This year’s GraphExpo has opened its doors in Orlando, with visitors promised a host of innovation on the show floor along with multiple educational opportunities.
With its Refresh theme, the Graph Expo show floor attractions are being augmented by a slate of educational sessions and engaging industry networking opportunities, all geared to providing show visitors with the latest business building tools, best practices, and resources.
The organisers say this year's show will speak directly to print pros in every key industry segment, to offer guidance and direction that will address their business needs in four key business building areas: how to increase their sales, how to adapt their business to the newest trends and technology, how to engage growth strategies and new business opportunities, and how to manage their costs and improve efficiencies.
Learning opportunities will start with the annual pre-show Executive Outlook Conference co-sponsored by EFI and Xerox. This year's Finding New Markets themed half-day session will focus on business growth strategies
The seminar and educational program will target seven key areas including: Increasing Your Sales; Adapting Your Business to the Newest Technology & Trends; Growth Strategies & New Business Opportunities; Managing Costs & Improving Efficiencies.
The Graph Expo 16 show floor features 10 show floor pavilions and specialty sections covering everything from the latest software to gain workflow efficiencies and for creative design, to wide format inkjet and RFID, through new innovations in mailing and fulfillment.
Making its show floor debut this year is The House That Print Built, which highlights the many and varied print applications that go beyond ink on paper and other applications that feature an image on a flat, static surface. This new show floor destination invites show visitors to think beyond the ordinary, to plentiful new print opportunities in which some of the latest technologies vendors have to offer can be used in interesting new ways. From the window coverings to wallpaper, furnishings and more – The House That Print Built is a visual demonstration of today's expanding print profit possibilities.
Also on display will be the latest equipment and applications in software, workflow and design, press and finishing, and The Inkjet Candy Store, with live demonstrations of the newest wide format inkjet printers. The tactile qualities and impact of print will be emphasised at the Materials Matter show floor hub. The latest developments in mailing and fulfillment will be found at Deliver-The Mailing and Fulfillment Center. News Print is the Newspaper Pavilion featuring new applications and workflow solutions.
The In-Plant Place is a dedicated networking hub exclusively for In-Plant pros. On Education Main Street education professionals will provide information on educational programs, scholarships, and internships targeting the graphic communications industry. In addition, Idealliance will offer the Idealliance Solutions Theater.
The Printerverse, which is open to all attendees, will be a hub to network, share, and learn about the latest innovations and applications that are driving our industry forward. Daily hot-topic learning sessions will explore the latest trends, tactics, and more in The Printerverse Theater.
The annual Must See ‘Ems competition at the show has seen eleven new technologies awarded, and the Fuji Xerox iGen3 win the legacy title.
All new technologies on show at the expo are entered into appropriate categories. Singling out the year's best technology offerings, NPES president Thayer Long says, “From among these winners, judges choose what they consider the best product in each category to be named Best of Category’.
The 2016 Best of Category award winners are:
Sales and Order Entry – Infigo Software Ltd – Catfish-Mega Edit
Prepress and Premedia – Xerox Corp. – Xerox FreeFlow Digital Publisher
Color Management and Quality Control – Lake Image Systems Inc. – Discovery Roll Inspector
Variable, Transactional and Multi-Channel – HP Inc. – Link Technology
Pressroom: Analog Presses – RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology – RMGT 920ST-5-A+LED-UV
Pressroom: Digital Presses – Electronics For Imaging – EFI Nozomi C18000
Pressroom: Wide-Format – Electronics For Imaging – EFI AquaEndure Inks
Postpress and In-line Finishing – MGI USA – JET Varnish 3D Evolution
Imprinting, Mailing, Shipping and Fulfillment – Neopost USA – MACH 6
Management Systems – Electronics For Imaging – EFI and Esko integrated workflow for digital packaging
The Future of Print – Xerox Corp. – Xerox Direct to Object Inkjet Printer
And after two rounds of voting, the Must See ‘Ems Selection Committee announces the Xerox DocuColor iGen3Digital Production Press the as the 2016 Must See ‘Ems Legacy Award winner, given to a technology that has had a significant, lasting, and continuing influence on the graphic communications industry.
"When this product was introduced to the graphic communications industry it received immediate acclaim," says Long. "Since that time it has helped engineer a sea-change in the industry by proving that production digital imaging could compete in speed, quality, and productivity with the then-dominant offset technology."
Graph Expo 16 runs until Wednesday in Orlando.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter