Japan’s international print trade show Igas 2015, scheduled to take place September 11-16, will have Print + Innovation as its theme, aiming to highlight new opportunities for printers to exploit. Aussie printers making the trip to Tokyo will see multiple innovative solutions for clients, including print working with RFID, print with solar panels, and electronic paper. Speaking to the media in Tokyo at a pre-show briefing Takeshi Hirotsune, the secretary general of the Japanese suppliers association says, “We look forward to welcoming all international printers to Igas in September. The exhibition will inform them of the new opportunities that are emerging in print and provide excellent time with the latest technologies.” Komori will have the largest of the 323 stands at Igas, with Ryobi MHI and HP not far behind. All the major Japanese equipment developers will be there, as will exhibitors from 11 different countries. There will be no German presses on the floor. Igas is aiming for so 50,000 visitors, with a greater number than ever before coming from overseas. Floorspace this time is 23,000sqm, compared with 24,100sqm in 2011 Among the show highlights will be the new B2 inkjet digital sheetfed press co-developed by Komori and Konica Minolta, which will be launched, as the Komori Impremia and the Konica Minolta KM-1. It needs no special papers nor primer. Horizon will focus on workflow automation with JDF, HP will have its burgeoning portfolio of diverse technologies on show highlighting innovation in print solutions. Screen will have a Jet 520HD inkjet press, Truepress Jet L350 UV label printer, a post press label solution and a digital high speed laser cutter. Ricoh will launch a new one million A4 sheets a month digital printer the Pro C910. Miyakoshi, which supplies print engines for several manufacturers will launch a new short run rotary sleeve offset press for flexible packaging which it says will be profitable down to run lengths of just 100metres. Sakurai will also have an offset press, its five-colour with coater B2 LED-UV Oliver, and its MSDR60 screen printing system. Fujifilm will launch a new CTP, the Superia, which it says will produce resource savings across the board. Canon will show a new inkjet packaging printer using Infinistream technology, as well as its new C800/700 cutsheet printer and its Niagara B3 digital printer. In a separate development Igas will move to a new three yearly cycle in response to drupa switching for three years. The next show is now scheduled for 2018. The organising committee has pulled Jgas the annual domestic show from the schedule to concentrate on Igas. The move to three years may impact directly on Ipex and the US show Print. Ipex was already up against it to have a show ready for 2108, given the withdrawal of almost all major manufacturers from the 2014 show, the Igas move to 2018 may prove one obstacle too far.

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