Exclusively representing Australia at what amounts to the first 'inward mission of editors' to a preview of an IGAS show in Japan was PMG associate publisher, Brian Moore.
He was one of just 11 representatives of leading print and electronic media from across the region, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan.
Unlike most other global printing and graphic communication show brands, IGAS, the International Graphic Arts Show, is owned, managed and organised by some 500 industry stakeholders, represented in this case by JAGASC, a coalition of Japanese suppliers.
JGASC had planned an inward mission of editors for its 2003 event, but this was called off in the wake of the outbreak of SARS.
In welcoming editors to Tokyo, Komori says he hopes they will take back to their readers the message of a very welcoming IGAS 2007 whose exhibitors will be ready to do business like never before in English (as well as Chinese, Korean and of course, Japanese) when the event kicks of for seven days at the spectacular Tokyo Big Sight on September 21.
Organisers are hoping that the image of a 1990s printing show with little literature in English and even fewer on-stand representatives able to speak it to exhibition visitors will be long forgotten by the time IGAS 2007 opens in around 16 weeks from now.
As JGASC adviser and long-time Japanese resident, Holger Wittich quipped, "that was another century". His fellow committee members are looking forward to welcoming IGAS 2007 visitors from around the world, especially Oceania and Asia.
Vice-chief of the JGASC secretariat, Michiyasu Kohtaki, told the IGAS 2007 press corps that the 2007 event – only the second since IGAS went 'international' in an orderly cycle with its cousins, drupa (Düsseldorf), Ipex (Birmingham) and Print (Chicago), looked set to break all records for the show, with 485 exhibitors (compared to 435 in 2003) presenting their solutions to visitors in 43,000m² (2003: 40,086m²) of floorspace.
Organisers are expecting 125,000 (2003: 120,593) visitors to the 2007 event, of which some 15,000 (2003: 12,544) are expected from around the region and beyond.
Emphasising the international flavour and status of the show, Kohtaki explains that the event's website, www.igas-tokyo.jp, presents more information than ever in advance of the show in English, Chinese and Korean in addition to Japanese.
In addition to seeing and learning about best-of-class technologies and solutions across the spectrum of print – many of them in action – IGAS 2007 visitors will, for the first time, be able to participate in supporting events including and International Print Media Symposium, Advanced Technology Zone, Virtual Reality Theater, JDF Pavilion and an Exhibition of historical printing machines and equipment.
It's not all work either, say IGAS 2007 organisers – a Beer Party is being planned, probably for the night of Wednesday, September 26.
As IGAS 2007 draws nearer, much more information about the event will be published in all PMG print titles as well as online at the i-grafix website.
Click HERE to receive information about available tours to IGAS 2007.
Spotlight: Japan's US$70bn printing industry
There will also be an indepth analysis of the US$70bn Japanese printing industry which, according to METI Industrial Statistics, employed 379,900 workers across 33,793 companies in 2004.
Trade journalists visiting Japan this week are learning about the difficulties and the opportunities facing the Japanese printing and graphic communications industries.
Yesterday, representatives of Japan's top three printing companies, Toppan Printing, Dainippon Printing and Tosho Printing shared insights into technical trends in prepress, press and post-press and today, the press corps will be visiting printers outside Tokyo to see how Japanese companies are adopting more environmentally friendly technologies and practices (Kyoritsu Printing, Honjo) and implementing the latest printing technologies (Toppan Printing, Sakado).
Read more about these important presentations and factory visits in PMG print titles and online, here at i-grafix.
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