Attending a trade show is a careful decision for most in-plants. It means having key personnel out of the office for most of a week, not to mention needing to find the budget to cover the costs of everything from airfare to hotel to food and transportation. But for in-plants that go in prepared, it all pays off.
That is what happened for the Palm Beach County Graphics Division, in Greenacres, Florida, when Manager John Johnson and another team member went to PRINTING United Expo in Orlando last year. They ended up making a few purchases as a direct result of what they saw at the show: the Uniplan 510 and Hemtek ST welders from Leister, and a software license for Engview Designer.
“Our wide-format business has expanded significantly in the last few years and we needed a more reliable hemming and seaming solution for our work,” Johnson explains. “We previously had a Banner PRO by Supply 55. This worked similar to a shrink wrap machine with a heating strip about 24” long. It was very cumbersome to use; once we saw these two Leister units at PRINTINTG United, we knew we found an efficient and durable solution. We make both hemmed banners and seamed larger banners, so we purchased both machines. They both do an excellent job.”
Nathan Smith uses the Uniplan 510 welder at the Palm Beach County Graphics Division, a useful addition to the in-plant that managers spotted at PRINTING United Expo.
The in-plant produces about 30 banners per month, and Johnson notes that the old system had gotten unreliable, and the seams were opening up. He arrived at the Expo knowing that he needed something that could produce durable results easily and repeatedly for his team. It also needed to be able to withstand a range of weather conditions and not have the seams open or degrade.
“We produce many windscreen banners for our Parks Department using windscreen material,” Johnson says. “These are 4x6” that are printed on both sides, then hemmed and grommeted. These are used at dog parks as promotional advertising from sponsoring businesses in the community. They are zip tied to chain link fences and must stand up to the Florida sun and weather.”
But while the hemming and seaming equipment was the solution he and Assistant Manager Carlos Duenas went to the show to look at, Johnson notes that “the Engview Designer program was a serendipitous discovery. We had just completed a special die-cut design for our library to make a fold-up miniature bookmobile to be given to children. This was in conjunction with the inauguration of their new bookmobile. We were just walking the aisles at PRINTING United when we came upon their booth and saw a demonstration of the software. Carlos’s remark during the demonstration was that they did a feature of the design in five minutes, which he had spent five hours doing the previous week in Illustrator for the bookmobile die-cut.”
Johnson and Duenas didn’t come to the Expo with a list of equipment they planned to purchase. Instead, they knew the problems they were having, and walked the show floor to see what solutions might help them.
“We had not seen any of these items before, we just ran across them at PRINTING United,” Johnson says. “Finding things like this is an important reason I go the trade shows. I especially look at the small booths that have new ideas.”
Expo Visit Rewards Palm Beach Shop’s Search for Hem Welders
Attending a trade show is a careful decision for most in-plants. It means having key personnel out of the office for most of a week, not to mention needing to find the budget to cover the costs of everything from airfare to hotel to food and transportation. But for in-plants that go in prepared, it all pays off.
That is what happened for the Palm Beach County Graphics Division, in Greenacres, Florida, when Manager John Johnson and another team member went to PRINTING United Expo in Orlando last year. They ended up making a few purchases as a direct result of what they saw at the show: the Uniplan 510 and Hemtek ST welders from Leister, and a software license for Engview Designer.
“Our wide-format business has expanded significantly in the last few years and we needed a more reliable hemming and seaming solution for our work,” Johnson explains. “We previously had a Banner PRO by Supply 55. This worked similar to a shrink wrap machine with a heating strip about 24” long. It was very cumbersome to use; once we saw these two Leister units at PRINTINTG United, we knew we found an efficient and durable solution. We make both hemmed banners and seamed larger banners, so we purchased both machines. They both do an excellent job.”
Nathan Smith uses the Uniplan 510 welder at the Palm Beach County Graphics Division, a useful addition to the in-plant that managers spotted at PRINTING United Expo.
The in-plant produces about 30 banners per month, and Johnson notes that the old system had gotten unreliable, and the seams were opening up. He arrived at the Expo knowing that he needed something that could produce durable results easily and repeatedly for his team. It also needed to be able to withstand a range of weather conditions and not have the seams open or degrade.
“We produce many windscreen banners for our Parks Department using windscreen material,” Johnson says. “These are 4x6” that are printed on both sides, then hemmed and grommeted. These are used at dog parks as promotional advertising from sponsoring businesses in the community. They are zip tied to chain link fences and must stand up to the Florida sun and weather.”
But while the hemming and seaming equipment was the solution he and Assistant Manager Carlos Duenas went to the show to look at, Johnson notes that “the Engview Designer program was a serendipitous discovery. We had just completed a special die-cut design for our library to make a fold-up miniature bookmobile to be given to children. This was in conjunction with the inauguration of their new bookmobile. We were just walking the aisles at PRINTING United when we came upon their booth and saw a demonstration of the software. Carlos’s remark during the demonstration was that they did a feature of the design in five minutes, which he had spent five hours doing the previous week in Illustrator for the bookmobile die-cut.”
Johnson and Duenas didn’t come to the Expo with a list of equipment they planned to purchase. Instead, they knew the problems they were having, and walked the show floor to see what solutions might help them.
“We had not seen any of these items before, we just ran across them at PRINTING United,” Johnson says. “Finding things like this is an important reason I go the trade shows. I especially look at the small booths that have new ideas.”
Toni McQuilken is the senior editor for the printing and packaging group.