Here we are again, greetings from Harrogate and Northprint 2011. It's a lovely spring day here.

While the exhibition centre aisles weren't packed with visitors on day one, this morning there was a queue of people waiting to come in at 10am sharp, and it already looks busier.

Despite a relatively quiet first day footfall-wise, various exhibitors report positive meetings with some worthwhile prospects. The single biggest exhibitor is Ricoh, and the boss there Stephen Palmer was happy with the quality of people they'd been seeing. And I know for a fact that one print MD genuinely bought a machine off someone's stand yesterday after seeing it for the very first time at the show. A real "I just had to have one" moment.

The machine in question was a nifty little foiling device (go see it at the Perfect Bindery Solutions/Unibind stand C246), and there's a lot of that sort of finishing kit for added-value products to be seen here.

Other items of note include digital label printers using the much-talked-about Memjet inkjet technology (find them on the Addressing & Mailing Solutions and Impression Technology Europe booths).

If you're within striking distance of Harrogate it's worth coming along for a look around.

And don't forget to swing by and give us PrintWeekers at stand M136 a wave if you're passing, too.

The only thing I can't recommend is the on-site coffee, I had a latte yesterday that had a closer connection to old dishwater than to any sort of coffee bean. But then, I suppose that's what Bettys was invented for...