What makes a world leading print show?

The printing industry has undergone significant changes over the last two decades, with digitization of the origination, pre-press, platemaking and printing processes making a major impact on printers and industry suppliers alike.

Adding to these challenges are demanding requirements to use sustainable materials, reduce carbon emissions and energy usage, and to re-use or recycle print industry and post-consumer waste.

While commercial printing was at the heart of the printing industry’s growth and profitability for many decades, it is package and label printing that now offer the fastest-growing technology and market applications. Consumer trends are driving new marketing initiatives from augmented reality to personalization, while print-on-demand and brand protection require new technology solutions.

Package and label printing/converting use a far wider range of substrates than commercial printing, including papers, films, foils, laminates, board and corrugated materials. They also have the widest range of printing processes, from offset to flexography, gravure, screen process, hot foiling and, more recently, electrophotographic and inkjet technologies, which already make up more than 25 percent of all new label press installations worldwide.

Added to that are all kinds of specialized finishing and embellishment requirements: die-cutting, scoring and creasing, embossing, over-lamination, varnishing and coating, hot and cold foiling, on-serting, date and manufacture coding, and many other unique solutions. Much of package printing and label converting is now developed for niche markets and customers.

This industry is also becoming more global, with converters and suppliers operating from multiple sites across the world. Digital printing in particular has reduced the cycle of new technology development, with new makes and models coming out every year.

Labelexpo has always had a different strategy to the larger, generic print shows which aim to cover the whole of the printing market over the space anything up to two weeks. Throughout its 36-year history, Labelexpo has been very much integrated with the labels and narrow-web printing/converting sectors it serves, not only providing a dedicated series of industry shows in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, but also continually developing new markets through summits in Latin America, South-East Asia, South China and Africa.

Labelexpo is the only global exhibition brand to integrate both a global magazine (Labels & Labeling) and e-newsletters dedicated to readers in Latin America, China, India and, shortly, SE Asia. Labelexpo also helps support the leading industry trade associations and participates in their annual programs and honours the industry with a Global Awards Evening and Dinner. More recently, Labels & Labeling and Labelexpo have launched a global education and training initiative called The Label Academy, aimed at developing the label and narrow web converting and packaging sectors worldwide.

Originally launched as a mini label exhibition in London in 1980 with less than 60 exhibitors, Labelexpo moved to Brussels in 1985 and has experienced continuous growth ever since. With over 500 exhibitors, Labelexpo Europe 2015 ‒ which runs from 29^th September to the 2^nd October ‒ has become one of the world’s leading print-related exhibitions. Labelexpo shows in Chicago, New Delhi and Shanghai also continue to grow, while Label Summits attract growing delegate attendances.

Lisa Milburn, managing director of Labelexpo Global Series, says future growth will come from integrating the wider package printing industry into the Labelexpo shows, embracing sachet, pouch, tube, flexibles and smaller carton production, as well as labels.

Labelexpo has led the drive to digitization, digital printing, hybrid press technology and much more. Anyone looking to be at the forefront of printing industry change – whatever the sector – should aim to be at the show in September this year. Why wait for drupa?