When it comes to wide-format inkjet at IPEX it’s all about getting the technology in front of potential new investors from the commericial print sector, but it’s worth looking at the talks programme.
If you want to get a good grounding in all the latest digital inkjet wide-format print technology Ipex is hardly the place to do it. One of the largest and longing running UK-based trade print shows it might be, but a platform for already knowledgeable wide-format print providers to investigate the newest wide-format developments it’s not. Having announced in January a ‘World of Wide Format’ sector to the show - mainly to focus the commercial sector’s mind’s on potential diversification into this arena - the feature has since been scaled back and will run as the Wide Format Zone with Epson, Screen, D&K, Grafityp (showing Roland DG kit) and M Partners signed up at the time of writing as exhibitors within the space. No doubt, other vendors will have wide-format kit and solutions in other areas of the show too but, for those of you already operating in this market, what's probably of more use to you will be the event’s seminar/educational features.
Ipex director Trevor Crawford says: “While international exhibitors will showcase how their products can create quality and innovative print applications, the comprehensive content programme will demonstrate how to use them effectively in the 21st century.”
The World Print Summit is a thought leadership programme for business owners/managers that will run daily 24 – 28 March. The intention is to deliver insights into the evolving role and power of print. Content producer Ruth Clougherty says the speakers “have entered markets where others have dared not tread, invested in new technologies that others have shied away from, and been brave enough to create a culture of exploration, failure and innovation to be a success.”
Full details of the sessions can be found online, and include: ‘A Dawn of a New Era for Inkjet – Latest Technologies’; ‘Enduring Print – True Innovators’; ‘An Audience with Creative Agencies – How to Keep Print Firmly in the Mix; ‘Harnessing Big Data to Understand your Customers’ Behaviour’; and ‘Futurevision – the World of Print in 2040’.
Ipex is also putting an emphasis on the importance of injecting young blood into the industry and will run a ‘Youth in Print’ programme on the last day of the show in the World Print Summit, featuring presentations on the power of print from past students of the industry, a tour of Ipex, practical workshops and career advice for students.
These sessions will promote the versatility of print and its role within the modern day multi-channel marketing mix and will be run by print gurus, including John Charnock from Print International Research, documobi founder Peter Lancaster and Talking Print co- founder, David Hyams, who Image Reports interviewed recently here.
A series of Masterclasses, organised by Print Future’s Neil Falconer, will focus on business growth and production efficiency for SME printers. 52 individual sessions will run across two theatres during the whole six-day period of the show. The programme is rather eclectic so it’s worth having a look at the full run-down online as it may just impact upon which day you decide to make your Ipex visit. Here’s a talks taster: ‘Practical Steps to Integrate in a Mobile World’; ‘The Essentials of Social marketing for Printers’; ‘Using Effective KPIs to Drive Company Performance’; “Practical Strategies to Protect Your Profit Margins’; ‘Getting into Personalised products’; ‘Technologies that will Change Print’.
And then of course there is Cross Media Production. Co-located at Ipex for the first time, the content will focus on how to effectively implement communication strategies across multiple platforms and run across three theatres: Brand Management; 121 Data, Digital and Data Marketing; and Publishing. “This event will demonstrate and help the print and marketing communications community better understand how to put the theory behind cross media strategies into practice,” explains Andrew Thornhill, marketing manager for Cross Media Production.
Again there’s a full content programme online for each of three theatres, with clearly identifiable colour coding showing whether sessions are case studies, interviews, panel sessions or presentations. Speakers include Charlotte Graham- Cumming, director of Ice Blue Sky on ‘How Engaging With Creative Agencies Can Increase Brand and Revenue’; Duncan Stokes, CEO of Ogilvy Redworks on ‘Technologies for Creating and Delivering Multi-Channel Campaigns – The Challenges and the Opportunities’; Tony Hodgeson, director for PODi Europe on ‘Ten Years On, are Engagement Agencies the New Breed of Market Service Providers?’; and Marian Stefani, CEO, Flyte Associates on ‘Do Agencies Really Understand the Value of Full 1:1 Cross Media and If So How Do They Translate This To Their Customers?’.
Ipex takes place at the Excel London, 24 – 29 March. Pre-registration is now open at lr.registerbynet.com/IPEX2014
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