Mark Subers, president of events and exhibitions at the event’s organising firm, Printing United Alliance, spoke to Printweek in advance of the show, celebrating high numbers of pre-registered visitors despite the influence of Drupa in May, and the show’s earlier date in September compared to its usual October slot.

“We definitely have all the major players,” Subers said.

The show features a uniquely varied manufacturing showcase compared to other American shows – and even European competitors, with commercial, wide-format, packaging, labels, apparel and textile printing all on display.

“And we have a lot of things you’d never see at Drupa – our approach is really about providing access to all printing technologies under one roof. It’s really about providing what we’d consider a diversification model for the printers.”

The model of getting as many printing technologies under one roof as possible is both a sign of the times and a canny decision for convenience, allowing guests to spend less time away from their presses, and introducing them to kit they might not have heard of, Subers said.

He said: “It might be a convergent model at the macro level: around 50% of the commercial segment is getting into wide-format. That started around 10 years ago – and now they’re starting to make inroads into labels.

“We thought: these OEMs have limited marketing budgets, so we have to make the most of it.

“We can say to printers: ‘Hey, look, just come to a single place to get all your technologies. It’s less expensive overall, and it’s a better experience for the attendees.”

Printing United has grown under this philosophy. Once around the 100th largest trade show in the US, it grew to to be 29th largest in 2023.

“We’ve made absolute leaps and bounds, and it’s because of the model. OEMs get more bang for their buck by bringing all their equipment to a single spot, and printers have to take less time out of the office, and don’t have to go to five different shows.”

About 800 exhibitors lined up for the show, roughly around the same as 2023’s show, even with Drupa having come earlier in 2024; around 28,000-30,000 visitors are expected.

“Drupa tends to be a target for some major product releases, which in some ways is great for us – because a lot of those are coming to the States. The bad news is that Drupa is a bit of a marketing black hole.

“That said, the two halls in Vegas are absolutely wall-to-wall in the South hall, and we’ve got about three booths left in the Central hall. We’re looking at a good show.”

A few trends have caught Subers’ eye in advance of the show: workforce development is a major issue in developed countries’ print industries right now, with the US struggling to recruit a younger generation to come and work in print, much like in the UK.

Subers said: “It’s impacting our industry as well, so workflow and automation is becoming very important. There’s a strong push for digital, and we’ll see a lot of solutions that are automated front-to-back, and a lot of that is going to be demonstrated on the floor.

“AI seems to be a big topic, too – we have a research group in the [Printing United] Alliance, and they’re going to be launching a report on AI and its adoption across all different segments of the industry. I’m pretty excited about that, because I don’t think anyone understands necessarily what they’re talking about yet. We’re trying to do something that’s pretty fundamental.”

Changing the date to September had been a hurdle for the team, given the show’s usual October date – in Subers’ words, the show got “bounced” in favour of the American Aeronautics Association.

“They rent all the halls in Vegas, and bring in jets, airliners – all the billionaires come out. So they’re like ‘Yeah, your print show’s real cute, you and all your printers’,” Subers joked.

“It’s coming up fast – and the team is hard at work to make it a great show.”

The last Printing United show, held in October 2023, took place in Atlanta: 2024’s show marks a return to America’s favourite expo city, Las Vegas, which consistently tops the US’ rankings for corporate events.

Subers said: “Everybody loves Vegas. You know, I’ve never – and I’ve been to Vegas 20 or 30 times – I’ve never put a dollar on a gambling table. But in terms of entertainment, there’s so much to do, to see. It’s great weather, and super fun.

“We’re going to Orlando next year, as we try to alternate between the West and East coasts.”

Registration to attend the show is open at printingunited.com/attend.