Registrations are open for Dscoop USA 2017, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona from March 1-3. Organisers are offering an itinerary including trips to sites in San Diego and Las Vegas before and after the conference.
Themed "Imagine", the 11th conference for HP's users' group will feature an all-star lineup of speakers, including emcee Lior Suchard, supernatural entertainer and mentalist; keynote speakers Billy Beane of the Oakland A's baseball team (the subject of the film Moneyball) and John Foley, former lead solo pilot of the 'Blue Angels' flight demonstration squadron; and Doug Lipp, former head of employee training at Disney.
"The speakers are of extremely high quality, no doubt about that – last year they had Steve Wozniak, coaches from NFL teams and people like that. They spare no expense," said Keith Ferrel, Dscoop's Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) chairman.
This year's Dscoop USA is shaping up to be the biggest ever, according to Ferrel, with about 40 Australians registered to attend thus far - a number that Ferrel expects will grow as the event approaches. "There’s a number of PSPs out of Melbourne, some out of Perth, some out of NZ that I know of. There's so much interest it's not even funny," he said.
Aside from the main show in Phoenix, Dscoop Australia has put together an itinerary for before and after the event, featuring visits to HP sites in San Diego and Las Vegas. HP's Indigo technology, supplied in Australia by Currie Group, will be on display in setups not usually seen outside of big trade shows like FESPA or drupa - but Ferrel says the conference is worth attending for more reasons than just seeing the latest Indigo machines. "While it’s quite skewed towards Indigo, there’s more and more sign and display being catered for as well, plus the educational side of things, which is vital nowadays," he said.
Ferrel says that unlike FESPA and drupa, which focus on the technological side of the industry, Dscoop offers a well-rounded mix of different learning opportunities. "The networking obviously is important as well - print has been undergoing a lot of change over the last few years and I think it’s important that people keep up with what's going on around the world, because it eventually gets to Australia. You can see what kind of opportunities are coming up, new technologies, innovations in substrates, ways of running your business," he said.
Registration is open at www.dscoop.com.au. A smaller regional Dscoop conference at FESPA in Bangkok, on February 15, is expected to host about 150 people.