In a rapidly changing industry the once every four years PacPrint will provide a welcome boost to the nation’s printers.
Often toiling away on their own in the face of high pressure and battered by multiple forces print business owners will find plenty of encouragement at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in May as they mix and mingle with their peers. The suppliers will have innovative technology on show, the seminar programme will highlight emerging opportunities, and the chance to share stories from the battlefield with printers from around the country will be welcome.
Most of the major names from the industry will be at the show, which this year is co-located with Visual Impact, the country’s premier wide format event. Since the last commercial print suppliers association and the display industry’s association have joined forces under the Visual Connections name, and as such the show is now including both commercial and wide format printing, which is great news for printers as they can see everything under one roof at one time.
PacPrint is co-hosted by Visual Connections and the PIAA, each having members on the Board, with PIAA having three and Visual Connections four including the chairman..
Sponsors
New Gold Sponsors Currie Group and Pozitive are joining HP and Graphic Art Mart, while Spicers has been confirmed a Silver Sponsor, along with EFI and Mimaki. The event’s Platinum Sponsor is Roland DG.
Peter Harper, general manager of show organiser Visual Connections says, “On the ground, PacPrint is shaping up as the perfect place to connect with the industry’s leading suppliers.
“Names including Agfa, AVS, Canon, Celmac, Currie Group, Cyber, EFI, Epson, Esko, Flint Group, Fuji Xerox, Graphic Art Mart, HP, Jetmark, Konica Minolta, Mimaki, Multicam, Neopost, Ricoh, Roland DG, Screen, Spicers, Starleaton and Vivad will demonstrate the latest technology and solutions, as well as offering ideas and inspiration to help business owners and decision makers plan for future success.”
This year organisers are bringing back the crowd favourite PacPrint Forum Series which Harper says will explore big issues while also offering workshops and panel sessions covering technology, business and market-specific topics.
Harper adds, “PacPrint 2017 and the co-located Visual Impact Expo, will be the best opportunity in four years for business owners and decision makers to see the latest trends and technology first-hand and connect with people who can help them shape their businesses for the future.”
PacPrint 2017 will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 23 to 26.
Currie Group is expected to have the biggest stand at the exhibition. It will be joined by HP, Ricoh, Fuji Xerox, Konica Minolta and Canon which will also boast large stands.
Other key suppliers also on board are Celmac, Neopost, Graphic Art Mart, Roland DG, Epson, AVS, Multicam, Mimaki, EFI, Screen, Agfa, and an assortment of smaller vendors.
Organiser and Visual Connections general manager Peter Harper says, “The commitment of these key suppliers across a broad range of industry sectors is a great result for the show, and without exception they have expressed their excitement about the opportunity to connect with print and graphic communications businesses around the region and help them find the solutions they need to build their own business success.”
About 13,000 visitors are expected to descend upon the Melbourne show from around Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.
The show will also offer forums, workshop sessions, live demonstrations and the all-important networking opportunities.
MGI gets ready to launch
Top brass from French digital solutions developer MGI have been in the country preparing for PacPrint, where the full range of the company’s innovative embellishment solutions will be launched.
Kevin Abergel, vice president sales and marketing, MGI was in Australia visiting potential customers and setting up with service operation, which will be run under the auspices of Konica Minolta, now the majority owner of MGI.
Abergel says, “PacPrint will be a key event for MGI and Australian printers. The range of JetVarnish digital embellishment solutions will be launched in sizes 36cm, 52cm, 64cm and 75cm with the roll to roll version planned for later in 2017. The systems provide tremendous in-house opportunity for commercial printers.”
It is commercial printers and packaging printers running offset litho presses who are the main target market for MGI, Abergel says, “A lot of companies outsource embellishment, but having a system in-house means they can sell it, rather than just have it as a service. And the MGI machines are suited to jobs up to 10,000 runs, which is a majority of print jobs these days.”
According to Abergel one of the key advances form MGI has been in Artificial Intelligence registration, he says, “With the MGI we use a live image comparison of a printed sheet scan with the PDF of the print file using hundreds of content points, so registration has become a conversation of the past.”
The MGI range uses Konica Minolta print heads, which says David Cascarino, national manager of Industrial Print at Konica Minolta, means, “MGI has complete ownership over the entire technology, this is an integrated dedicated solution, not a device dependent on external technology.” Abergel says that MGI and Konica Minolta have been working together for the past 20 years.
MGI first entered the market as specialist digital printing systems developer, with its presses able to print one a wide range of substrates, including plastics and foils. It has since developed the digital embellishment systems, including the JETvarnish 3D Evolution B2, which was a major focus at drupa this year, with the stand also featuring the Meteor Unlimited Colors Se+ digital press. Both these technologies will be on show at PacPrint.
Cascarino says, “The Meteor Unlimited can print and foil in one unit. This is the strategy of MGI, it is offering innovative solutions that enable printers to sell added value print, so they can increase their margins.
There are six different products in the range priced from between $US250,000 to around $US1m. The roll-to-roll embellishment system is designed for the label market including the new Konica Minolta C71cf digital label press.
Patterson Segaert join PacPrint board
Co-host of industry trade expo PacPrint, Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) has appointed its Board members Ron Patterson and Chris Segaert to represent the association on the PacPrint board.
Segaert is a long-time PIAA board member and former president, and Patterson is the incoming PIAA board representative for Victoria, having previously served as the association’s Victorian state manager.
They join PacPrint organisers, Visual Connections representative Adrian Fleming from Print IQ, who also chairs the board, fellow PIAA board member Peter Lane, Konica Minolta’s Anthony Lewis and EFI’s Anthony Parnemann.
Fleming says, “We are delighted to welcome Ron and Chris as the new Printing Industries representatives on the PacPrint board, and look forward to their input, which will be drawn from their broad industry experience and informed by their long association and deep commitment to the print and graphic communications sector.
“PacPrint 2017 is already shaping up as an exciting show and an absolute ‘must see’ event for businesses as they seek to meet the challenges of today’s rapidly evolving market and build a solid foundation for future success.
Fleming continues, “We are fortunate to have such a strong board to guide the strategy and development around the show, to ensure it provides outstanding value to both exhibitors and visitors.”
PacPrint keynote speakers revealed
PacPrint has announced its keynote speakers for its Forum Series, with talks coming from a variety backgrounds including a comedian, a paramedic, a futurist and a helicopter pilot.
According to PacPrint this keynote series is a well-established and popular part of the PacPrint program, providing an important educational dimension to the industry’s premier exhibition.
General manager Karen Goldsmith says the four keynote presenters – Steve Tighe, Peter Davidson, Marty Wilson and Jerry Grayson – will tackle some of the big issues facing the industry drawing from their vast and diverse experience.
On the first day Steve Tighe, a futurist will take on journey to the future, exploring what can drive change and how they will affect your business. He will cover important questions such as how to detect emerging trends, what tomorrow’s customers are looking for and how to plan and innovate for the future.
Next on the list Peter Davidson, a paramedic on the Helimed One chopper which rescued eight sailors to safety during the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race. His story will teach printers about crisis management, demonstrating what everyday people can achieve.
On Thursday comedian and author Marty Wilson will uncover all his wisdom from his recent novel What I wish I Knew, where he interviewed more than 1,000 inspirational people.
Lastly, author and helicopter pilot Jerry Grayson who at 17 was the youngest helicopter pilot to fly in the British Royal Navy. His presentation will illustrate important principles such as quick and confident decision making, the ability to ‘own’ decisions and live with their consequences, good communication and an effective and motivated team, which are absolutely vital for today’s industry leaders.
All speakers will begin at 12.30pm and all sessions are free to registered visitors.
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