “We are still following up the various leads but will easily exceed our sales target from the previous years. In particular, we were very impressed by new business generated from people and companies that previously were not on our radar.

“We have booked for 2020 simply as we consider this event as potentially the premium print industry exhibition, and with the addition of The Sign Show alongside, we see a great opportunity for both markets.”

Nicol also spoke about the benefit of adding a weekend day in 2020: “The bold move by the organisers to incorporate a Sunday to the show is great. We have over 28 years of experience in exhibiting all over the world and all shows that incorporate a weekend day have flourished and grown beyond expectations.

“This was confirmed only last week at Viscom in Milan where the Saturday was the busiest day for visitors, again. These are visitors spending their money, not the company’s money.

“Combining the show around a weekend makes more sense now with so many affordable hotels available within the NEC/Birmingham area visitors can stay the night before or evening after making their visit more relaxed and planned.”

Also returning next year is Axzyra, and managing director, Steve Woods, said a key draw for the 2020 show is the organisers’ desire to constantly evolve the event.

Woods said: “The Print Show is always an event we look forward to and is our main annual showcase for the Apache UV Flatbed range. We have a variety of new visitors mixed in with returning customers and appointments, while we top up our lead pool and newsletter subscriptions, leading to sales over the next 12-18 months.

“For next year, I’m excited to hear about the show evolving and its new features. It will be interesting to see if the weekend and early week format works. I am all behind new ideas to freshen up the industry.”

More positive feedback

A host of other exhibitors from the 2019 event have also spoken out about their experiences at the show. Phil Oakley, regional business manager, large-format printing at the HP Graphics Solutions Business, said he was very pleased with HP’s presence at The Print Show 2019.

Oakley said: “Our marketing team did a fantastic job, positioning us well and creating an attractive stand for delegates. Organisers of the show also deserve credit for building a truly great experience through the use of genuinely interesting guest speakers, the Golden Ticket feature and book signings.

“I think next year, we as vendors and exhibitors at the show have a responsibility to match that level of creativity and wow attendees.”

Phil McMullin, sales manager, ProGraphics, at Epson UK, was also full of praise for The Print Show, saying: “Leads taken at the show across all of our product lines we 50% up on 2018; we are now working with our value added partners to convert leads into sales. Working with our partners at the show, Colourbyte and RGB, we closed a number of sales at the show.”

Elsewhere, Chris Martin, head of sales and leading kit supplier printMAX, said: “The Print Show really exceeded our expectations this year; not only was it great in terms of business, but the actual event itself was brilliantly engaging and had a real buzz.

“It was, and is always, a fantastic opportunity to meet with customers both old and new, as well as to showcase some superb technology with our unparalleled service, knowledge and team attitude. We really enjoyed all three days and it most our most successful show so far.”

Brett Newman, chief operations manager at Hybrid Services, Mimaki’s exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland, also said: “The Print Show was a great platform for the UK, European and worldwide Mimaki launches that were hosted by Hybrid.

“There was terrific interest in the Mimaki SWJ-320EA super-wide format solvent printer and the Mimaki JV300Plus series printer and CJV300Plus printer/cutter which were debuted at the show, as well as the other latest printing technology from Mimaki that was featured on the stand.”

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