Organiser Reed Exhibitions spoke to more than 600 business owners and key industry personnel to find out what visitors and exhibitors wanted from this year's show.

PacPrint13 Chairman Ian Martin said the research had been driven by the massive changes undergone by the industry since the last PacPrint in 2009.

"We are already looking at… introducing new areas to showcase cross-media and e-business innovations, allowing visitors to leave with fresh approaches to integrating digital and traditional marketing channels to drive customer engagement and increase revenues," he said.

[Related: GAMAA unveils PacPrint13 board]

"And we’ll also be providing some exciting new initiatives in the education area, to be announced shortly."

The research revealed that people continue to see PacPrint as a forum for new technology, a business-to-business marketplace and a place to keep pace with industry trends.

It also showed that printers wanted PacPrint to attract more print buyers and to provide more educational and networking opportunities.

Respondents' main areas of interest were technical innovation, digital technology, finishing, and prepress and production.

The survey also revealed that "an overwhelming majority" of printers expect to enjoy "stability or even slight growth in the short-to-medium-term future".

[LinkedIn: How relevant are trade shows?]

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