What You Missed at Print 17

What’s that you say, my friend?  You didn’t make it to Print ’17?  You were too busy to make it?  You didn’t want to spend the money?  Hmmm.  Well. All I can say is, in the eternal words of Vivian from Pretty Woman, “Big mistake.  HUGE.”

I am sorry to tell you this, but you missed a lot.  Here, in no particular order, are some of the things that you missed in Chicago this year.

Your friends.  I was there. And I am your friend.  The Printerverse was PACKED pretty much non-stop with some of the friendliest, most enthusiastic people you would ever want to know. You would not have been able to leave without a hug, a smile, and a new friend to call your very own.

Your competitors. The floor was crawling with all kinds of printers and graphic arts junkies who were there to learn, network and make the next big decision about the direction of their companies.

Your hero. All the big names were there, giving keynotes in the learning center, appearing in different booths, signing books.  If is anyone you admire in this industry, they were there.  Ahem. I was there.

Your mentor. Again, lots of coaches, industry pundits, authors, future tellers and networking movers and shakers were there.  Most of them appeared in the Printerverse, at least once.  You can see all the video – here.

GOOD NEWS. I can honestly say this was the most optimistic show I have been to in a long time.  There was no gloom and doom.  There was no bad news.  There was no fear.  It was like everyone decided that we were going to be strong and fierce and evangelical about our future.  We all got the memo.  And it felt GOOD!

The Cloud suit guy.

SUCCESS. There was so much selling going on.  I heard more than one vendor say by TUESDAY – we are sold out.  And after the last decade and a half – that felt REALLY good to hear.

GIRLS. Girls Who Print Day was, as always, my favorite day.  And seeing Trish Witkowski bring home the Girlie Award brought a tear to my eye.

FREE BOOZE. One booth pretty much gave out beer all day long.  Pitney Bowes was slinging champers.  It was celebratory and decadent in all the right places

OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN. The Printerverse had a minimum of 5 FREE events every day of the show.  So did many other booths.  If you needed to learn something new, there would have been no better place for you to be than right here

NETWORKING.  At the end of three full days in the floor, my pockets were bursting with cards, and I have already secured one new gig.  There were tons of people and everyone was in the mindset of meeting and sharing and collaborating.  Everyone was open and feeling expansive.  It was awesome.

THE HIGHEST ENERGY I CAN REMEMBER. I think I have made this pretty clear – the tone and general energy were just so positive.  I have already put next year’s dates on my calendar – I will be there for the full number of days for sure.

A Boat Ride.  Printing Impressions hosted a cruise for advertisers and contributors, and I as lucky enough to snag a seat.  If you’ve never seen the Chicago Skyline from a boat, I highly recommend you add it to your bucket list.

The BEST food ever – I mean, It’s Chicago.  If I thought it was a Foodie town when I moved away 2.5 years ago. It is even more so now.  You can’t turn a corner without running into some of the most unique and cutting-edge food and drink anywhere in the world.

People from ALL over the world. Sweden, Korea, Germany, Israel and just so many others.  Every continent was represented.  Ok, maybe not Antarctica but maybe I just missed them.  It was an International Party Extravaganza.

And you missed it. I am sorry for you.  I am a little mad at you.  And I hope, next year, when the time comes, you decide to go.  My flight from LaGuardia was $130 round trip.  If I can manage to get away from 4 little ids for 5 days, don’t you think you could too?

Hope to see you there Sept. 30 – Oct 3, 2018… and beyond.