The Ipex organiser has confirmed that the world’s biggest English language print trade fair will definitely take place at the end of next March as planned.
In an open letter to all Ipex stakeholders through the trade media the show’s director Trevor Crawford says:
- Ipex is a rock solid certainty for next year in London
- 80 per cent of visitors will be commercial printers
- The business of print will be in the spotlight
- While it will have a digital focus it will aim to meet the needs of all printers; offset, digital and both
- It will provide leadership, guidance and world class thought content
Crawford also says that research conducted though 1600 printers around the world told Ipex that those printers are:
- Channelling major capital investment into digital and post press, to complement what they have already.
- Keen to embrace opportunities in new applications, especially packaging.
- Want to understand more about how print works in multichannel marketing
- And need their customers to understand more about what print can do for them.
Ipex is responding to concerns about the changing nature of the show, as a host of leading names have withdrawn from exhibiting. Crawford says, “We stand firmly by our mission: to provide today's printer and their customers with the ideas, insights and solutions to effectively promote the power of print and its integration in the marketing mix.”
Printers can look forward to a different type of trade show, there will still be plenty of technology on display, but the business side of printing will be far more prominent at Ipex 2014, with those key questions on opportunities, multi-channel marketing and the benefits of print set to take centre stage.
Below is the Open Letter to the print industry.
20 March 2013
Dear Editor,
We are writing to you to clearly set out our position regarding Ipex 2014 and our plans for the future.
We all understand that print is experiencing some change - economic, technological, social, and environmental. Events that represent print - such as Ipex - have to adapt and reflect those shifts.
When an event takes place every four years, that degree of change can appear dramatic. In fact, it's simply that a cyclical event like this pulls together the incremental changes that happened over that time period and concentrates them into one experience.
Industries that are in flux have to re-evaluate themselves. They need to be brave and find the clarity to focus on what is valuable and should be developed. This is exactly what our customers and their customers are doing. The same goes for us as an event brand.
Ipex will take place in London in 2014. We stand firmly by our mission: to provide today's printer and their customers with the ideas, insights and solutions to effectively promote the power of print and its integration in the marketing mix.
As always, we're putting commercial printers right at the heart of Ipex. We surveyed more than 1600 printers worldwide to ask them how Ipex could continue to be relevant to their needs. They told us:
* We're channelling major capital investment into digital and post press, to complement what we have already.
* We're keen to embrace opportunities in new applications, especially packaging.
* We want to understand more about how print works in multichannel marketing.
* We need our customers to understand more about what print can do for them.
We've taken that research on board to shape our planning. We're committed to delivering an event that will help printers from all over the world to adapt to these changes and build for the future. Ipex will be the only event in 2014 that brings together the whole international print supply chain to learn, network and do business.
We said we'd focus the show on digital: some have interpreted that to mean Ipex will no longer serve litho printers. Nothing could be further from the truth. We expect 80% of our visitors to be commercial printers, whether they print litho, digital, or with a mix of complementary processes. Most successful printers don't define themselves by the type of press they operate.
Printers are looking to Ipex for vital leadership and guidance. They need a neutral environment, not controlled by a single manufacturer, where they can find the time and space to assess and absorb the changes and opportunities around them. We will provide them with a wealth of world-class content through initiatives such as the World Print Summit.
Ipex is a year away. We're working to deliver an event that gives printers what they need, while also attracting the people who buy print, and showing them what print is capable of, working hand in hand with other communications channels.
Ipex has print at its heart. If you do too, then you'll be at Ipex 2014.
Sincerely,
Trevor Crawford, Exhibition Director
