The PRINTING United Vision Becomes Reality

What started as a shared vision two years ago emerged as a triumphant reality last week, as approximately 30,000 visitors flooded the halls of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas for the debut edition of PRINTING United.

That shared vision, between the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) and NAPCO Media, was to create a platform in which the entire industry could come together at a singular event encompassing all things print. The result of this years-long collaboration is PRINTING United, the evolution of the former SGIA Expo, which expanded the scope of show participants to include commercial, in-plant, and packaging printers, in addition to the wide-format and garment printing equipment that SGIA Expo attendees are used to seeing.

PRINTING United on opening day.

“There has always been an energy at the show, but it has been amplified this year,” Ford Bowers, president and CEO of SGIA, said. “It shows just how vital this industry is.”

Throughout the three-day show, it was hard to traverse the halls and show floor without hearing buzz about, and evidence of, industry convergence. The key theme behind the development of PRINTING United, the concept of convergence stems from the increased activity among print service providers entering and exploring segments of the print industry outside of their traditional core product line.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the amount of people and diversity of the equipment,” said Mark Subers, president of NAPCO Media’s printing and packaging group, and president of PRINTING United. “It’s really representing the theme of convergence. It has been great to see people really digging in and looking at the equipment.”

Offset at PRINTING United in the RMGT booth.

The concept of convergence was on display in Heidelberg’s booth, as the longtime industry pillar received a great deal of traffic and interest from a variety of printers. With its diverse portfolio, Felix Mueller, president of Heidelberg Americas, said the company was able to engage with printers from multiple segments.

“We are really pleased with the turnout at PRINTING United,” Mueller said. “The customer engagement and reception has exceeded our expectations. In the last couple of days, we were able to meet printers of all sizes and discuss their print shops’ specific printing needs. We look forward to continuing to work with these customers on finding the best solution for their print shops. In addition to the equipment we have here at the show, customers have been very excited to speak to us about everything we offer across all product lines and segments.”

First stop on the @printingunited floor is @KonicaMinoltaUS where Stacey Sujeebun and Dino Pagliarello introduced the MGIJetVarnish 3D One pic.twitter.com/WKSChRedSk

— In-plant Impressions (@IP_Impressions) October 23, 2019

Carrying the theme of convergence into its booth proved to be highly beneficial for Konica Minolta, which saw significant equipment sales on the show floor. With an array of products serving a variety of print segments, Kevin Kern, senior VP, business intelligence services and product planning, said PRINTING United provided an excellent platform to reach the entire print community.

“Konica Minolta aligned our product portfolio and event strategy around PRINTING United’s convergence theme, and the return on investment has been significant,” Kern said. “We’ve brought a full array of solutions to satisfy the variety of attendees and we’ve been able to recognize mid-seven figures in sales through Thursday. In short, PRINTING United has been a wonderful success because we prepared our presence focusing on what attendees expect to see.”

Packed room to see technology demo of new @KonicaMinoltaUS AccurioPress c14000 at @printingunited . Impressive device. 140 ppm at up to 450 gsm pic.twitter.com/oyimPVxvh5

— In-plant Impressions (@IP_Impressions) October 23, 2019

In-plant Activities

Mike George (standing) and Roy Nance addressed a packed room of in-plant managers.

One group of attendees that was especially strong at PRINTING United was the in-plant sector. Hundreds of in-plants from as far away as Australia traveled to Dallas for the show. They convened at the three in-plant forums hosted by IPI and moderated by Editor Bob Neubauer. Each session was packed and offered ample networking time, giving managers a great opportunity to compare notes about the show. The first session focused on innovative wide-format applications and featured Villanova University's Michael George and Roy Nance from the University of North Texas.

On Thursday, a morning in-plant forum on selling promotional products, sponsored by Bella+Canvass, was a big success, despite the early hour. Managers Sherri Isbell, with the University of Oklahoma, Richard Beto, with The University of Texa at Austin, and Melynda Crouch, with Texas Tech University Health Science Center, went into detail about their successful promo product sales operations, noting that this service brings in between a half million and a million dollars a year.

In-plant managers at the forum on workflow automation.

Later that day, a third in-plant forum, sponsored by Rochester Software Associates,  featured three managers from Frisco Independent School District discussing how workflow automation has enhanced their in-plant, enabling it to produce more than 2,500 jobs a day.

Beyond IPI's forums, in-plants also congregated at a reception held by the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. Another reception hosted by the Texas Association of College & University Printers brought dozens together on the eve of the show.

Opening day of PRINTING United

Back on the Show Floor

Fujifilm was another exhibitor that benefited from the diversity of attendees at the show. For example, Gregory Pas, director of product marketing for Fujifilm North America Corp., Graphic Systems Division, was pleased with equipment sales to customers on both coasts.

“Fujifilm had an extremely successful showing at PRINTING United with the sale of the new J Press 750S shipping directly from the show floor to a customer on the West Coast and the Inca OnsetX3 HS with three-quarter robotic automation heading to a customer on the East Coast,” Pas said. “Fujifilm is changing the dynamics of print with its innovative inkjet technology.” 

The launch of PRINTING United, with a show floor that stretched 720,000 sqft, also seemed to spark an enthusiasm among attendees, exhibitors, and industry analysts, who were encouraged by the ubiquitous excitement and diversity of equipment on the show floor. Frank Romano, professor emeritus from Rochester Institute of Technology, has been a mainstay at industry events for decades, and said PRINTING United is the best trade show he has attended in more than 20 years.   

Ricoh Pro TF6250

“PRINTING United is the best industry trade show I’ve attended since 1997, which was the last exhibition that used all of the halls at McCormick Place,” Romano said. “PRINTING United is the first major show of this era. It’s so diverse, across multiple industries. And if they can sell out 1 million square feet in Atlanta next year, it will truly be fantastic.”

At the Ricoh booth, the constant flow of traffic made for a highly successful show, as attendees were able to not only see the latest Ricoh equipment, but its software and service offerings as well.

“The traffic we’ve had at our booth has been unstoppable and already profitable,” Heather Poulin, senior director, marketing, commercial printing business for Ricoh USA, said. “The experiences we’re giving our customers and prospects, all in one booth wrapped with software and professional services, is a true microcosm of what we see as the future of our industry, and it’s exactly the convergence PRINTING United set out to showcase. It’s been thrilling to see it all come to life.”

Canon Solutions America debuted the Océ Colorado 1650 featuring a new UVgel ink

Ricoh, Konica Minolta and Fujifilm were among the exhibitors showing both digital production equipment and wide-format devices, but plenty of other companies kept the spotlight focused sharply on their wide-format equipment. Mimaki showcased its JFX200-2513 EX flatbed printer with a feature called 2.5D printing that creates dimensional textured graphics; Roland launched its VersaUV LEC2-300 30˝ UV printer/cutter featuring CMYK with white and gloss ink for embossed effects; and, of course, Canon Solutions America debuted the Océ Colorado 1650 featuring a new UVgel ink and an LED curing technique that lets users choose between matte or gloss modes for each individual print.

For seekers of a flatbed printer that doesn’t take up a lot of space, Xanté showed a six-color UV-curable flatbed inkjet printer called the X-32 that prints up to 24x36˝ on media up to 6˝ tall.

The new Duplo DocuCutter CC-400i digital cutter/creaser.

Printing equipment wasn’t all that was being shown at PRINTING United. Numerous bindery innovations were on display, such as the new Duplo DocuCutter CC-400i digital cutter/creaser, Martin Yale’s Dyna-Cut rotary diecutter, and the Challenge Champ 185 hydraulic cutter.

One of the SGIA show’s longtime exhibitors, OmniPrint International, a manufacturer of direct-to-garment printers, has been able to expand its presence at the show as the company has grown. For Sergio Ramirez, director of digital marketing for OmniPrint, looking back on past SGIA Expos put the magnitude of PRINTING United in perspective.

Xanté showed off a new flatbed printer.

“We’ve been part of this show since it was SGIA Expo,” Ramirez said. “When we started we were in a 10x10' booth, but now we’re a Diamond Sponsor and this is our biggest booth. We’re stunned by how big the show is.”

With its debut edition nearly complete, looking ahead to the second PRINTING United, Oct. 21-23 in Atlanta, promises even more floor space and diversity of equipment. And as the industry continues to converge, PRINTING United is poised to become the place to be to meet printers from all across the industry.

“I always like to ask exhibitors if they are seeing people they wouldn’t normally see at the other trade shows they attend,” Bowers said. “And they’re all saying, ‘yes.’”

Big crowds at @printingunited on opening day. In-plant managers are everywhere. pic.twitter.com/TqCDKZDZMo

— In-plant Impressions (@IP_Impressions) October 23, 2019