The three-day event, which closed its doors yesterday (30 March), showcased a raft of new products and applications .
Exhibitors at the NEC, Birmingham included HP, Epson, Antalis, Inktec and Canon, with a range of seminars taking place across the three days in a number of theatres. New exhibitors included APA, Universal Laser Systems and North East Signs.
For its 30th edition the show initiated a rebrand, launching a new website and adopting a fresh new look with a strong visual impact to reflect innovation in the industry.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” said Sign & Digital UK portfolio director Rudi Blackett, who oversaw his 15th S&D this week.
“We bought this show in 2001 and have doubled its size since then but that is largely because of the growth in the digital and wide-format market.
“I don’t think there are many other shows that have been around for that long. I asked the NEC and they said there were probably one or two others. You can get left behind very quickly in this trade. It used to be that people were coming here just in the mood to buy but now they are going to try and learn with education and advice as well.”
With only a number of weeks until Fespa hits Hamburg, there was still an opportunity for a number of manufacturers to launch new products.
Blackett predicted much more of the same for next year’s show, which will take place in late April.
“We never know about new products until a few months before the show but the very fact that a lot of them are talking about large stand space for a show in 2018, I expect there will be a lot of product launches. It seems to go in cycles,” he said.
On the occasion of its 25th year, Inktec launched its new Jetrix LX18 at a cake-cutting ceremony, joined by its chief executive Jung Gwang Chun, who made the journey from Korea for the unveiling. Inktec sales director Ben Woodruff announced there had been two major sales at the show of the 3.2m flatbed, which boasts a top print speed of 206sqm/hr in high-speed mode and can print at resolutions of up to 1,080x720dpi.
EFI used the show to pre-launch its new Pro 16h LED wide-format printer on reseller CMYUK's stand. The Pro 16h is an upgrade on its H1625 mid-level production printer, which will be given its official European debut at Fespa.
There were also introductions in the materials and applications market, with Spandex launching seven new textiles in its Imageperfect range for latex, solvent and UV printers.
“In the case of this year it is increasingly eminent that the materials application side is becoming more important,” added Blackett.
“The fact we’ve created more seminars and have a Creative Theatre, which is quite interesting, so it seems to have gone from vinyl to textiles and wall coverings, and that’s quite a big focus of the show this year."
Newly-appointed HP large-format sales director EMEA Mike Horsten agreed and said he was impressed with the range of applications on offer.
“People here realise that they can use new products for things that they have never thought about, like kitchen cabinets, floorings and glass walls,” said Horsten.
“That’s what I love about the industry, the people that use it keep on coming up with new uses for it. That’s what is beautiful about this industry.”
Alex White, managing director of cutting machine manufacturer Blackman & White, was exhibiting for a third year. He used last year’s S&D to speak out with his views on a potential Brexit, a process which was formally given the go-ahead on the second day of this year’s show.
“Because this is our third year we are starting to get a bit more recognition, people know where we are in the show, they recognise us, they’ve had contact with us before so it’s a case for Blackman & White to reinforce our message,” said White.
“Since Fespa we recognise that we have a lot of advantages being a UK manufacturer so we are trying to reach out to the sign manufacturers in the UK.”
At a press event following day two of show, Canon hosted a tour of its new Birmingham showroom, located near the NEC, which opened at the start of this year. The showroom hosts a range of Canon kit, including its newly-launched Océ Colorado 1640, the first machine to incorporate its UVgel technology.
