For a few days last week the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando was the happiest place on Earth – at least for the specialty graphics crowd. In fact, the show floor was like one giant printing theme park with sounds of machines and moving parts, bright lights and flashing screens, and crowds that made walking a straight line completely impossible.
It was the first thing I noticed actually, how many machines – and BIG ONES – were on the floor. You can’t substitute the WIDE part of wide format after all, and it didn’t appear anyone wanted to. To the contrary, the press makers packed their spaces and like side show attractions dazzled all who entered their booths with new to market equipment. There was something to see in every direction, and I found myself saying – oh, that’s cool – oh, wait that’s cool – ok, that is really cool – until I ran out of ways to express the coolness of all that surrounded me.
What specifically did I see – well… it’s hard to say, specifically. I didn’t really go with an agenda other than to meet up with some people about PrintMediaCentr and present my session on creating and sustaining customer relationships. I was also only in Orlando for the day, so my floor time was limited. I did manage to get a booth tour from David Murphy of HP and see their new wide format presses in action. It’s incredible really what those things can do. I made a few videos you can see here.
But back to the specific non-specifics… I suppose what I found at SGIA, the thing that I connected to, was the feeling of a THRIVING industry. Wide Format and Specialty Graphics are definitely not under the same scrutiny as commercial print, and it just felt lighter without constantly having to be reminded that print and digital work together. This was an unapologetic PRINT SHOW… with some digital signage people nicely getting along with US! And as a bonus, there were some amazing opportunities for commercial printers to get in on the action too!
While I am not a printer, you wouldn’t have to be one to see just by walking the floor that wide format comes in manageable sizes, at affordable prices now. And if you have some money to spend, like with the HP Press David showed me, there are very versatile machines out there that open the door to a multitude of revenue channels printing on a multitude of substrates. Printed textiles and home furnishings also continue to be hot topics, and there were fantastic samples as far as you could see.
In between my meetings and speaking and wandering around aimlessly dazzled, I was on one singular mission to find the elusive “hologram” the guys from Printing In A Box told me about the night before. It was no easy feat, and even with pleas for help through social media it was finally teamwork from SGIA staff on the show floor and Twitter that helped me find it! Here is a video of it in action. The set up was a bit elaborate, and Im not sure I would call it a hologram or want to replace a human in my booth with this technology, but it was worth searching for and finding. Some people didn’t realize she wasn’t real, but I think that was more to do with the amount of input around to distract the brain vs it being that life-like… at least for now. Who knows, in three years you might meet my projection in a booth while I am off exploring.
Next year SGIA Expo 2014 rotates back to Las Vegas where it will take its place amongst the spectacles to behold in Sin City. Show floor dish says it’s already 80% sold out. Had I not experienced some time on the floor, I might chalk that up to hype… but having had the privilege to attend thanks to my friends at SGIA, it makes me wonder what the other 20% of exhibitors are waiting for? Get in, get in now, and if I am invited back make sure to catch my session! I’ll be working on my hologram if you need me before that!
