Shrinking industry leads to drop in PacPrint numbers

Attendance at PacPrint was down on previous shows, but the printing industry is much different to what it was four years ago.

Total figures for the show, which closed on 30 March, were 18,197 – down from 24,000 at PacPrint 2005; but the decline is likely due to the contracting state of the printing industry rather than a lull in trade show enthusiasm.

According to Alastair Hadley, (pictured) chairman of PacPrint, much has changed in the four years between both shows, and it is only natural that this would have an effect on visitor numbers.

“There’s been a lot of movement in the industry with mergers and acquisitions,” he said. “In 2001, a medium-sized company would have bought about 10 people to the show; this time it may have only been two-to-three people. The numbers for this year’s show actually exceeded my expectations – perhaps I was being pessimistic.”

The mood at this year’s show was far from dour, with a general good spirit and fanfare flowing throughout the five days: visitor numbers were consistent throughout and lively stands filled with everything from bucking bulls to boy bands kept the crowd amused. This was an encouraging sign, Hadley said: “Those on the supply side got behind it and most companies attended the show.”

Philip Andersen, CEO of Printing Industries Association of Australia, found the show to be likewise rewarding. “From a printers and association view point we were very pleased with the show, it met all expectations, and indeed possibly exceeded them in turns of the look and feel of the show, activity and attendees,” he said.

“We’re very pleased with the response to the forums we put on: we looked for topics of interest to the industry and we did find those. We were delighted at the response shown by suppliers; they have shown great faith in the future of the industry.”

One supplier to reap the benefits was Heidelberg, which took $13.8 million in orders for equipment plus a further $3.2 million in consumable, service and business consulting contracts. The equipment orders included 25 SM52 printing units, including Anicolor as well as standard presses, two XL75 presses and 20 units covering guillotines, folders, binders and CtP equipment, as well as workflow systems.

Heidelberg’s managing director, Andy Vels Jensen, previously announced that the show cost his company $42,000 an hour to run, but he believes such costs are necessary for both Heidelberg Australia New Zealand and the industry at large.

“Any show is not just about taking the orders in, though this is important. Giving back goes beyond staging a show, to the education seminars we ran and our comprehensive demonstration schedule. We launched new initiatives, such as the Heidelberg Advantage Program which rewards customers who buy their Saphira consumables through our online shop,” he said.

“We fully supported PacPrint and we did this for the industry in as much as ourselves. Without shows such as PacPrint there is no revenue source for our industry organisations, and we should thank all of the suppliers and visitors for coming and supporting the show, as well as the PacPrint organisation for a fantastic event, staged in fairly challenging times.”