So might run the packing checklist of anyone heading to this year’s Fespa Digital, held 20-23 May, Munich. With so much ocean and diving imagery surrounding its ‘Dive Deeper into Digital Print’ marketing campaign, printers could be forgiven for assuming there might be some sort of special water features this year…or for by now feeling a tad seasick.
And yet, as per usual, there is a serious, and helpful, dimension to the campaign. Where 2006’s equivalent smaller, digital-only, version of the show was all about the ‘digital revolution’, 2011’s about evolution of this technology and 2012’s application, this year is focused on really drilling into opportunities for the digital wide-format printer.
“‘Dive Deeper’ is about encouraging printers to go below the surface and delve further into the opportunities that exist to take their business forward,” says chief executive of Fespa Neil Felton. “Many Digital visitors have already reaped the early benefits from the transition to digital. Now they’re making second- or third-generation investments and are looking to do more with digital.”
Driving this theme are the results of Fespa’s most recent World Wide Survey.
“Banners, posters and signs remain the top three applications being produced. However, we’re seeing growth in textiles, POS, wallpaper/interiors, building wraps and industrial applications,” reports Felton. “The survey showed that 81% of printers are handling more textile work, 71% POS, 69% wallpaper, 68% building wraps and 67% more industrial print work.”
Felton adds: “The survey also found that 81% of printers’ output is currently on flexible media. However, 27% of planned hardware investments are being made with a view to printing on rigid substrates, suggesting that this media mix will change in the foreseeable future as POS, interior and industrial applications gain ground.”
Applications and how to gear a business up to deliver these applications, will, as a result, be the main focus of Fespa Digital 2014. There will of course be much talk of what sorts of technologies various vendors are focusing on, but these will be secondary to debate on market opportunities, says Felton.
“Rather than technology trends per se, what we’re seeing across the board is a focus on applications and better business – helping printers to deploy technology and work with innovative materials to create new products and access new revenue streams,” he says.
Hub highlights
This year’s expanded seminar programme has been devised with this in mind. The show will feature four ‘hubs’ – Digital, Fabric, Sign and Wrap. The first three will feature pre-recorded Fespa talks from previous years and networking areas alongside live seminar programmes, while the last will stage the World Wrap Masters competition.
Highlights will include day two’s keynote speech from Carola Lammich, print procurement manager at Deutsche Bahn, who will talk on how the company interacts with print suppliers and the impact of EU public procurement law, Datamedia’s Hubert Hoger on controlling prices and Neuromerchandising Group’s Bert Martin Ohnemuller on the power of emotions in POS.
The seminar hubs have been arranged, explains Felton, to ensure all attendees can ‘Dive Deeper’ into areas of interest by popping into talks. “What has changed about the hubs is that, at previous Fespa Digital shows, educational content was dotted around the show. By concentrating all our seminar programmes, demonstrations and workshops into four distinct areas on the show floor this year, visitors will find these features easily, and can access the seminars without having to go far from the supplier exhibits,” he says.
“Many specialist sectors have different supply chain dynamics so printers need to consider whether they can be competitive and what knowledge and skills they might need before diversifying,” he adds.
Launches imminent
Not that it’ll be all talk of market opportunities with no attention paid to technology. Reflecting a situation where, according to Fespa research “printers’ buying intentions are stronger than at any time since 2007” (with a third of respondents planning to invest in UV inkjet, 16% in eco-solvent and 13% in latex), there will be plenty of show launches.
“The catalogue entries we received much earlier this year already pointed to at least 50 new products on show,” says Felton. “Fespa Digital is always an important platform for innovation, not only in hardware but also in software and consumables, and 2014 will be no different.”
Of course, many vendors are keeping their launch plans under wraps. EFI has said it will make an important UV-curable announcement, and Epson has generated a fair bit of speculation about wide-format, possibly Fespa, launches, by announcing plans to introduce 10 new inkjet printers over the next 18 months.
More concrete launch announcements are Colorific’s new UV640PC print and cut machine, Digital Graphic Incorporation’s FG-3206 and FD-1904 textile printers, and the European debut of Mimaki’s TX500-1800DS direct sublimation printer for textiles and soft signage.
For all those getting the bends from diving deeper into digital, there will of course also be plenty of light relief on offer in the form of networking, and Munich’s many attractions. Day three’s Fespa Awards Celebration dinner will be a social highlight for many. But a fair few will also be squeezing in visits to Munich’s fabulous Residenz palace, Frauenkirche church and Englischer Garten.
“Munich is a popular destination for Fespa visitors, with Fespa having previously hosted events here in 2005 and 2010,” confirms Felton.
He adds that Fespa is conscious to plan locations around attracting different visitors each time.
“In 2011 we were in Hamburg, attracting a significant northern European audience, then for 2012 we moved to Barcelona which was a magnet for visitors from the Iberian peninsula,” he says. “The Munich location is expected to attract a strong audience from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as other central European countries, such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. Munich is also easy to reach for other major European economic centres, for example Italy, Benelux, France and the UK.”
He adds: “What’s interesting is that countries like Turkey are showing up in our pre-registration ‘top 10’ for the first time. It’s a positive indicator of the strong emergence of this market.”
Excitingly, all this is adding up to the biggest digital-only show yet. “We’ve expanded the floor space by 4,000m2 taking the event to a total space of 37,000m2 (gross),” reports Felton.
So grab your snorkel, flippers and wetsuit and prepare to immerse yourself in the wonderful world of digital wide-format print.
FESPA DIGITAL ESSENTIALS
Date 20-23 May
Location Munich Exhibition Centre
Price Pre-register for free before 6pm, 19 May at www.fespa.com (otherwise entry is €35 (£29) at the door or €25 online)
Opening times 20-22 May: 10am-6pm; 23 May: 10am-4pm
Exhibitors 400-plus
Key attractions
- The best entries shortlisted for the Fespa Awards will be on show at the entrance to Messe Munich. The selection will showcase work from printers across the globe
- The awards winners will be announced at the Fespa Awards Celebration Dinner on 22 May. The event will be at Munich’s Löwenbräu Keller and will include a three-course meal, entertainment and after party. Book your ticket at www.fespa.com
- The World Wrap Masters competition will be held 21-23 May in Hall A2 stand 150. It see 36 wrappers from across the globe whittled down through five rounds where they’ll be asked to wrap a car bumper, toilet seat, mannequins, loudspeakers, then a whole car side for the round five final.
- A new fun vehicle-wrapping contest in which visitors go head-to-head to wrap a car door will also be run alongside the above.
- Three of Fespa’s four hubs will boast seminar programmes, with headline speakers including Deutsche Bahn’s Carola Lammich, Landa’s Gerry Mulvaney and Infotrends’ Tim Greene and Jim Hamilton (see below for full programme).
- Co-located show Fespa Fabric will offer printers the chance to explore this adjacent industry of textile printing and garment decoration. This show also runs 20-23 May.
For more information, visit www.fespa.com/digital
