Technology To The Rescue At Labelexpo Americas

The largest event for the label, web printing, product decoration, converting and packaging industry in the Americas–Labelexpo Americas 2010–has taken place in Chicago this past September 14-16, 2010, and has shown that the industry is recovering well and is still as resilient and innovative as ever despite the stormy economic climate experienced over the past couple of years.

The show had an attendance of 12,761. By the end of the show 83 percent of the exhibition space had already been re-booked for Labelexpo Americas 2012.
 
The show saw nearly 400 national and international suppliers bringing their latest developments in technology and materials to demonstrate to the North American market. Many of the market leaders such as Nilpeter, MPS, Mark Andy, HP, Xeikon, Omet, Gallus, Esko Artwork and Prati introduced new products with many making a number of sales and using the show as a launch pad to set up new partnerships. Nilpeter sold 18 presses at the show, Mark Andy have also sold 18 to date, with enquiries still coming in, MPS sold 11, Xeikon also sold 11 and Grafotronic sold four machines directly off their stand. There were also a number of Latin American printers in attendance demonstrating that there is a high level of purchasing power coming from that region.
 
To help attendees and exhibitors stay up to date throughout the show, Labelexpo Americas launched a free phone application (sponsored by HP). Attendees were able to instantly access the latest exhibitor list, conference program, speaker biographies and feature area information, whilst they were on the show floor.
 
The new technology workshops proved an enormous success, with every demonstration being fully packed out. This was a major development for Labelexpo Americas 2010 and took place in a specially dedicated feature area in Hall F. Four working presses from Nilpeter, EFI Jetrion, HP and Xeikon ran alongside each other with a neutral moderator running each demonstration to see how each press was set up to produce the same job origination on identical substrate qualities. The aim was to show attendees how to set-up and run label presses–whether conventional or digital printing–to optimize label print performance and quality, to demonstrate to them how to assess new product and market opportunities and to compare print quality and performance across different conventional and digital printing processes.
 
As in previous years, Labelexpo Americas had a high-level conference, organized in collaboration with TLMI. This year focused on the use of new digital technologies and solutions, and also had a strong view on the state of the industry and the market in North America across three streams. There were reviews from top editors in the industry who disclosed their opinions on the recovery process that is changing the industry, showing what the best markets to invest in are, and how to generate sales. The CEO luncheon on the second day was extremely beneficial for conference goers, with over 150 attendees gathering to hear from five of the industry’s top CEOs.
 
Mike Fairley also ran a ‘How to’ Digital Label Printing Masterclass. Label converters looking to invest in digital printing for the first time had the opportunity to attend an exclusive three-hour Masterclass in which key industry experts discussed the current state-of-the-art in digital printing, reviewed and explained the main digital printing technologies, the importance of digital pre-press, workflow and color management, highlighted label substrate requirements, explained in-line and off-line finishing options, and looked at the changing role of management, sales and marketing in a digital environment.
 
The Label Industry Global Awards also took place on the first night of the show with almost 500 people attending the award ceremony on the Spirit of Chicago, Navy Pier. The following winners were announced:
 
R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award: Terry Fulwiler, CEO, WS Packaging Group, Inc.;
Label Industry Award for Continuous Innovation: Omet;
Label Industry Award for New Innovation: DG Roland;
ConverterAward for Sustainability/Environmental Responsibility: Paragon Label

Roger Pellow, Labelexpo managing director, says,  “We are very pleased with the event results. Labelexpo Americas attracted high quality of visitors who were willing to invest in new technologies and keep their businesses developing. This was evident through the many sales orders put through at the show. The launch of our new Technology Workshops was a great success and is a feature that we will be rolling out across our upcoming shows due to popular demand. The show unveiled a lot of new innovative technology, and I very much look forward to seeing the industry continue to advance and thrive in the future.”
    
For more information about Labelexpo Americas, or other Labelexpo events, contact Camilla Colborne, communications executive, Labelexpo Global Series
 tel +44 (0)20 8846 2731 or via e-mail: ccolborne@labelexpo.com.