On Monday, IPEX 2014 opens its doors at ExCeL in London. Ipex stands for International Printing Exhibition and is the largest UK printing, media and publishing event. It attracts visitors from all over the world and has a massive selection of printing equipment and associated machinery.Here's some of the organiser's blurb.... For pre-press, there will be new market software solutions for colour management, variable data printing, web-to-print, integrated communication solutions and design. On the print production side, there are digital printing product launches for inkjet, inkjet label, inkless photo and 5-colour LED A3 printing, as well as new document mailing solutions and converting and feeding technologies. New systems will also be showcased for the full range of finishing techniques, including laminating, foiling, folding, booklet-making, binding, cutting and more, in addition to new solutions for machine maintenance and consumables, with a wide range of new inks and substrates being showcased. In short there’s a lot to see this year. If you plan to make the most of your visit, then doing a little homework in advance will pay dividends ...
www.ipex.org
To put a historical context to it, the first show was less snappily titled "Exhibition and Market of Machinery, Implements and Material Used by Printers, Stationers, Papermakers and Kindred Trades". It was held in 1880 (5-17 July) at the Agricultural Hall in London.The Official Catalogue of Exhibits is a complete catalogue of the traders and products that featured in an exhibition listing the 200 exhibitors. The catalogue's editor, journalist Lucien Wolf (1857-1930), prefaces it with an informative overview of trade exhibitions, examining their history and future, and their role in bringing together producers, retailers, buyers, wholesalers and importers to assess competition, compare products and evaluate the state and progress of their trades.
The book is now available as a re-print through the Cambridge University press.
Posted by Justin Hobson 20.03.2014
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Hello Justin
ReplyDeleteThe only time that we met was at Rowley Atterbury's funeral, since when I have emigrated to the snowy depths of Canada from where this little note comes.
Printers (and Paper Merchants of course) should make every effort to get to IPEX, and it's only once every 4 years! I invariably found something of interest that made the trip worthwhile. And my attendances go back to the 1956 Printing Exhibition in London. Actually getting to the NEC may sometimes have been a bit of an adventure, although one year I used the Sales Director's Beemer without him knowing!
Sadly for geographical reasons I can't make an appearance this year, but I will be following events with great interest.
I still keep an eye on what's happening over there and from time to time try to catch up on your "words of wisdom" More grease to your elbow, or ink in your pen, or however you compose your enjoyable essays.
Best wishes John Deeks