Business - Events

As it continues to build its international community, FESPA announces the addition of the Mexican association Amerografics to its member base, only weeks after the Sri Lanka Association of Printers and the Nepal Printers Association join as FESPA associate members.

As an associate member, the members of Amerografics will benefit from a variety of FESPA educational resources and training initiatives, as well as participating in a growing number of international projects and events, including research studies, conferences, industry summits and exhibitions.  FESPA will benefit by forging stronger links with Mexican, and wider Latin American, printing professionals.

FESPA’s firm commitment to Mexican printers is clear from the events that it runs in the country. The organisation held its first successful sign, screenprinting and digital imaging exhibition in the country last August, which was followed by a second FESPA Mexico 2009 event. Attracting over 8,500 visitors to both exhibitions, FESPA Mexico has been established as the region’s leading trade show. In July 2009, FESPA also held its inaugural FESPA Summit in Mexico.  With over 70 delegates, which included printers and suppliers, the one-day summit in Mexico City comprised presentations and workshops on topics including the economic outlook in Mexico, environmental considerations with the introduction of a new law about printing on recyclable materials, and current and future technological developments. 

Founded in December 2008, Amerografics currently consists of screen, signage, digital and textile printers. With an office located in the District Federal of Mexico and another in Guadalajara, the association undertakes a wide range of activities on behalf of its members. Its aim is to strategically manage activities to improve the relationship between manufacturers and suppliers with the print community, as well as promote the exchange of knowledge and information amongst industry peers. Amerografics organises various events in Latin America to strengthen links in the community and offer educational training on topics, such as innovative printing.  It is active in encouraging social responsibility and planet-friendly practices. It seeks to support and develop the printing industry by engaging in open dialogue with relevant political authorities, in addition to representing the rights and interests of members, both nationally and internationally, before governmental bodies. It has already established relations with The Secretary of Economy and the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) that presented at the Mexico Summit in July.

Mr. Francesco Brocchi, President of Amerografics says: “We are thrilled to be part of FESPA’s global community. FESPA played an integral part in founding Amerografics, recognising the strong need to bring together Mexican printers to support them, as well as developing the industry at both a national and global level. Being a member of FESPA enables us to offer our members additional support with a wider range of educational and training resources, and access to a number of services that FESPA provides, including its world-class summits and exhibitions.”

Nigel Steffens, CEO of FESPA, comments: “We are delighted that Amerografics has become a member of FESPA.  The Mexican printers that we meet are highly engaged, motivated and ready to proactively pursue market opportunities. We see FESPA playing a key role in the positive development of the printing industry in Mexico and more widely in Latin America. We’re confident that our partnership with Amerografics will be mutually beneficial and look forward to collaborating with these new members in the coming months.”

For further information, please visit the Amerografics website at www.amerografics.org

The European TransPromo Summit proved to be a major success, bringing together 315 attendees and 22 sponsoring companies. The truly international audience was made up of attendees from The U.K., France, Greece, Spain, Germany, Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovenia, United States, Italy and others. The inaugural event, held at the Square Brussels Meeting Centre in Belgium last week, was organized by 4IT Group and InfoTrends. The summit was information-packed and provided attendees with valuable business insights, information on industry and technology trends, detailed case studies, and innovative business opportunities. The event also provided attendees and sponsors with several opportunities to network with industry peers.

“There is no question about the interest in the TransPromo Market in Europe. The conference was over-subscribed and participants were not disappointed,” commented Barb Pellow, Group Director at InfoTrends. “In a struggling economy this event was strong and created very positive energy levels throughout the 2 days.”

Day one of the conference kicked off with a state of the industry address focused on the TransPromo value proposition, its current state in Europe, and a view into future opportunities. The program continued with keynote presentations on “Powering TransPromo - Hardware a Critical Enabler” and “Planning for TransPromo Success.” Keynote speakers included industry leaders from Belgian Post, DST Output, GMC, HP, InfoPrint Solutions, Kodak, Océ, and Xeikon.

“It is evident that TransPromo’s time has come,” commented Enrico Barboglio, President, 4IT Group. “There was a tremendous industry buzz from companies that are leveraging the power of bold design, vibrant color and variable data to transform bills and statements into highly individualized customer marketing communications.”

“Conference content was superb, and I believe the sessions were well received by everyone,” commented Roberta McKee-Jackson, Director of Operations, Xplor UK & Ireland. “There was a lot to be learned and presenting the marketing as well as the technology tracks was beneficial to all.”

“I enjoyed the event tremendously with high quality content and a very well managed conference. The insights gained will translate into improved business decisions and help to shape our strategic direction,” stated Bill Parker, CMO, GMC Software AG. “The time I spent was well worth the investment.”

Plans for the 2010 European TransPromo Summit are underway and will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Due to the success of the event many sponsors have already signed up for next year. Sponsorship opportunities are now being accepted for 2010. For more information, please contact Jason Russell at +44 1582 400120 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Valentina Carnevali at +39 02 26927081 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Medium-sized car or luxury limousine, old-timers or conventional passenger car - the car wrappers transform every vehicle into a unique gem. In this process, they confront even the greatest challenge. Nowadays films adorn motorbikes, aircrafts and even rockets. Often, the wrapping even consists of a single piece. As a result, even motorbikes can be wrapped without seams that might spoil their appearance. The range of possible patterns and colours is endless. For advertisers, this offers unlimited design possibilities.

At viscom 2009, practitioners will show how it's done. Highly qualified car wrappers will compete for the title of first "European Wrap Star". At the international trade fair for visual communication, four identical Hummer vehicles will be wrapped live at a special area in Hall 8a. The contest will be presented by MR Clipart, the SEW Wrap Akademie and the viscom organisers, Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH.

Prizes with a total value of more than 200,000 euros to be won

The competition will begin on Thursday, 1 October, with the task of wrapping one door and one wing. In each of the eight 45-minute first-round matches, eight participants will start out. From each match, four of these will go on to the next round to be held in the morning of Friday, 2 October, when again eight participants will compete in four 45-minute matches. In the third round on Friday afternoon consisting of two matches, the car wrappers still remaining in the competition will then have to do an almost full wrap of one vehicle side within 60 minutes. Four from each match will reach the semi-finals to be held in the morning of Saturday, 3 October, when a complete vehicle side is to be wrapped. In the grand finale on Saturday afternoon, the four best participants will finally face each other over 90 minutes.

The happy winner will then hold the title of "European Wrap Star". Even merely reaching the finals is a very interesting prospect for all participants, however, as each of the four finalists will receive one of the four main prizes: ain Royal Sovereign Laminator worth more than € 7,000.00, a Rollsroller Flatbed Laminator 340/145 worth 13,900 euros, a Summa T140 Cutting Plotter & Opus-Cam & software worth 15,990 euros, or a Mimaki CJV 30-160 cut and print system plus software worth 22,800 euros.

In all, prizes with a total value of more than 200,000 euros can be won. But even those eliminated in the first round will not go away empty-handed: a "consolation package" with product vouchers from the major film manufacturers, a car wrapping seminar, software and a range of "wrapping tools" with a value of more than 2,000 euros is waiting for them. And the value of the prizes increases with each round.

"Catch the Hummer": Big tombola for spectators

Not just for the pros but also for spectators, there will be a large number of prizes to be won at viscom. Tickets will be available at the Systeam and Mutoh Europe N.V. stands. The first prize is a Mutoh ValueJet 1204 Eco Solvent printer worth 10,500 euros. Winners of the second prize can look forward to driving a Hummer H2 for one month, winners of the third to driving a Hummer H3 for a weekend. There will also be a large number of Ed Hardy products to be won. The tombola will take place on the viscom Saturday at the European Wrap Star stand C51 in Hall 8a.

Gandinnovations will be exhibiting at Viscom Dusseldorf, Messe Dusseldorf in Hall 8B stand E22 October 01 – 03rd. The company will exhibit several models in the popular Jeti line of grand-format digital printers and is expecting anxious crowds for the duration of the show. Gandinnovations manufactures several 3 and 5 meter models of solvent and UV roll to roll digital printers as well as a large variety of flatbed models, including the 2030 Continental, a true flatbed designed specifically for the European market.

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada since 2004, Gandinnovations has branch offices around the world for efficient sales and service, including the European headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium.

“After the success we had at the Amsterdam exhibit earlier this year, we are really looking forward to another successful show in Dusseldorf,” says Cory Brock, Director of Marketing for Gandinnovations. “Viscom has always been a great place for us to show our latest technology and we plan to deliver to the attendees again this year.”

In addition to the Jeti line of grand-format digital printers, Gandinnovations manufactures the ink for the entire printer line, has created a RIP, called GandiSoft, specially designed for the Jeti printers and has recently made news with the invention of HAL- the High-speed Automatic Loader built to load and unload rigid substrates from any Jeti flatbed printer with amazing accuracy.

The newest addition to the Jeti line is the Aquajet, a 3 meter wide, direct to fabric digital printer which prints on a number of polyester-based materials. Graphics manufacturers have found the Aquajet to be an exceptional tool for breaking into new markets and creating new means of advertising.

FESPA has extended its global reach with the addition of two more Asian associate members, as it welcomes the Sri Lanka Association of Printers (SLAP) and the Nepal Printers’ Association (NPA).

As associate members of FESPA, members of SLAP and NPA will now benefit from a wide range of educational resources, training and best-practice development tools, as well as participating in a growing number of international projects and events. FESPA will benefit by forging even stronger links with the Asia-Pacific region, which as a whole is an increasingly significant player in the global screen, textile and digital printing markets.

FESPA’s firm commitment to the Asia-Pacific region is evidenced by the number of events it runs in the area. FESPA launched the first ever screen and digital print exhibition in India, FESPA India 2005, which has continued to run every two years since the inaugural show, with the third FESPA India taking place in December 2009. Further to the success of these exhibitions, FESPA launched FESPA Digital India in 2008, dedicated to the digital wide format printing industry.  Last year the association also launched FESPA Asia-Pacific, the region’s only international event dedicated to screen and digital printing which will return in 2010.

Sri Lanka Association of Printers
Founded in 1956, SLAP currently consists of 288 printers and 125 suppliers. Based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the association undertakes a wide range of activities on behalf of its members. It provides advice and an array of services to promote the welfare of its members, including researching the latest market developments and trends, as well as developing the industry through the introduction of modern technology. It is firmly committed to training the country’s youth in all aspects of printing work, and provides career guidance and employment opportunities.
The Sri Lanka Association of Printers communicates with public authorities and other associations on matters affecting the interest of its members and the wider printing industry, and enters into arrangements with the government or other authorities to obtain rights, concessions, licences and privileges to support the industry. Its links with the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, the South Asia Print Congress, the Forum of Asia Pacific Graphic Arts Technology, the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing and the INGRIN Institute of Printing and Graphic Arts provide additional support to the country’s print industry.

SLAP President, Mrs. Dharani Karunaratne went on to say: ''We are honored to be a part of FESPA's global member community. As an association, we are strongly committed to promoting and, overall, developing the printing Industry in Sri Lanka. Being a member of FESPA has great meaning and value that enables us to provide a wide range of educational and training resources, as well as access to a number of other services that FESPA has to offer that includes exhibitions to its members."

Nepal Printers’ Association
Established in 1978, the Nepal Printers’ Association, based in Kathmandu, Nepal, has 211 members consisting of digital, offset, and screen printers, print suppliers and, pre- and post-press-related businesses. The NPA provides its members with a number of services and support initiatives. It organises various training schemes to help members better understand, manage and use the latest printing technologies. It runs a range of interactive printing workshops and seminars and also runs broader business sessions on income tax, the VAT and tax registration to help members develop their commercial awareness. The association provides members with valuable business and economic information that it disseminates via the post, circulars and newsletters.

The NPA is also involved in lobbying and making recommendations to the government on relevant policy matters. It played an integral role in securing projects for the country’s domestic printers, such as the printing and distribution of school texts books with its Public-Private Partnership Approach. It also represents the business community in various governmental and wider organisations, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI), the South Asia Print Congress (SAPC), the Federation of Small & Cottage Industries (FSCIs), and the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), creating strong networking opportunities for members.

Mr. Uday Narsingh Shrestha, President of NPA says: “At the NPA, we pride ourselves on providing members with a wealth of information, resources and support. We are delighted to become an associate member of FESPA, which will enable us to offer our members even greater value, thanks to FESPA’s international links and industry expertise.”

Nigel Steffens, CEO of FESPA, comments: “We are thrilled to welcome both SLAP and the NPA to FESPA’s international community. We are committed to expanding our global reach and influence, particularly in emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region. We’re confident that our partnership with the SLAP and the NPA will be mutually beneficial and look forward to collaborating with these new members in the coming months.”

Both associations will support FESPA at FESPA India running from 7 – 9 December 2009 at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. For more information please visit the FESPA India website at http://www.fespaindia.com

Viscom Germany (1st-3rd October) will be Mutoh Europe’s launch platform for several new printers.

Visitors will be able to discover a brand-new high-performance Mutoh sign cutting plotter family for home, office and professional users. Mutoh will also introduce several additions to its existing portfolio of large format printers for sublimation printing and direct textile printing.

Complementary to the Mutoh booth, Mutoh Deutschland GmbH – Mutoh Europe’s sales office for the German speaking market – will join forces with its authorised distributor Systeam GmbH and the Germany MCP partners (Mutoh Certified Partners). They will present the latest Mutoh inkjet technology, such as ValueJet, Blizzard and ValueJet Hybrid.

The ValueJet Hybrid combi printer is Mutoh's “green” printer. The printer uses non-petrochemical based inks, originating from corn and can print on recyclable media.

The Mutoh MCP booth (Hall 8B – D20) will also feature live wrap demonstrations on special objects and information sessions on Mutoh’s award winning Intelligent Interweaving print technology.