Expo organisers look to September reboot

As much of the world continues to struggle under the pandemic, but with the vaccine starting to roll out, print trade industry expo organisers are looking to September and October to kick-start their decimated sector.

 

The organisers are hoping that by then the vaccine will have been widely embraced, and international borders will be re-open. However, the latest noise from the Australian government indicates that the open border hope may not eventuate this year, even with a vaccinated population.

Expo organisers have inked September and October as the time they can open for business again, with local show PacPrint slated for the end of September in Melbourne, while the global LabelExpo in Brussels and regional Pack Print in Bangkok are also down for a September opening, both prior to PacPrint. The thrice-postponed global wide format event Fespa is now slated for early October in Amsterdam, with the postponed US show Printing United also now rescheduled for early October, in Orlando.

Printers can expect a slew of invitations to various events, awards, conferences, and expos, for the second half of the year, as organisers scramble to make up for an almost total collapse in their businesses, which will have been going on for 18 months by the time next September comes around.

The once-every-four-years PacPrint will be the first opportunity local printers will have had for two years to see new equipment. It is scheduled to run from Tuesday, September 28 to Friday, October 1 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, and will include the National Print Awards, slated for the Thursday evening September 30.

Major expo dates in full:

Labelexpo, Brussels, Sept 21-24
Pack Print, Bangkok, Sept 22-25
PacPrint, Melbourne, Sept 28 - Oct 1
Printing United, Orlando, Oct 6-8
Fespa, Amsterdam, Oct 12-15