The Print Show is moving this year, but not from Birmingham. It is moving from one side of the NEC site and the line up of the newest halls, to Hall 3 in the original part of the complex and one of the site’s largest halls.
This is prompted by bringing the Print Show and the Sign Show together, enabling traditional sign printers to investigate diversification into commercial print or apparel printing and vice versa. The Print Show has always attracted the large format printer suppliers, now there is extra incentive for participation: SwissQPrint, Agfa, Fujifilm, Liyu, Hybrid, Epson, HP, Inktec, Mutoh and Roland DG will be on the floor. This covers the majority of machines from relatively lightweight eco solvent machines to high performance flatbed printers.
It is not simply about large format printing as many digital presses will be present including the latest offerings from Fujifilm and Konica Minolta.
Finishing is represented by Morgana, Vivid and Encore Machinery while online trade print comes from Print.com, Route1 and Solopress.
The three-day event also has an extensive and well curated programme of talks and presentations that ought to offer insight to those able to listen rather than being a series of vendors describing their latest technology.
As is frequently the case, the event provides UK visitors the chance to catch up on machines introduced earlier this year at Fespa and which are now ready for shipping. Among these are a swathe of revamped machines from Epson. The SC-S9100 is the replacement for the successful SC-S86010 while visitors also get the opportunity to come face to face with the SC-R5000 using resin ink and the V7000 flatbed and V2000 bench top flatbed using UV ink for promotional products.
Direct to film continues as a vibrant market with Inktec showing this technology and Hybrid electing to show Mimaki’s latest direct to film offering. HP’s entry level latex printer the R530 comes as a package worth looking at. Fujifilm’s response, the Acuity Triton running AquaFuze technology. This is a water based ink that is UV cured and built on a Mutoh print engine. The more conventional Acuity is the Prime flatbed UV printer.
The show becomes the first chance to see the Revoria SC285S, a mid production printer offering five colour printing for both greater versatility and gamut busting colour when running with pink in the additional channel.
Konica Minolta’s latest also has a fifth colour option, but for the AccurioPress C14010, this is a high opacity white to be used both as a highlight colour and to print on coloured papers to help four-colour process colours to stand out.
While the likes of Vutek and Durst are missing, SwissQPrint with its flagship Kudu flatbed, Liyu with a number of flatbeds and Agfa with highlights from its portfolio will vie for the attention of high end buyers.
Inn recent years there has been nothing for the litho printer, but this year is different. While there are no familiar names on display, Chinese printing plate manufacturer Bocica is using the event to intrude its range of digital plates to the UK market.
