FESPA Global Print Expo’s status as the leading international exhibition for speciality print and signage remains unchallenged, as the May 2019 event welcomed 20,780 individual visitors from 137 countries over the course of four days (Messe München, 14 – 17 May 2019). Consistent with previous events, the host country delivered the largest national delegation of visitors at 25% of the total number, with attendees travelling from across Germany, followed by Italy (7%) and Austria (5%).
Overall, the exhibition attracted a diverse international audience from far beyond Europe, including visitors from as far afield as Israel, Turkey, China, Japan, the USA and Australia. Total attendance including repeat visits reached 34,104, with almost two thirds of all visitors committing two or more days to the show. 1 in 3 visitors were final decision-makers, cementing FESPA Global Print Expo’s status as a key buying event in the print industry calendar.
FESPA Exhibitions Director, Roz Guarnori says: “The overall attendance figures indicate that there is a sustained interest in an exhibition like FESPA Global Print Expo. However, what has been most rewarding is the feedback on how the show has delivered in terms of ‘return on experience’, which suggests visitors and exhibitors are focusing more on the valuable insight and knowledge gathered from the show and its features, rather than thinking exclusively in terms of cost per lead or ROI. The response is encouraging, especially for an event that has always aimed to inspire and highlight the possibilities that speciality print has to offer.”
Digital print machinery was singled out as the key area of interest for 41% of visitors, followed by digital print consumables (31%). This is matched by the proportion of visitors interested in textile and fabric, demonstrating FESPA’s growing importance as an international meeting place for the textile printing and garment manufacturing communities. This is reflected in the launch of the new Sportswear Pro event, to be co-located with FESPA Global Print Expo in Madrid, Spain, March 2020.
Consistent with FESPA’s mission to support print businesses with education and best practice guidance, the FESPA 2019 event programme included a range of immersive features such as Printeriors (printed interior décor), Print Make Wear (garment printing and production) and Colour L*A*B* (colour management), as well as the popular Trend Theatre, FESPA Awards and the World Wrap Masters vehicle wrapping championship. Collectively, the features attracted thousands of visitors through a combination of creative displays, engaging speakers, guided tours and practical demonstrations.
FESPA Global Print Expo 2019’s strapline, ‘An Explosion of Possibilities’, spoke to the array of opportunities for business development in speciality print. This was evident from the extensive line-up of product launches and enhancements introduced at the show. A total of 700 exhibitors filled six of Messe München’s halls, displaying a host of new equipment and colourful applications. EFI and Mimaki chose FESPA 2019 as the platform to debut their new flatbed printers, the Pro 30f and the JFX200-2513 EX respectively.
Roll-to-roll printing was another key area of innovation, with Canon unveiling its latest system, the Océ Colorado 1650, while swissQprint launched Karibu, its first roll-to-roll printer. Durst instead introduced its own modular software solutions – Durst Workflow, Durst Analytics and Durst Smart Shop – to provide customers with an automated production unit ‘from pixel to output’.
Kornit Digital displayed for the first time the Kornit Atlas, a heavy duty system created for super-industrial garment decoration businesses, and the Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro, featuring the company’s NeoPoly Technology, the industry’s first digital, industrial process for high-quality printing on polyester. Exhibitors such as Canon Europe and Dataline were satisfied with the strong volume of leads generated at the show.
