Special exhibits and educational sessions offer forecast on industry's future

Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2003 will give a good indication of what hot technologies to expect in the future, as well as how the industry is doing now. On the national front, interest rates remain low, new tax rules and an accelerated depreciation schedule are expected to boost investment in equipment, and the overall economy is growing again. Consolidation continues within the industry, and shops that remain competitive are under more pressure than ever to run lean by cutting costs and maximizing productivity.

Though travel budgets often get cut in such lean times, the Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC) (Reston, VA), show manager of Graph Expo, reports that representatives from 60 percent of the 400 largest U.S. printing companies attended Graph Expo 2002 at Chicago's McCormick Place. Moreover, those companies sent an average of six people each.

About 30 percent of all attendees come from companies with fewer than 20 employees. A quarter of the attendees reportedly represented firms with less than $1 million in annual sales.

Observes Regis J. Delmontagne, president of GASC, “Large and small companies alike are looking for technology and growth strategies.”

Technology trends

Visitors to this year's Graph Expo “need to look for things that will make them unique,” says William Lamparter, president of PrintCom Consulting (Charlotte, NC), who will once again moderate the pre-show Executive Outlook conference on Sept. 27. “Show attendees need to be looking for new [trends and technologies], as well as things that may have been around a while but that you can use in a new way.” The full-day Executive Outlook will offer both economic and technology forecasts and a wide range of opinions about new business/technology opportunities showcased in the exhibit booths.

Among the trends likely to be prominent at Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2003 is variable-data printing, according to the consultant. In addition to higher-end digital presses, variable imaging is increasingly available on smaller and less costly systems, such as copiers.

Other trends shaping the exhibitor roster include perfecting presses, on-press coating, foil stamping, CTP, printing on folding-carton stock and other packaging substrates, and the continuing progress toward computer-integrated manufacturing.

Diversification opportunities

“Diversification is often cited as a business strategy today: To prosper, today's printer must transcend the limits of ink and paper and offer clients complete solutions to their communications needs,” says Delmontagne. “That's easy to say, but it isn't always so easy to identify profitable diversification opportunities.”

Among the Graph Expo and Converting Expo events meant to address this need:

Mailing and fulfillment center

More than 70 percent of printers indicated in a recent NAPL (Paramus, NJ) study that they're considering adding mailing and fulfillment to their client services. This special section of the show floor will house exhibitors with the relevant products, as well as free seminars on related topics (see p. 52).

Expanded wide-format pavilion

Research has shown the wide-format market is poised for dramatic growth. Yet according to Stewart Partridge, consultant, Web Consulting, Inc. (Boston), “Worldwide, few offset printers — well under three percent — have adopted wide-format inkjet technology as anything other than a convenient proofing tool.” The pavilion, launched at Graph Expo 2002, will showcase a complete digital workflow from image capture through high-quality output on digital inkjet printers.

Industry classroom

The show will also offer various educational opportunities, including three free general sessions: a panel discussion on the state of the printing industry; a look at new value-added business opportunities, with Professor Frank Romano of RIT (Rochester, NY); and “The Return of the Printing Industry Curmudgeons.”

Last year's inaugural curmudgeons session — which brought together Lamparter, GATF (Sewickley, PA) consultant Ray Prince, and M. Richard Vinocur, president of Footprint Communications (Ft. Lee, NJ) — was enthusiastically received. A mystery curmudgeon has been added to the 2003 panel.

To register for Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2003, and related educational seminars, visit gasc.org.