Expo Bound: To See Equipment ‘Up Close and Personal’

By Bob Neubauer

Paul Bethel

The PRINTING United Expo — September 10-12 in Las Vegas — is just around the corner, and attendees are eagerly preparing for days filled with learning, networking, and inspiration. As we approach the Expo, we're excited to present a series of Q&A interviews with attendees. They'll share their reasons for attending the PRINTING United Expo, the knowledge they hope to gain, and what they're most looking forward to at the event.

We talked with Paul Bethel, Digital Printing Services Manager at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, to learn about his Expo plans.

What made you want to attend this year's Expo?

Location is one reason, but the best reason is the fact that most all vendors will be at your fingertips to engage with and pose questions to that you might otherwise not have the opportunity for. Seeing equipment up close and personal is important.

If you attended a past Expo, what ideas did you come away with that helped your in-plant?

Knowing exactly who the players were with cut-sheet inkjet at the time we were considering it, as well as knowing what substrates had to be used — and getting samples there.

What products or services are you most looking forward to seeing?

My main focus is continuing my look at inkjet production presses and monitoring changes year by year. I’m interested in smaller bindery items that could help speed up smaller runs, as well.

Why is attending the Expo better than going to a vendor’s demo center to see equipment?

Everything for almost every vendor is there in one place, and you have the ability of revisiting a vendor if you see something else you may not have thought of to compare.

Is networking with industry peers an important reason for attending the Expo? If so, why?

Networking with industry peers is important, but seeing equipment firsthand, I would say is more important than that.

How do you hope attending will impact your business/career moving forward?

It should put me in a better position to install equipment in the future that stays relevant with what my parent company is producing.

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Bob Neubauer Author's page Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.