This year’s Visual Impact Sydney show managed to increase visitors by 10 per cent, – albeit lower Saturday numbers – as suppliers showed the latest in wide format presses and solutions.
The three-day wide format event, which closed its doors on Saturday, was the prime time for major suppliers to debut a suite of machines, some of which were launched at drupa in June.
Visitors trawling through the halls were privy to several Visual Impact-first launches from vendors including Canon, Epson, Mimaki and HP, with major sales and orders making the trip interstate well worthwhile.
ProPrint spoke to more than a dozen suppliers who gave stellar reviews of the tradeshow and the success it offers its vendors.
Sitting centre stage at the Canon stand was the brand new Océ Arizona 2200 series – flown in only several days earlier from Vancouver.
Described as Canon’s crown jewel for wide format, the fourth generation Océ Arizona flatbed printer prints at a speed of up to 63.4sqm per hour, utilises Océ VariaDot ink quality and offers Roll Media Option for unattended overnight printing.
[Related: Visual Impact Melbourne 2015 review]
Fresh off the back of drupa 2016, the 2200 press hit Aussie shores on the opening day of the show, Visual Impact the first opportunity for Australian printers to place an order.
Alongside its hardware and media solutions Neopost was providing a host of market data to the show visitors, enabling printers to see where opportunities were emerging, for instance in decorative wallcoverings, and where growth was likely to be strongest.
Spicers had its new Elitron Kombo TH cutting table as the centrepiece of its stand, with Jason Hay outlining the benefits of the dual gantry cutting, which means that the table can work non-stop. Spicers was also showing LED signage solutions, designed to enable printers to exploit the rocketing demand for digital.
Epson’s signage champion was its new SureColor SC-S60600 model, also hot off the press from drupa. According to Nathan Fulcher, communications manager for Epson the S60600 has garnered significant interest from printers due to its fast production and throughput, paired with its simple operation and maintenance demand.
On display at the Mimaki stand sat the fresh UJF-6042MkII inkjet flatbed, a newborn press only months old, succeeding its predecessor the UJF-6042.
Making its debut at Visual Impact Sydney was also its grand format UJV 55-320, marketed for super wide format printing with high speed production up to 110m² per hour and LUS-120 high performance UV curing ink including white.
[Related: Brisbane Visual Impact hits big numbers]
HP had its first public showing of the new HP Latex 1500 and Latex 560 presses at the three day exhibition. Partnering with digital printing reseller Celmac, HP demonstrated the latest in its latex ink presses, used as an alternative to eco-solvent based inks.
Jeremy Brew, wide format sales manager at HP told ProPrint the HP stand’s focus was on ‘customer ideas and application inspiration’ and says the strategy behind partnering with resellers ensures every HP supplier has the chance to experience a HP-style exhibition stand.
Sydney compared to Brisbane’s show earlier this year saw a 52 per cent jump in attendance, and exhibitors and visitors alike appeared satisfied with the turnout. The Visual Connections organised event is proof positive of the future for print exhibitions.
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