Harrogate. Lovely place. Up north, just past the end of the M1. Spa town. Nice fresh air that hasn't been through as many exhaust pipes and nostrils as it has down here in the filthy overcrowded south.

Not a bad place for a print show, too. I'm referring to Northprint of course. The exhibition centre is a short walk from the town centre, the new bit at least is a nice airy space, the parking's not too bad, and you can find a reasonable B&B within walking distance. Of an evening you're likely to bump into lots of print chums in the town's bars and restaurants - a bit like drupa but on a smaller and more manageable scale, and with northerners.

What's more, you can take a twirl around the entire exhibition in an hour or two, or go wild and spend half a day if you're after some more in-depth info. This leaves plenty of time for the short stroll up the hill to Bettys Café Tea Rooms (please note, the absence of an apostrophe is their style, not my omission) for a fat rascal. Or an expensive piece of tart. Why is it that coffee from a Bettys cafetiere tastes superior? I don't even begrudge paying London prices for a biscuit, such is the appeal of its charmingly well-mannered staff and tempting array of "Yorkshire and continental confections".

Anyhow, I had all but consigned myself to the fact that next spring's fat rascal foray would be off, with Northprint 2009 consigned to the wastelands of economic inevitability. I really did think that organiser IIR would struggle with this event, what with the economic meltdown, the country being bankrupt, and barely a day going by without a print company going to the wall.

I was surprised, to say the least, to learn that 60% of the space is apparently booked already. The caveat being that I don't know if the total space has been reduced compared with the last show. And also intrigued to see that it is newer players like Canon and Ricoh who are talking up the show. In the old days exhibition organisers would secure keystone exhibitors - Heidelberg being the obvious example - in order to get everybody else to sign up. How things have changed. Assuming the show does indeed go ahead, this time around I will be amazed if any of the "heavy metal" suppliers actually exhibit at all.