Full program confirmed for Amplify event

Amplify, a collaborative venture of WhatTheyThink and the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA), will include an exhibition and educational program spotlighting the entire print finishing and embellishment value chain. The three-day event will take place June 10-12, 2025, in Rosemont (Chicago), IL at the Rosemont Convention Center.

The event’s program will kick off with known design strategist and, Vicki Strull, who will present The Touch Advantage: How Premium Packaging Affects Sales, based on the release of Sappi Paper’s new, groundbreaking research executed in partnership with Clemson University – a leader in packaging science at the forefront of industry innovations.

The presentation will explore how touch affects purchasing decisions and perceptions at the point of sale and after. All attendees will receive a copy of the detailed 80-page study.

Following Strull’s presentation, Sabine Lenz of PaperSpecs, and Christine Yardley of Print Panther Direct will deliver an engaging and dynamic presentation, She Said, She Said – Design, Print and Embellishments. Lenz and Yardley will explore when digital embellishments can take a design from good to 'wow' and when traditional methods might just hold their own.

Following the opening general session, several presentations and panels will take place, including a Digital Embellishment Track where Kevin Abergel, Taktiful, will moderate a panel discussion on designing for digital embellishments. In addition, Abergel and FSEA’s Jeff Peterson will review the results from a 2025 digital embellishment study conducted by WhatTheyThink and Taktiful on market trends and technology. Subjects for additional presentations and panels during Amplify will include choosing the right metallic embellishment, in-line versus off-line label embellishments, holographic paper/board applications, current and future trends with trading cards, and digital laser cutting and rotary die-cutting options.

The final morning of Amplify will showcase its Sustainability Track. This will include a presentation from Jules Van Sant, Two Sides North America, on its Trend Tracker Report on Sustainability. The track will also include a sustainability update on labels and packaging and a panel discussion on what brands and customers are asking about metallics and sustainability.

In addition to the program, Technology Zone demonstrations will include a showcase of the Sakurai Cylinder Screen Press for spot UV coating with its LQM-105 hot foil stamper and Cast and Cure unit. The Cartes JDS Digital Foil Embellishment roll to roll press, the American International Signature Folder/Gluer with a W.H. Leary glue system and ImPack packer, the Kama ProCut 76 Foil Stamping, Embossing and Finishing machine, and the Fujifilm digital print and embellishment Revoria Press SC285S.

‘The combination of live programming on the embellishment/finishing machines along with informative classroom presentations, Amplify will provide enormous value for the attendees,’ commented FSEA executive director, Jeff Peterson. ‘We can’t wait for June to arrive.’

For a complete line of speakers as well as registration please visit www.amplifyprint.org.