Will you be putting EcoPrint Europe Live 2012 in your diary? You should, and here’s why…
“EcoPrint is an idea whose time has come.” So says Marcus Timson, director of EcoPrint Europe Live 2012, which will take place in Berlin next September. But then he would. The point is, what do you think?
Sustainability in business will be a key topic as we head into 2012, which is why Image Reports has covered the subject in so much depth over the last few months. So it’s hardly surprising that the first event launched by former Fespa directors Frazer Chesterman and Marcus Timson is focused on this topic. But when the new show was announced in October, there was a raised eyebrow or two in the industry at the thought of another exhibition in an already busy show calendar. But this isn’t just another exhibition. According to Timson it’s “part visionary forum and part technology showcase”.
And it’s the first of its type - a whole event built around improving the sustainability credentials of print businesses. If you’re not excited by that, you’re in trouble. As Timson puts it: “This is an area that is becoming ever more critical for all in the industry, driven by both the CSR desires of printers and their customers to be more sustainable in their approach to business and the need to meet legislative and regulative demands at a national and pan-European level. All this means printers must embrace a more robust, sustainable policy and we are fully committed to providing guidance, advice and innovation in this regard.
“As EcoPrint is 100% focused on sustainable technologies and solutions, we believe it can also genuinely take a leading role over the next few years in helping printers and their customers break through the ‘greenwash’. This will be achieved by providing real, demonstrable examples that will challenge the traditional perception still prevalent in many sections of the industry that going green costs printing companies money. In most cases today, the opposite is actually true. EcoPrint is as much about economics as ecology.”
Those of you who participate in EcoPrint 2012 in Berlin (26 - 27 September) will find an event broken down into three key areas: ‘Think’, ‘Talk’ and ‘Take Action’.
‘Think’ - Big stories from big brands will feature in the EcoPrint visionary forums, covering sustainability, innovation in green print production, case studies from innovative sustainable printing companies, tutorials on how to sell sustainable print and insight from marketers and brands that are demanding sustainability. In addition, Think will also feature forums, panels and discussion about the issues surrounding sustainability at a strategic level.
‘Talk’ - This area will be a focal point for new eco technologies inspiring eco printing. It will demonstrate how you can grow commercially and environmentally sustainable businesses through reducing waste, minimising cost and increasing profit as well as showing how pre-press, workflow, software, MIS, inks, substrates etc. can all add significant value to sustainable production.
Take Action - This is EcoPrint’s technology showcase of print machinery, showing how to optimise sustainability and efficiency and put the theory of sustainability into practise.
Timson adds: “From the outset, this event needed to be about much more than ‘just’ manufacturers talking to printers. It had to engage the whole supply chain, encourage manufacturers, printers, marketers and brands and help them to recognise the many benefits - commercially and environmentally - of going green, as well as inspire all those along the production and marketing chains by demonstrating the latest innovations and thinking in green print.
“At the inaugural steering group committee meeting nearly 50 representatives of hardware and software manufacturers, printers and industry analysts and thought leaders from across the industry came together to start working collaboratively on moving the show forward and agreeing a range of eco standards and initiatives to excite, provoke and engage visitors.
“This is a real opportunity for the industry to demonstrate to print buyers, marketers and brands - big and small - just how sustainable print can be today and what the future holds in this regard. We believe green can be gold for printers. The industry is ready for change. Are you?”
www.ecoprint.com