Page 40 - Print21 November-December 2021

Wide Format
Fespa-lite runs in Amsterdam
At the fourth time of asking the global wide format show Fespa opened its doors, with the rescheduled, relocated, event taking place in Amsterdam.
The much-postponed Fespa Global finally took place, but with no local print people there, as Australia and New Zealand remain
under tight border controls, kyboshing the plans of the usual large contingent who would be at the show. They will be aiming at the next Fespa in Berlin in May, which will be three years after the last show locals could go to, which was in Munich in May 2019.
Running with the theme of Bringing Colour Back, parts of the Amsterdam show were being live streamed, and it included Printeriors interior décor, and the European
leg of the World Wrap Masters. Printeriors had a collection of bespoke interior décor applications ranging from soft furnishings and accessories, all the way through to tabletop films, window treatments and wall coverings.
Now in its fifth year, the Printeriors showcase emphasised how print can transform interiors, and highlights the opportunities in this market. Based on the design collection originally created for the postponed 2020 event, the applications on display focused on nature.
Above
industry has come, from essentially screen printing posters and T-Shirts in its early days, to now showcasing major opportunities in DTG, soft signage and interior décor.
While some Covid protocols were in place, with checking of vaccination status or negative testing at the doors and a plethora of cleaning
and hygiene measures, those at the show said for the most part it felt no different from the expos of old.
The expo was also missing some of the bigger names among the traditional exhibitors from outside Europe, such as US based operations HP and EFI, along with Japanese outfits Epson, Fujifilm and
Screen (Inca).
However some 200 exhibitors,
about 75 per cent of those at the last event, were taking part and have booked half of the 32,000sqm, with companies including Agfa, Brother, Canon, Durst, Kornit, Mimaki and Roland DG taking space.
Among the highlights two new Durst machines were on its booth, which ran under the company’s slogan From Pixel to Output – the P5 350 HS, the same model that has just been installed at Avon Graphics in Melbourne, and the P5 TEX iSUB soft signage printer.
Canon revealed details about its new IJC358 UV LED inkset, which it was showing for the first time at Fespa, and which it says has strong adhesive properties, making it suitable for printing onto complex substrates including plastics. It was being demonstrated on the new Arizon 135 GT.
EFI Reggiani gave its Terra Silver its debut – the industrial entry level system uses Terra pigment ink for high-quality, sustainable, direct-to- textile printing without steaming or washing. It is a 180cm wide printer that can print up to 190 sqm per hour with eight dual-channel printheads.
Roland DG used the event to launch the BN-20A, a new, lower- cost addition to its VersaStudio series of desktop inkjet printer cutters, which it says is compact, easy to use, and affordable. Roland DG says the latest model of the BN series, the BN-20A was designed
to be more affordable than the original BN-20, by offering only CMYK colours, while maintaining the “high performance and ease
of use” of a professional business printer.
The show attracted 7,850 visitors, down by two thirds on the 2019 event, as Covid restrictions kept visitors from outside Europe to a minimum. Half of the visitors to the relocated event came from Germany and the Benelux countries, with printers from the UK, Italy, France, Spain and Poland also notable in their attendance.
Around half the printers at the show came for more than one day, with close to half, 44 per cent, owners or managing directors, and more than half, 54 per cent, were at Fespa for the first time.
Ultimately though, what is important is that Fespa Global has hauled itself back onto the stage, a sign that the industry itself, after taking what can only be described as a battering during Covid, is ready to return. 21
Fespa Global Berlin takes place 31 May – 3 June.
Printeriors highlighted how far the
40 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
Fespa Global: wide format show is back