Information provided by Lisa Lukonen
Marketing Manager, GPA Specialty Substrate Solutions
GRAPH EXPO 14 in Chicago was a successful show! GPA experienced high levels of booth traffic from new contacts, current customers, and graphic designers, among others from the industry interested in GPA’s offerings. GPA saw a 58% increase in booth traffic from the last GRAPH EXPO, making this year’s show an undeniable success.
GPA publicly announced during a press conference the expansion of their product offering to two new markets: wide format inkjet and HP Indigo 10000 series presses. Users of these two technologies had been asking GPA to bring their service, technical support and nationally stock warehouses to these two markets. This announcement also reinforces GPA’s position as the substrate market leader, driving the latest trends and expanding their offering to bring cutting edge solutions to the industry.
GPA debuted their new Offset Product Catalog, which includes the latest innovative substrates in addition to well-known brands like Ultra Bak® and Ultra Film® that GPA’s customers have relied on in their pressroom for decades. In addition, show goers visited with GPA’s team to learn about a large variety of other new products for digital, offset and wide format presses, and took home sample applications that show these products in action. GPA demonstrated how fast and easy it can be to produce custom apparel and accessories in house by pressing hundreds of t-shirts in their booth on their Ultra Digital® Heat Transfer Paper, which engaged visitors and gave them a fun souvenir.
GPA was also the exclusive substrate sponsor of the PrintMediaCentr Printerverse™, which hosted paper airplane competitions and a photo booth. The paper airplanes were made with GPA’s Ultra Digital® paper to show attendees how GPA substrates can “take them to new heights,” and visitors could send their photo to a friend by using a postcard printed on GPA’s Ultra Digital® pressure sensitive paper. Visitors to the Printerverse™ experienced a fun environment that mixed education and play for a memorable learning experience.
Zünd and GPA teamed up at Zünd’s booth to showcase the potential of pairing high-quality substrates with the most innovative cutting technology. During the show, Zünd ran live demonstrations of their new equipment on GPA’s Ultra Digital® 12 pt. White Matte C1S Board producing samples which featured famous Chicago landmarks, including a 3D piece depicting Chicago’s reflective Cloud Gate, or more commonly known as “the Bean.” Visitors experienced this technology in action and received samples for fresh ideas to enhance their finishing capabilities and efficiency.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the response we received at GRAPH EXPO 14. Over the course of the show, we met with hundreds of new contacts and many of our most successful clients to discuss how GPA can best support their business goals. We’re in a better position than ever before to serve the members of the graphic arts industry based on the tremendous investments we’ve made in the expansion of our offset, digital and newly-introduced wide format lines,” said Bob Niesen, President at GPA.
GPA is the premier source for specialty substrates and solutions for offset, digital printing, and wide format inkjet printing. Products include coated and uncoated papers, pressure sensitive and specialty papers, synthetic films and substrates exclusively engineered for HP Indigo and other digital presses. GPA is an HP Indigo Preferred Partner and a Diamond Partner of Dscoop (Digital Solutions Cooperative). For more information on GPA or the products it offers, visit www.askgpa.com or contact GPA Customer Support at 800-395-9000.
