Graphics of the Americas Back in Miami
In an era that admonishes printers to think differently about their product and service offerings, the Graphics of the Americas Conference & Expo (GOA) aims to help printers do exactly that by providing them with a blueprint of the future. The 2012 show—slated for March 1-3, back at the Miami Beach Convention Center after temporarily relocating to Orlando last year—boasts a strong mixture of expo exhibitors and a diverse educational session roster that drew 2,100 people in 2011.
Attendees will have 10 educational conference tracks to choose from: prepress/production; digital printing; sales/marketing; management; wide-format; illustration and design; Photoshop; Web and interactive; InDesign; and Acrobat and PDF.
Some of the GOA show floor extras emphasize the industry’s migration from printers to versatile marketing service providers. In the expo theater, exhibiting companies will proctor 10 future-oriented sessions geared toward the latest marketing trends. A number of centers dedicated to ancillary/niche offerings include a direct-to-garment center, a wide-format printing area and a vehicle wrap center.
Direct-to-garment, which debuted in 2011, is a desktop offering aimed at small- to medium-sized printers. The center proved quite popular in its debut, with strong applications for the Caribbean and tourist cruise destinations.
Wide-format digital printing continues to draw a lot of attention, both from a printing and finishing standpoint. This year’s attraction will demonstrate the same job being sent to three different printers—aqueous, UV and solvent-based—giving attendees insight into the differences. (You must pre-register for this one.)
The mixture of highly competitive, new technologies, combined with affordability, should certainly pique the curiosity of show-goers. For more information or to register, visit www.goa2012.com.