PRINT 13 EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

All eyes were on PRINT 13 (September 8^th through 12^th at McCormick Place in Chicago, USA) to test the validity of print trade shows in an era of always-connected mobile access. Combined with the CPP (Converting & Package Printing) EXPO, the PRINT 13 show runs once every four years and is a day longer than Graph Expo. This year’s event was a true test of the industry’s willingness to support a large printing trade show, and from my perspective it clearly got a passing grade.

One of the undertones leading up to the show has been whether smaller, more focused events should replace larger shows. Yes, smaller events, user conferences and regional shows are essential and we will see more of these in the future. But make no mistake, international and national shows are key to the ecosystem of this industry. The return on investment for attendees, exhibitors, the press and consultants is clear.

“MY HOPE IS THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL CONTINUE TO UPHOLD THE VALUES THAT HAVE DEFINED OUR COMPANY WHILE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE IN THE PRINT AND SIGNAGE INDUSTRY.”

PROPAK CONTINUES TO DRIVE INNOVATION AND CHANGE IN MANUFACTURING VALUE-CHAIN IN WEST AFRICA

One variable you must consider for attending or exhibiting at an event like PRINT, IPEX, DRUPA or any show is the intangibles. If you can’t place a value on the in-person meetings, networking or touching of products then your ROI calculation will be wrong. No show will ever be perfect, but we are very fortunate in this industry to have well-run show organizers.

The theme for this year’s show was “Innovate. Integrate. Communicate.” There was an excitement in the air linked to all things digital and emerging opportunities for service providers to participate in new markets and applications while reducing costs through streamlined operations. There is no question in my mind that PRINT 13 participants had the opportunity to interact with suppliers and explore new ways to innovate, integrate, and expand communication alternatives.

Innovation frequently links to an expansion in digital solutions. Digital providers were the clear leaders in firms that invested in PRINT 13. An analysis of the show floor map revealed the following top 10 listing of exhibitors based on the square footage of their booths:

Not far out of the top ten were Bell & Howell, Müller Martini, Pitney Bowes, Epson, KBA, Xeikon, Duplo, and Kern.

Hardware Announcements

While there was great emphasis on solutions and workflow, PRINT 13 wouldn’t be a print show without some printing equipment spitting out pages. A few highlights from the hardware portion of the show included:

B2 format digital print (and larger): drupa 2012 was the place for many product announcements and technology demonstrations related to B2-format digital print. PRINT 13 provided an opportunity for attendees to see the Konica Minolta KM-1/Komori IS29.
Cut-sheet production digital inkjet: Canon’s technology demonstration of “Niagara,” a B3-format cut-sheet inkjet printer, was announced shortly before the show and drew a lot of attention. RISO, which was the first to offer production speed inkjet devices, demonstrated expanded finishing and other options for its ComColor series.
Effects beyond four-color: MGI and Scodix have both been building momentum with their UV inkjet value-add product offerings and PRINT 13. Both companies clearly demonstrated that there is room in the market for “enhanced printing” for creative applications. Oki Data’s announcement of five-color capability (CMYK plus clear or white) for its C941dn is another example of how vendors are expanding capabilities beyond four colors. Extensive four-color plus options from HP Indigo and Xeikon will also be on display.
Offset/inkjet imprinting: High-speed monochrome and color imprinting heads from companies like HP, Kodak, MCS, and Xerox/Impika illustrated the manufacturing capabilities of offset while providing personalization capabilities. PRINT 13 was a great place to see these products in action.
Large Format: Commercial printers of all sizes are assessing the role of large format in their solutions portfolios, and a number of options and alternatives were available. Canon was showcasing its Arizona 660 XT and ColorWave 900. EFI demonstrated the EFI R3225 superwide format printer, the VUTEk GS2000LX device, and VUTEk HS100 Pro superwide format products with LED technology and a new VUTEk GS-TF thermoforming system. HP showcased the HP Latex 3000 for the first time in the United States. The company also featured its Designjet Z5400 Postscript ePrinter, which is targeted toward the quick print market. Meanwhile, Xerox debuted its Wide Format IJP 2000.
Integrated in-line finishing: One of the big values of digital print is the ability to perform multiple functions with a single operator. Nowhere is this clearer than with integrated in-line finishing. There were many examples of this across the show floor from exhibitors such as Bell & Howell, Duplo, Kern, Müller Martini, Pitney Bowes, and Standard. Edge-to-edge digital printing is an attractive concept because of its ability to eliminate the need to trim after printing.

Software Announcements
Integration, automation, and application solutions are at the cornerstone of profitability for the printing industry. PRINT 13 showcased technological advances for printers of all sizes. Vendors demonstrated a myriad of alternatives to support streamlining operations and participating in new revenue opportunities. Although not inclusive, the following is a sampling of new software solutions and enhancements demonstrated at PRINT 13:

Advancements in Workflow Management: In the months prior to PRINT 13, there were a number of new product announcements and advancements surrounding production workflow management solutions. Kodak introduced Prinergy 6, which includes the latest PREPS Imposition Software version 7, COLORFLOW version 2, and INSITE prepress portal version 6.6, as well as its new productivity-focused interface, Workspace. While Kodak did not have a booth at PRINT 2013 this year, the company demonstrated the latest advancements to Prinergy 6 at Konica Minolta’s booth. Ricoh Americas demonstrated the latest developments to its production workflow management solution, TotalFlow 2.0. Included in the latest release of TotalFlow 2.0 are TotalFlow Prep, TotalFlow Print Manager version 2, and TotalFlow Production Manager. Xerox introduced its next generation of workflow solutions called FreeFlow Core. This new platform is the core engine that enables automated and integrated solutions across in a modular scalable approach. It is designed to fuel growth in organizations of all sizes, from the small independent print shops to large multinational corporations. It has a series of modules including advanced prepress and automation to FreeFlow Digital Publisher for integrating print and rich media applications.
Movement to the Cloud: Another major industry trend in the production software space is the movement toward enabling products and services to be accessed in the Cloud for ease of implementation and affordability. Cloud-enabled workflows began gaining a lot of attention and momentum during 2012. At PRINT 13, this trend continued with announcements from a handful of vendors about new and existing solutions being offered in the Cloud. Hybrid Software demonstrated the newest solution to its Order Lifecycle Management (OLM) suite of tools, CloudFlow. CloudFlow is a private Cloud-based production workflow management solution intended for label and packaging, wide format, and commercial printing environments. Avanti made some exciting moves to the Cloud with its latest Slingshot print MIS solution. Avanti Slingshot is open to multiple delivery models (public, private, hybrid Cloud, as well as vendor hosted), but by default will primarily be offered as a public Cloud-based solution for commercial, in-plant, and franchise print production environments. GMG demonstrated CoZone, which was first introduced at Graph Expo last year. GMG CoZone now incorporates the Cloud with the new Collaborate module for managing, reviewing, proofing, and approving graphic arts content.
Solutions are the Key to Success: The drive for expanded marketing services continues. Across the show floor, vendors demonstrated how equipment plus software would open new revenue opportunities. XMPie showcased several new features with uStore 8, the core software component of PersonalEffect StoreFlow offering, including a mobile-friendly portal design and a wizard-based skin creation to customize the portal experience. Advancements in the realm of personalization focused on the creation of personalized maps that can be incorporated in cross-media marketing campaigns. locr GMBH has been making headway in the U.S. market since announcing a partnership with XMPie to support the XMPie Mapping Service. locr maps highlighted strategic partnerships developed with GMC and Pageflex at the show, and also formally announced plans to expand its presence in the United States. Konica Minolta demonstrated its full array of EnvisionIT Production solutions and services, which offer the capabilities commercial printers need to improve productivity and increase profitability. Konica Minolta had a dedicated “Solutions Circle” where visitors could learn more about the company’s All Covered IT Service offerings, including Cloud services, managed IT services, EngageIT Automation, EngageITXMedia, and Dispatcher Phoenix Professional Solution.

The Bottom Line

Service providers that attended PRINT 13 found the show packed with answers on techniques for expanding capabilities. This year’s event clearly focused on all things digital, while also highlighting the need to blend equipment technology with workflow and software to drive profitability. This industry is changing very quickly, and vendors across the floor stepped up to the challenge of addressing the need for innovation, integration, and new techniques for communications.

I am so energized after the PRINT show this week in Chicago. Nothing will ever replace face to face interaction with peers, customers and suppliers. So good to see our WhatTheyThink team as many are spread in the far corners of the earth.

Figure 1: PRINT 13 Exhibitor Rank by Booth Size

– GASC with Ralph Nappi at the helm, Messe Dusseldorf Group, Informa Exhibitions and others.

No Matter What Its Critics Say, Print Is Doing Just Fine, Thank You

Ah, the travails of traditional media. Who among us hasn’t stifled a groan, or at least a yawn, upon being reminded by the digerati that the path ahead for print leads nowhere else but down? But, the traditional media aren’t the only ones being disrupted by what’s been happening in the communications marketplace.

Digitizing information delivery doesn’t necessarily mean improving information delivery. Internet analytics provider comScore recently reported that of nearly 6 trillion display ad impressions sent across the web in 2012, 3 ads in 10 were never “rendered-in-view”: that is, actually seen by anyone. The results of this inefficiency, said comScore, were “significant waste, weaker campaign performance and a glut of poor-performing inventory that imbalances the supply-and-demand equation and depresses CPMs.”

Nothing is immune to criticism, and the digital media have been around long enough now for some of them to start falling out of favor. For example, comScore has noted attrition in e-mail use as consumers shift to social media and alternate channels. Other sources have reported that Americans now spend more time on social networks than at web portals. And, as the amount of time that consumers spend with their mobile devices increases, time spent with all of the other channels decreases.

Without doubt, print has taken its share of the lumps in the communications upheaval brought about by the rise of the Internet and, most recently, by our infatuation with mobile. But, print has been made stronger by what it’s endured, and it may be better positioned than some of the other media to profit from change still to come.

Here at Print 13, we’re seeing new printing processes and process improvements that could not have come along at a more opportune time. At the Xerox booth, the winning entries in the company’s Best-of-the-Best Contest showcase a medium that has learned how to be personalized, relevant, engaging, and cost-efficient—the virtues that today’s communications marketplace requires of all its channels. Print’s high profile among the media also is the theme of “Print Wins,” an awareness campaign kicked off by Jeff Jacobson, president of Xerox Global Graphic Communications Operations, in this post at the company’s “Digital Hot Spot” blog.

Although the distribution of some kinds of information has shifted away from hard copy, print still can be a medium of choice for what venture capitalist Mary Meeker has called the“Asset-Light Generation”: free-spirited consumers eager to find digitally-enabled alternatives to traditional patterns of property ownership and use.

These consumers will not use as much print as their forebears did. But, they will embrace printed matter that speaks to them of ways they can have it all by having less in the unencumbered lifestyles that Meeker tells us they crave.

Another watcher of digital trends, the techno-futurist Henry Blodget, expresses the opportunity this way: “What does history teach us? As habits change, the money follows.” Right now, Print 13 is the best place on earth to look for solutions that will give print its best shot at re-engaging with consumers, confounding its critics, and proving once again that the smart money still is following ink and toner on paper.

PRINT 13 GARNERS UPBEAT REVIEWS
Graphic Communications Industry Event of the Year Draws Positive Feedback from Exhibitors and Attendees

PRINT 13, together with first time co-located CPP EXPO, wrapped up its run at McCormick Place in Chicago on September 12, 2013 with a feeling of optimism for the future.

“Two common themes seemed to be repeated by attendees and exhibitors alike at the show this year,” said Ralph Nappi, president of the Graphic Arts Show Company. “First, a sense of optimism existed that has not been evidenced in our industry for a few years; the second was the surprising number of deals that were inked at the show.”

– GASC with Ralph Nappi at the helm, Messe Dusseldorf Group, Informa Exhibitions and others.

The energy and enthusiasm began to emerge at the pre-show EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Conference held on Saturday, September 7, 2013. With the focus on “Driving Profits through Innovation, Integration and Communication,” this year’s program was the highest attended since 2005. Attendee comments included: “Well worth the extra day! Great start to the conference”, and “Will be back in 2014 with more of my executive team.”

When PRINT 13 and CPP EXPO kicked off officially on Sunday, exhibitors welcomed enthusiastic attendees to the show floor. By the time the final closing announcement had been made, vendors had been able to spend five days interacting with attendees from all segments of the graphic communications industry. Among their comments were:

“The quality leads we obtained at PRINT 13 exceeded our expectations.”- Marc Olin, EFI

“PRINT 13 was a tremendous success for Konica Minolta. We felt that we not only met but exceeded our expectations and are very pleased with the final outcome.” – Dino Pagliarello, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.

“PRINT 13 was our best sales experience in a very long time. Our International attendance was very strong.” – Richard F. Trapilo, C.P. Bourg Inc.

“PRINT 13 was the best show for us since 2007. Our written business this year doubled from last year’s GRAPH EXPO and the quality of visitors was way up. We were overwhelmed on Sunday when the doors opened.” – Si Nguyen, Duplo USA Corporation

“PRINT 13 was the best of the PRINT and GRAPH EXPO shows over the last 9 years for us.” – Francis McMahon, Canon Solutions America

“The show was fantastic! I’m thankful for having 5 days. Our location was great – just the right spot within the Mailing and Fulfillment Center.” – Tim Murphy, Printware

“Overall the show has been excellent. Customers have been well-qualified. We have also seen a lot of traffic from Latin America.” – Ela Bukshapan, Scodix

“KBA is extremely pleased with its investment in PRINT 13. The quality of the attendees and the attendance by senior management of major printing and packaging firms allowed us to generate healthy business and have meaningful dialogues.” – Eric Frank, KBA North America

“This year we saw not only a higher volume of prospects, but also much more informed ones too. We exceeded any previous print show in terms of both the number of qualified prospects, as well as on-site sales. There was a tremendous buzz around the booth.” – Corry Casler, PressWise

“This might turn out to be the best show ever.” – Hans Ulland, Air Motion Systems, Inc./AMS UV

“This year we’ve seen lots of decision makers and also gotten a surprising number of leads. Sunday was our busiest day. We’re already signed up for GRAPH EXPO 14.” – Craig Wendling, Nitta Corporation of America

“This has been an excellent show, I’d say a 60% increase in booth traffic over the past-and the level of contacts is way better, mostly decision makers.” – Chris Calomino, ACTEGA Kelstar

“We took away many good leads, with significant potential for adding new customers.” – Mark Geeves, Color-Logic

“We’re absolutely thrilled by the excellent participation in the show. There appears to be more participation from overseas distributors, especially from Latin America and Asia.” – Scott Brown, Printing Research, Inc.

“…back with the most leads that we’ve ever come home with after a show. It was fantastic!” – Dee Walker, Firespring

“The PRINT 13 and CPP EXPO was a tremendous show in Chicago…this show had it all.” – Rock LaMann, LaManna Alliance

“PRINT is one of my favorite conferences. We have been exhibiting ever since they added the Newspaper Pavilion 5 years ago.” – Rick Shafranek, New ProImage America, Inc.

“Our sessions and panels were well attended, some with standing room only.” – Deborah Corn, PrintMediaCentr

“We are very satisfied with the results of the Xplor at PRINT 13 event. It is a winning format and we look forward to doing it again next year.” – Skip Henk, Xplor

“This year’s event was a true test of the industry’s willingness to support a large printing trade show, and from my perspective it clearly got a passing grade.” – Barb Pellow, InfoTrends

“One thing that stood out was the pace of change in the industry given the innovations on display at PRINT 13 in just one year removed from drupa.” – Cary Sherburne, WhatTheyThink.com

GASC is currently verifying registration reports to provide an accurate and detailed summary of actual buyers and demographic data. GASC will release this registration data by October 4.

For more information, visit: www.print2013.com.

About PRINT 13
Recognized as the most expansive exhibition in the Americas of digital, inkjet, offset, flexo and hybrid technologies, products, and services for the commercial, transactional, converting and package printing, publishing, mailing, in-plant, photo imaging, and marketing industries, this year’s “Innovate, Integrate, Communicate” themed PRINT 13 offered an exciting show-going experience for a diverse spectrum of attendees. The trade show presented the latest graphic communications technologies in live equipment demonstrations across the show floor and education on the most in-demand products and newest profit-making opportunities. PRINT 13 offered more than 70 educational sessions and 60+ co-located events for attendees across 12 key market segments.

About Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC)
PRINT and GRAPH EXPO are produced by the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). GASC is owned by the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies (NPES), and the Printing Industries of America. GASC is located at 1899 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191 USA, telephone: 703/264-7200, fax: 703/620-9187, e-mail: info@gasc.org.