FLAAR has attended Graph Expo for many years. We had been at Print '01 when the World Trade Centers in New York was attacked. Chicago is an acceptable city for a venue and the expo was well organized by GASC in those years.
Courtesy of the organizers of Graph Expo, FLAAR was a sponsor of the large format pavilion for several years. But gradually, year by year ,one-by-one, several wide-format manufacturers and distributors pulled out. There was less each year to attract us. The final reason we ourselves pulled out (as exhibitors) was that the expo was kept at four days. And the lecture program switched over to offset printing and related non-digital non-inkjet topics.
Any show longer than three days makes no sense in today's economy. DRUPA 2012 is the best example of an obsolete delusion: a trade show that was great ten years ago at 12 to 14 days, but even for DRUPA, anything more than 8 days is inappropriate. FESPA more than five days would be too much (and sometimes three days is even better).
So FLAAR did not have a booth, nor attend, Graph Expo 2010. I doubt we will exhibit again unless they merge or co-locate with another expo, reduce the number of excess days, and if they offer total innovation that will attract wide-format printer crowds. Otherwise, too expensive for airfare, hotel, meals and time spent. SGIA is the same month or at most a few weeks difference, and SGIA has more of the wide-format inkjet printer companies. Plus SGIA has more of the ink, media, substrate, and RIP manufacturers and distributors.
Nonetheless, we do wish to present both sides: we did heard several exhibitors say they had a great result from exhibiting at Graph Expo 2010 (we always try to find positive things to say). But the cost of having staff to handle a booth is not cost-effective for studying the world of wide-format inkjet in Graph Expo: simply not enough exhibitors of wide-format inkjet products. It is more efficient to concentrate on SGIA for that time of year; to concentrate on FLAAR Europe during the summer; to attend VISCOM to see the European markets; and to attend ISA for the spring.
FLAAR also attends trade shows elsewhere around the world: we add one or two new countries every year. In 2009 we went to a signage expo in Ukraine. In 2010 we added Reklama Moscow and SIM in Abu Dhabi. In most cases a sponsor or host brings us to the venue, as did Graph Expo in the past.
In 2011 we have added the summer expo in Brazil and two co-located sign expos in Australia. For Australia two print shop owners are flying me there; for Brazil and ink company is flying two of us there (we are translating the reports into Portuguese).
One major difference between Graph Expo and SGIA (and ISA and GoA-FESPA Americas) is that Graph Expo offers more offset press companies. SGIA offers the remains of the screen printing industry. So Graph Expo does indeed attract a different kind of printshop owner and manager than do the other expos. We wish each trade show success, but with companies like Heidelberg pulling out, it would help for each printing expo to offer more to attract back visitors (and exhibitors) that they have lost.
A combination of SGIA+Graph Expo, co-locating in the same city, same expo center, same days, would make much more sense. Graph Expo could concentate on copiers, offset, flexo, label printing: so narrow format. SGIA could concentrate on wide-format, signage, textile printers, media, inks, LED, LCD signage, and all the things that UV-cured printers do well (which is a lot more than just signage).
This is an event that FLAAR Reports would feel worth returning to.
We will keep track of the exhibitor list of printer distributors and manufacturers for Graph Expo 2012. But wide-format inkjet workflow is much more than just printers: inks, media, substrates, cutters, RIP software, laminators, coaters are all crucial. If the Graph Expo 2012 exhibitors list has
- Minimum of two exhibitors of honeycomb sandwich board materials
- Five major distributors of roll-fed media and/or substrates
- Five after-market ink manufacturers (wide-format ink: not just screen printing or offset or flexo).
- Three different technologies or options for textile printing
- a minimum of three major manufacturers of
- flat printable substrates (in addition to honeycomb)
- flatbed cutters or CNC routers,
- RIP software (for signage; which means more than just proofing),
- laminators, and coaters,
then this is an adequate exhibitor list for a wide-format printshop or substantial in-house print service department if the expo also has all five major Japanese printer manufacturers: Epson, Canon, Seiko II, Mimaki, Mutoh, Roland; HP, and at least five UV-cured printer manufacturers.
It is also essential to have at least two manufacturers of alternative and innovative inks (and we don’t mean just latex ink: the really innovative inks are resin chemistry). If an expo has only the old-fashioned wide-format ink chemistry, then the print shop owner, managers, printer operators, distributors, and other industry people are not being informed or exposed to the future of our industry.
The other reality check is that the major players in today's world of wide-format inkjet are the Chinese manufacturers. So far the Chinese tend to exhibit at signage expos (meaning ISA and SGIA), not printing expos. But if you are interested in offset printers, copiers, and office equipment, you can potentially find products in the Graph Expo 2012 exhibitor list that will be helpful for you and your company.
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People at the GRAPH EXPO trade show 2008. |
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Several companies offer different products in these trade shows. |
PRINT '09 Exhibitor list, trade show for wide-format UV-curable flatbed printers
PRINT 2009 was a large version of GRAPH EXPO. GRAPH EXPO is held every year in Chicago, but every four years it doubles in size just for that fourth year and changes its name (just for that fourth year) to “Print.”
Offset printers, copiers and variable data short run digital presses are one strong point of PRINT '09, but FLAAR focuses primarily on UV-cured flatbeds, solvent printers, laminators, and cutters (XY contour cutters and CNC routers).
Since there is a separate report on GRAPH EXPO and PRINT '09, we do not have further description on this introductory page since all the material is in the full-color PDF. We also have a report on GRAPH EXPO 2011 if you wish a private report.
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Each year for several years FLAAR had a space at GRAPH EXPO trade show. Here Dr. Hellmuth in the booth FLAAR, GRAPH EXPO 2008.
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Most recently updated January 4, 2012.
Previously updated April 14, 2011 and January 12, 2011.
First posted August 19, 2009.
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We are adding new pages and new features every month so it is not always realistic to update old pages from past years. All the old equipment is still available on eBay, so we keep even our old pages. If you wish only the more up to date product reviews, these are in PDFs (not in the web pages, but in PDFs which are linked in the columns at the right of every page). Please realize that we tend to update a page (or a PDF) primarily when it is clear that our readers ask about this brand or model frequently. With over 45 brands of UV printers and over 200 models in the past ten years, it is not realistic to update pages on obsolete brands or unpopular models. If you prefer to speak with Nicholas Hellmuth in person about a printer, you can bring him to your company anywhere in the world as consultant. By later in 2012 more of our web sites will be in 36 different languages with instant translation (and better than old fashioned web page translators of several years ago). So far all the languages are available on www.FLAAR.org and www.3d-scanners-3d-software-reviews.org. Next will be our www.large-format-printers.org. |
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