Focused FESPA 2018 event programme reflects latest industry insights

New research-led features offer fresh learning opportunities for visitors

Visitors to FESPA 2018 Global Print Expo (Messe Berlin, 15-18 May 2018) will discover a content-rich event programme, entirely founded on independent research into the key growth trends in speciality printing.

Since the last European FESPA event in Hamburg in May 2017, FESPA has invested in wide-ranging research to gather the latest insights into the areas offering greatest potential for its global community of print service providers and sign-makers.

Conducted by FESPA’s knowledge partner Smithers Pira, the findings have been collated in the form of five ‘white papers’, as a means of sharing the latest knowledge and critical market data with members of FESPA’s 37 National Associations and the community at large. The white papers cover the following topics:

• Future Markets for Printed Signage
• Inkjet Textile Printing
• New Frontiers in Interior Print
• The Market Opportunities in Industrial Print
• Digital Print Comes to Corrugated Packs

FESPA CEO Neil Felton explains: “FESPA was founded with the principal aim of sharing knowledge within a global community of speciality printers, all of whom are operating against an ever-changing landscape of developing technologies and evolving customer needs. Our Profit for Purpose programme enables us – among many initiatives – to invest some of the profits from our global event portfolio in comprehensive industry research, which in turn helps us to provide evidence-based vision and leadership to our community.”

Berlin 2018: New educational features

FESPA has channelled this up-to-the-minute insight into all aspects of the visitor programme at FESPA 2018 Global Print Expo, and has used it to inform the development of two major new experiential and educational features to be introduced for the first time at the Berlin event.

The Digital Corrugated Experience is an educational and experiential area, showcasing the advantages of digital print for corrugated packaging and retail display applications. It aims to highlight to packaging converters and box-makers the benefits of integrating digital technology into their production mix.

Reflecting the significance of garment applications within the wider opportunity in printed textiles, Print Make Wear is a new, interactive visitor feature designed to replicate a fast fashion factory. Focused exclusively on fashion textiles, garments and printed accessories, the feature takes the form of a live production environment highlighting every step in the screen and digital printing production process, from initial design to finished product.

The broader significance of digitally-printed textiles as an opportunity for the speciality print community, as described in the Inkjet Textile Printing whitepaper, is reflected in the continued expansion of textile related exhibits throughout the event, which now covers four of the ten halls.

Neil Felton continues: “Our work with Smithers Pira highlighted two opportunities for FESPA to deliver tangible value to our visitors. Firstly, helping PSPs and packaging converters dive deeper into the potential opportunities in digital printing of corrugated board and, secondly, delivering a focused educational experience around garment printing. Together with more established FESPA features, this newly expanded educational programme gives visitors a broad spectrum of opportunities to explore potential paths to business growth.”

FESPA will continue to highlight the evolving opportunities in printed décor with the Printeriors Showcase area, an immersive space featuring prominently in the entrance atrium of Messe Berlin, inviting all visitors to FESPA 2018 to explore and interact with a curated selection of printed room-sets and objects, reflecting the ever-widening scope for printed décor in corporate, hospitality and domestic settings.

Building on FESPA’s long history of offering free educational seminars for visitors on a range of topics, a single FESPA 2018 Trends Theatre will consolidate this educational offering in one location, making it easy for visitors to locate and plan sessions into their time at the show. All sessions in the Trends Theatre are grouped around the trends identified by the independent research, and Smithers Pira will deliver sessions on each key trend over the course of the show.

FESPA Print Census 2018

Further underlining its ongoing investment in research and intelligence gathering, FESPA will share the findings of the FESPA Print Census 2018 during the Berlin event. This survey of over 1,400 print service providers and suppliers worldwide explores the perspectives of the community itself on the major industry trends, giving a real-world indication of how these are reflected in actual print and sign-making businesses today, and in the respondents’ projections for the future.

For more information on the full FESPA 2018 visitor programme, visit www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com/features . For free entry, use code FESM805 when registering.