Print4All 2018 Kicks-Off to a Great Start

Print4All opened its doors today at Fiera Milano, Milan, Italy. ME Printer is on the show floor to bring you the latest and greatest from this show, that runs until 1 June 2018. The entire printing industry – converting, package printing, labelling, commercial and industrial printing – have converged at this unique event that will see over 300 exhibitors come together to represent the leading international brands at Rho, Fiera Milano, halls 18 and 20, over the next 4 days.

For all those that operate in the printing sector – printers as well as brand owners and creatives – the event represents an important opportunity for business networking to take stock of market developments. The event is a showcase presenting the latest novelties, as well as an authentic training academy that will provide operators with interesting occasions for discussion and professional development.

As regards Printing & Communication, the event will, in fact, involve leading international brands and will provide a showcase of the highly innovative printed and visual communication products available today. This includes increasingly sophisticated digital, offset and rotogravure printing machines that meet the most varied of customer requirements.

Whether we are talking about books, catalogues, direct mail, packaging, labels or ‘objects’, the aim is to surprise. All this, while also offering solutions able to ensure recognisability, identity and product interactivity. This includes everything from post-printing treatments (finishing) and the most extreme in customisation, to high-quality, high-performance inks, or the combination between innovative technologies and traditional media to achieve mesmerising results, including both augmented paper and reality.

The Converting, Package Printing and Labelling offer are set to be extensive owing to the presence of leading international brands. The latest rotogravure, flexo and hybrid technologies for package printing and labelling, as well as converting technologies, will be showcased with the intention of astonishing and engaging the consumer. There will subsequently be a focus on laminating, varnishing, embossing, reliefs and screen-printing effects, which can provide new tactile sensations, alongside the meticulous study of colour and the creation of labels and packaging boasting an increasingly impressive ‘wow’ factor, whilst also being safer and capable of providing assurance as regards product origin.

Last but not least, the event will also be focusing on Industrial Printing with solutions for printing on materials that go ‘beyond’ paper. These include the very latest proposals for ink jet printing and the laser cutting of personalised objects printed on plastic materials, as well as solutions for digital textile and/or interior decoration printing. The event will be further enriched by the presence of leading ink suppliers as well as suppliers of the materials required for these applications.

In addition to showcasing innovation, Print4All also presents itself as a ‘home of content’. This is all thanks to the extensive and articulated programme of conferences and initiatives, the event will provide the operators with tangible instruments. This further allows for a complete overview of the role and potential of printing in each and every phase of the ‘customer journey’, whilst also providing new creative ideas and enabling them to further their knowledge of relevant topics.

In order to discover new technologies and applications, the Intensive Seminar series will be making a short and sweet format available to professionals with 30-minute meetings and speakers of international standing. These sessions will focus on providing concise and concrete opportunities for development on specific topics. The topics include:

• Printer governance and awareness – learning about and exploring the new printing industry scenarios and managing them so as to transform these changes into opportunities
• Channel innovation and new technologies – understanding how new technologies and cross-channelling impact on sector efficiency, the safety of the end user and product traceability
• End product innovation – product and material innovation in addition to environmental sustainability
• The customer journey – understanding where the end customer is at the heart of decisions relating to the product and channels
• The 3rd-millennium printer – analysing the characteristics, expertise and aptitudes of today’s professional printers
• Market, new markets and sectors – reflecting on the Italian and foreign markets, the opportunities or threat posed by ‘offset’ printing’ and tech style/text style
• A comparison of different sectors – publishing, printing, advertising, luxury and fashion
• Production techniques and strategies – understanding the priorities for advanced production in terms of customer, market and innovation.

Print4All is also an occasion for the development of key topics relating to the market and its evolution. The two themed exhibition areas are as follows:  Print4All Cardboard Area – a dedicated and recognisable space devoted to the corrugated board sector, which will bring together companies that supply machinery and provide sector-specific solutions. Print4All Online Printers – a space dedicated to the online printing sector in addition to the new business models that it generates.

The most creative and innovative of ideas will instead take shape at PrintMat, an exhibition in the exhibition, designed to explore the latest frontiers in printing innovation. Here, the synergistic use of technologies, materials and media, breathes life into entirely new products and objects. PrintMat will be a showcase for those proposing innovative solutions in terms of printable materials, technologies and printing consumables and, in one pathway that simulates the various different usage contexts, will synthesise the very best of printing solutions in all stages of the product’s life: pre-sales, outlet and after-sales.

The Print4All school project envisages educational and didactic courses that will enable students to gain access to the event and have their own dedicated space. Here, they will be able to learn all about the history of paper and its value, see a number of historic printing machines at work and, as part of an organised tour, visit several of the stands presenting innovative printing solutions. The tour will be organised with the support of the same company experts who will transform the students’ visit into an itinerant training seminar within the halls. This will enable them to discover the technologies that make printing on all types of media and for all types of applications possible.