IPEX 2010 Blogs - Andy McCourt Number 1

Not even a volcano could deter Print21 columnist, Andy McCourt, from making his way to IPEX. In the first of his blogs, he spots some familiar faces and speculates on what might be in store at the show.

Hi from a sunny Birmingham and welcome to my first blog. Everyone is talking about the Icelandic volcano and its effect of people coming to IPEX and while it is true that many airports were closed yesterday, my mole in the Met Office says it will be all clear by Wednesday. Indeed, Heathrow and Birmingham re-opened today (Monday). One of the first editors I run into in the press office is my old friend Peter Ollen of Grafisk News, Scandinavia. He told me he organised a group tour to the recent US Print On Demand show and encountered flight difficulties due to the volcano. He got the group there alright, the only route that was open – via Keflavik International airport in Iceland! How ironic is that?

Other sightings so far – ran into the amiable Bob Murphy from Serendipity Softwware (Black Magic) at baggage collection. He and colleague Peter Skarpesis are vanguards of Australian innovation at this IPEX and have their own stand. If you are here, call by their booth in Hall 9 and say hi. Bumped into a couple of our local Xerox and Oce people sipping coffee to get over their jetlag as I walked up to the press office.

This morning I high-tailed it over to Leamington Spa to check the Great Aussie BBQ venue and it all looks fantastic. Manager Sarah Miller is really looking forward to testing her cullinary skills on us – be prepared for a pleasant surprise – she's a caterer/chef first and pub manager second!

Must dash: Heidelberg press conference about to start and I hear there will be a very ... errrrr digital announcement made?

Stay tuned ... the Print21online IPEX blog is where you'll find the real stuff. I'm supposede to be Tweeting too but in the words of the great 80s Clash song: "Should I Tweet or should I Blog?" Toodle-pip!

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