The show, which takes place at the Hannover Messe in Germany from 8-10 April, will feature speciality printing, screen printing, advanced inkjet technology and 3D printing.

“We are talking about true industrial applications for print, so equipment, inks and accessories for printing onto metal, plastics, foils, textiles, glass, ceramics and woods,” said event co-director Frazer Chesterman.

“People don’t necessarily think of these applications first because print is traditionally books, paper and magazines, but the reality is that print is everywhere; it’s on your carpets, doors, car dashboard and electronic devices, for example.

“Magazine and book printing is in decline because so much is going online but we continue to consume physical products at a fast rate, which makes industrial print increasingly relevant,” he added.

The show, which has a net floorspace of 3,000sqm, has attracted exhibitors including Canon, Xerox, Durst, Lumejet, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta and Ricoh.

Scheduled to run alongside the Hannover Messe industrial show Chesterman said he expected to attract a lot of visitors from that event as well.

“There are some real significant players showing at the event and looking at visitor pre-registration we are ahead of our 5,000 target, which is fantastic.

“What’s interesting too is that many of them are actually senior level decision makers so it tells us that people are serious about this,” he added. 

Chesterman said that the reason for opting to locate the show in Germany was for ease of access for visitors but that much of the technology on display had started out in the UK.

“It is interesting to see that a large amount of it is UK-developed, from people like Xaar, Lumejet, Xenia and UV Integration, for example,” he explained.

“We are really proud that we are innovators in the UK and we see our developments being used in mass production elsewhere around the world.”

Chesterman said that he believed the show would ultimately succeed because visitors could see technology they wouldn’t find elsewhere, all under one roof.

“There is a market opportunity here. If you are happy doing what you are doing, then that’s fine, carry on, but if you are looking for something different and you are an innovator, then come to this type of show.

“I am quite sure that we will soon see a plethora of other shows creating their own industrial sections because they will see the opportunity there,” Chesterman said.