Page 26 - Print21 magazine Sep-Oct 2022

Wide Format
Fespa: Crowds
return to print expo
There was plenty on show from the wide format world as the Fespa Global Gexpo made a welcome return. Wayne Robinson captured the action in Berlin
lobal wide-format trade Above: Razzle cent the number of the last outing show Fespa saw large dazzle Fespa in Munich three years ago, the crowds continue to fill Right: Textiles disparity being the multitude of the aisles, showing the part of show Chinese companies who were not appetite from the print there this time.
community for a welcome return to Below: Speaking The opening day of the expo was
impacted attendance from down under.
The large crowds at Fespa came despite the chaos at many airports in Europe and around the world, with huge queues a common experience, and flight cancellations occurring at a regular rate.
Sustainability was a key theme at the show, with a plethora of presentations in the sustainability area, and a booth built with Re- Board recyclable board. The World Wrap Masters ran all week, with champion wrappers battling it out for top spot. Club Fespa also played a part, with the 37 Fespa national associations reconnecting on a special lounge area.
The organisers say they are back
on track to return to the annual
cycle now; next year's event will be
in Munich 23-26 May under the New Perspectives theme, and the year after in Amsterdam on 19-22 March. 21
industry exhibitions.
Running only six weeks later
PacPrint enabled the ANZ print community to see some of the new equipment that had been on show at Fespa. The likes of Canon, EFI, Epson, Fujifilm, HP and Dimense all showed their new wide-format printers from Fespa in Melbourne.
Fespa ran with almost 400 exhibitors, which is about 75 per
at the Fespa Sustainable Centre, created entirely from Re-board,
lighter than the previous show, but in the days that followed the Berlin showgrounds were busy, with print business owners and managers
from around the world descending on stands, to find out the new developments since Covid wiped out exhibitions two-and-a-half years ago.
Fespa was the first big print industry expo to run anywhere since 2019. It is one of the big three global events now, along with drupa, which last ran in 2016 and is next scheduled for 2024, and Labelexpo in Brussels, which will now run next year.
Aussie and Kiwi printers and supplier execs were in Berlin, although not in as great a number as previous years, as the lingering impact of Covid, and the war in Ukraine – just 1000kms away –
are Print21 contributor Laurel Brunner
and Dominic Harris from Carbon Quota
26 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022