The Netherlands may be flat, but organisers are hoping Fespa Global Print Expo - in Amsterdam, 12-15 October - won’t be. travel restrictions may have been eased, but how can we expect to see what is normally a ‘must attend’ event pan out this time around?
Fespa isn’t providing any target visitor figures this year - understandable given all the Covid-19 related disruption, even though travel restrictions have been eased relatively recently. Fewer of the big names will be exhibiting and its likely the hoard of UK visitors will be somewhat reduced.
The next iteration of Fespa Global Print Expo will take place in Berlin on 31 May - 3 June 2022, and the assumption is that this will be much more of the all-singing, all-dancing affair we’ve come to know, but that doesn’t mean we should just ignore this year’s show, even if it means ‘attending’ virtually.
An ‘Exhibitor Showroom’ has been set up on the event website in the knowledge that not so many will make it into the physical exhibition halls. Like it says on the tin, exhibitors can provide product info, brochures, video, and other show business for ‘visitors’ to access. Of course, Image Reports will also bring you info from the show via online news stories and social media, but ahead of the event, here’s what to expect if you’re actually going.
Bear in mind that the Amsterdam show will run under special Covid safe restrictions. All visitors must pre-register and present proof of a double vaccine or negative test result and entry will by phone presentation of a ticket. Facemasks will be compulsory and the aisles will be wider to meet social distancing rules.
The full entry cost to the October event is 80 Euro but that’s reduced to 50 Euro by using one of the various promo codes you can find across various Fespa marketing collateral. Take note that tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Once there you can expect to see around 300 exhibitors - about 75% of the amount of companies signed-up for the Fespa Madrid show - spread across 16,000m2 of the RAI. Printeriors and Wrap Masters will again take place, but overall the number of show features has been drastically reduced - most noticeably, the Trends Theatre seminars and Sportswear Pro have been canned for 2021. The European Sign Expo will again be co-located with the event though.
At the time of going to press, few wide-format focussed exhibitors had divulged exactly what they’d be showing in terms of new products. Some had.
Canon will debut its Colorado 1630 and Arizona 135 GT printers. It will also ill also showcase the capabilities of its new UV LED IJC358 inkset for the first time.
Durst will be officially launching the Vanguard in Europe following its acquisition of a majority stake in US-based Vanguard Digital Printing Systems back at the start of 2020. It will also be presenting the P5 350 HS and the P5 Tex iSub launched earlier in the year.
Agfa will show its flagship Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS (aka The Beast) printing live. The UHS models - available in 6- or 4-colours with white or white and primer - offer 3.3m wide printing, and printer on show in Amsterdam is capable of printing on both rigid boards and rolls with automation options.
The relatively new Oberon RTR3300 3.3m wide UV LED roll-to-roll printer will also be on show, along with the recently launched Avinci CX3200 dye-sublimation machine. You can also expect to see Asanti 5.0 being showcased along with Agfa’s complete software suite.
Mimaki is planning the first live demonstrations of the JFX600-2513 and JFX550-2513 LED-UV inkjet printers for the high-volume throughput. It will also debut its 3DUJ-2207, a small-scale 3D printer utilising UV-curing inkjet technology, and show-off its 100 Series printers.
OneVision has said it will be working with Canon and Zund to demonstrate how print products from a wide range of materials can be prepared and nested with Wide Format Automation Suite. Output will be printed with Canon’s printing systems and then cut on site with the Zund S3 L-1200 cutter.
Wide Format Automation Suite software, so called ‘middleware’, is a workflow management system that can be integrated with existing IT (e.g. MIS, web shop, DFE). It downloads print files from FTP, web or e-mail servers and sends the files through defined workflows for automated print file preparation. The software then automatically transfers the required production files to printers and postpress systems.
swissQprint will present its latest neon inks for UV printing, and also show the speed model of its Karibu roll-to-roll printer, which has an option for automatic, double-sided printing.
Keep an eye on the Image Reports website for further updates as the show nears.