Fespa ’24 delivers on its opportunities promise

On the RAI this week, the present and the co-located European Signal Expo, Personalisation Expertise, Sportswear Professional, and Sustainability Highlight occasions welcomed 525 exhibitors. It additionally hosted the favored World Wrap Masters competitors.

Michael Ryan, head of worldwide print expo at Fespa, mentioned: “We’ve completely loved internet hosting guests at our occasions in Amsterdam. Masking all parts of speciality print – display screen, digital and textile printing, signage and visible communications – we demonstrated that our business is extra superior and dynamic than ever.

“From the revealing of recent merchandise to informative fireplace chats, we’ve been in a position to present that, because of the fixed evolution of expertise, media, functions and enterprise fashions, the probabilities and alternatives are actually infinite.

“Our guests have skilled new improvements first-hand, networked with like-minded professionals and had the prospect to broaden their market and business information with our convention programmes.”

Sustainability was the clear dominant pattern on the present, with Fespa itself main from the entrance.

For the primary time, at this 12 months’s occasion Fespa adopted a sustainable occasion administration technique and system, following ISO pointers for ISO 20121, a regular developed in 2012 for the London Olympics.

Actions have included minimising the occasion’s footprint – the influence of its collective actions on the occasion, with stands and occasion options constructed utilizing recycled, recyclable, and reusable supplies.

It has accordingly seen a roughly 90% decrease carbon footprint than utilizing conventional stand constructing strategies, measured with its associate CarbonQuota.

Different traits seen across the halls included automation, an growing buzz concerning the potential of AI and what it may do for the sector, the continued development of direct-to-film (DTF) printing, and a heavy give attention to textile printing.

Exhibitors reported a profitable present that continues to be the occasion of alternative for a lot of.

Danna Drion, common supervisor advertising EMEA at Mimaki Europe, mentioned it had been “an thrilling present, with lots of people coming to our sales space”.

“For us, Fespa is the primary necessary present to take part on. But it surely’s greater than that – we predict it’s household, we’ve such a protracted relationship with Fespa, and we all the time proceed going and see a worth add.”

Christophe Inigo, deputy business director at Hexis, additionally commented: “Final 12 months, we went to greater than 20 commerce reveals all around the world, however Fespa is the principle. For me, it’s the guts of our enterprise. All our printers, all our distributors are right here, and it’s very nice to know for positive that we’ll see everybody yearly. It makes it very straightforward.”

Fespa has confirmed that the 2025 International Print Expo and European Signal Expo occasions will return to Messe Berlin, Germany, from 6-9 Might 2025.

Confirmed options to date embody Personalise Make Put on, World Wrap Masters, Membership Fespa, and the return of the bi-annual Fespa Awards.

“We’re excited to be returning to Berlin in 2025. It’s some of the common Fespa host cities with exhibitors and guests, and one the place we’ve introduced three extraordinarily profitable occasions thus far,” mentioned Ryan.

“Our mission, as ever, shall be to assist printers and signmakers to uncover new applied sciences and options to broaden their enterprise and unleash their full potential.”

A full evaluation of this 12 months’s present and its key information and traits will characteristic in our Printweek briefing within the April/Might challenge of the journal, out subsequent month.