Page 32 - Packaging News magazine May-June 2022

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PACK & LABEL PRINTING | www.packagingnews.com.au | May-June 2022
Label & Packaging Expo: Will you be there?
There will be so much to see and do at the eagerly anticipated Label & Packaging Expo and its co-located events PacPrint 2021 and the Visual Impact Expo, to be held in Melbourne at the end of the June. Here’s what visitors to the show can expect. Robyn Frampton writes.
THE eagerly anticipated Label & Packaging Expo and its co-located events PacPrint 2021 and the Visual Impact Expo will set the stage for the industry’s leading suppliers to showcase their innovations at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition
Centre from 28 June to 1 July.
As one of the first post-Covid indus- try expos, this second iteration of the Label & Packaging Expo is one of the most eagerly anticipated ever, with a host of new products expected to debut following more than two years
without industry expos.
Peter Harper, CEO of Visual
Connections, the supplier organ- isation which both organises and co-hosts the event with the Print & Visual Communications Association, says the Label & Packaging Expo provides an ideal opportunity for businesses from Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding region to catch up with the latest interna- tional trends, see where the market is heading, and gather important information and ideas to help them capitalise on new opportunities in this new age.
The show is set to cover everything from MIS and software, to flexo, dig- ital and hybrid label printing and converting technologies; finishing and embellishment; flexible packag- ing; security, product verification and
anti-counterfeiting solutions; sustain- able substrates, stocks and materials; and barcoding, product identification and track-and-trace solutions.
LEADING SUPPLIERS UNDER ONE ROOF
At the time of going to press, Harper said there were more than 80 exhibi- tors already signed up for the combined show, which will cover some 7000m2 of space at the MCEC, including the largest stall holder, Currie Group, whose showcase will include the HP Indigo 6K Digital Press for high-speed digital label and packaging projec- tion, ABG Digicon Lite 3 digital label finishing machine and other, yet-to-be- announced innovations.
Other big names including Aeronaut Engineering, Canon Production Printing, Epson, Fujifilm Business Innovation, Graffica, HP, Kodak, Kongsberg, Konica Minolta, Minipack International, Paper Handling Equipment (PHE), Rebul Packaging, Rodden Graphics, Screen GP Australia, Trimatt, Xeikon, and others, rounding out an extensive showcase of print, converting and finishing solutions.
There will be plenty of solutions in workflow and software, with names like Print IQ, Esko Graphics, Quote & Print, Dflow, M-Power, Soltect, and colour management through Colour Graphic Services, while media and
BELOW: A host of new products is expected to debut at the Label & Packaging Expo.
consumables will be covered by lead- ing names including Allkotes, Ball & Doggett, Bottcher Systems, Kodak, Label Line, Spicers and others.
Visitors will also be able to access a range of business services from pro- viders including Ecolease, Ascent Partners and Finance@Work, and explore the resources and connections provided by industry associations including the FPLMA, PVCA and TRMC, LIA and others.
With the value of ‘time spent on the business rather than time spent in the business’ well established over the years, the challenge for time-strapped businesses owners is simply to get max- imum return on the investment from their visit, says Harper, advising visitors that planning is the key, and that they should to start review the information and floorplan on the PacPrint website, prior to visiting the show.
“Work out which stands you want to visit, then contact those suppliers to lock in meeting or demo times,” Harper he says. “Factor in any seminars you want to attend, and make sure you leave time to explore more unfamiliar companies, as it’s often the unexpected discoveries which can prove to be game-changers.”
MARKET INFORMATION
AND INSIGHTS
“This brings us to the perennially popular PacPrint Forum Series of seminars which help put the exhi- bition in context by highlighting the latest global trends and providing important ideas, information and insights,” says Harper.
He believes that the 2021 program will have plenty to interest label and packaging businesses, includ- ing a keynote session from Rowena Curlewis, CEO of leading drinks design specialist, Denomination, who will share her global insight, passion and knowledge in a session address- ing the move towards sustainability in drinks, how market demand is