FESPA global print expo makes a big splash in Munich
After a few years of disruption and hesitation, the FESPA Global
Print Expo returned to Munich in May, leading to a slew of
announcements, meetings, and collaborations.
After a quieter return in 2021, and a strong but challenging show
in 2022, this year felt like the exhibition had truly returned as
individuals and businesses from around the world were now able to travel
and experience an authentic reunion.
Many manufacturers and brands went bigger and bolder with their
stands than in previous years, with the likes of Durst bringing big
robotic innovations and Sun Chemical, Canon, HP, and Mimaki designing
visually open and inviting stands.
While some went bold on graphics and experiences, other manufacturers
like swissQprint, Fujifilm, Roland, and Agfa brought a large range of
impressive kit that filled the stands with enticing prints and process
demonstrations.
While the exhibition has traditionally been dedicated to speciality
print, signage, and visual communications, the 2023 show demonstrated
the extreme versatility of the industry by showcasing solutions in the
worlds of labels, textiles, software, sustainability, and
personalisation.
‘New Perspectives’
This year’s show focused on the theme of ‘New Perspectives’, an
aspect that could be felt throughout the five halls in Messe Munich.
Many businesses approached this in different ways, whether that be
through technology, new products, or simple ideologies.
Speaking to Print Monthly at the show, senior director of marketing
and innovation at Canon EMEA, Jennifer Kolloczek, said: “New
perspectives and innovation are exactly what we are showing here and
hopefully everyone who is visiting feels that.
“New perspectives for our customers can be how they can diversify
their solutions, but also literally provide new perspectives with our
raised and new level printing offered by our Arizona line. We’re
constantly innovating and trying to reinvent ourselves because that’s
exactly what our customers have to do to stay relevant.”
We’re constantly innovating and trying to reinvent ourselves because
that’s exactly what our customers have to do to stay relevant”
A company that exhibited in the Personalisation Experience section
of the show, Printbox, used its stand to expand its reach throughout
Europe and help a variety of potential customers by using its online
solution for books and photo albums.
Account executive for company, Krzysztof Szczepañczyk, said: “Our
smart creation tool which we developed three years ago is following this
new trend of AI, which we are now investing into in order to help
further push personalisation.
“The simplicity of our solution gives many new perspectives as it
saves so much time and labour and gives people a beautiful product at
the end. This is a theme I’m seeing throughout Printbox and other
exhibitors at FESPA.”
Diversification
Brother diversified into new markets with the launch of its first
printer for the large wide-format segment in the WF1-L640. Previously
servicing the industrial garment printing sector with its DTG and DTF
technologies, this is the company’s first foray into this area of the
industry.
Launching for the first time at FESPA Global Print Expo, the
WF1-L640 is designed to produce applications from banners, drawings, and
window graphics, as well as storefronts and interior decor such as
wallpaper and floor applications.
Capable of printing on both coated and uncoated media up to
1,615mm, the WF1-L640 offers environmental credentials due to its
water-based inks with GREENGUARD Gold certification. Inks also come in
700ml pouches with the cartridges removed resulting in a 95% reduction
of plastic.
Using only CMYK, Brother says the colour gamut is comparable to
those of additional inks due to Brother’s Latex ink combined with its
printheads.
Also launching from Brother was a new addition to its DTG and DTF
offering in the form of upgraded features to the GTX600 DTG printer.
These additions are in the form of more colours with seven now
available. Through six printheads, CMYK, two heads for white, and the
addition of orange and green are now available, expanding the
capabilities of users in terms of applications.
Offering sustainable credentials, the inks are water-based Oeko-Tex
Pass and GOTS certified coming in 9l tanks with less packaging.
Canon used its presence at FESPA to launch its new PRISMAelevate
XL, an extension of its PRISMA XL Suite that enables tactile print
applications and elevated prints on Arizona printers.
The new launch enables twice the elevation at up to 20% higher
speeds than its predecessor and is available on the Arizona 1300 and
2300 flatbed series.
A patented Advanced Layer Printing System (ALPS) technology can be
used to produce layers of ink for tactile applications such as braille
and other 3D designs.
The manufacturer also launched the new Arizona 1300 flatbed printer
series with two new models making up the new line-up: the GTF and XTF.
Both machines feature FLOW technology and a zone-free vacuum system.
Designed to make media handling easy, Canon’s FLOW technology
allows users to print pin-sharp, high-value prints on rigid or flexible
media up to 1.25 x 2.5m with the Arizona GTF or 2.5 x 3.08m on the
Arizona XTF.
New print modes have also been added for the 1300 series including
Quality-Smooth, Production-Plus, and Quality-Plus (for 8-channel
configurations).
Having launched its new Acuity range at FESPA 2022 in Berlin, Fujifilm added a new hybrid model to the portfolio at FESPA 2023.
Described by the manufacturer as “ground-breaking”, the new Acuity
Prime Hybrid model is similar to the popular Acuity Prime but has added
versatility due to being able to handle both rigid and flexible media.
The latest in Fujifilm’s ‘blueprint for wide format’, the Acuity
Prime Hybrid can print on substrates up to 2m in width and on up to four
pieces of rigid media simultaneously.
Registration pins allow for highly precise edge-to-edge printing at up to 92m2 per hour.
The roll-fed configuration can be loaded with two rolls in each up
to 0.9m wide whilst the machine can also handle rigid substates such as
acrylic, Dibond, foamboard, and polyester.
Available with CMYK inks as standard, a beta model of the machine
will be installed in the UK in June 2023 and commercial availability is
scheduled for the end of the year.
Vanguard, a Durst company, unveiled its new next-generation UV flatbed printer, the VK3220T-HS at FESPA 2023.
Described as “marking the introduction of a new compact, user-friendly
product design” for Vanguard Europe’s portfolio, the printer was
designed at Vanguard’s European headquarters in Brixen, South Tyrol,
Italy.
Measuring in at 3.2m x 2m, the VK3220T-HS has up to three rows of
four picoliter drop size Kyocera printheads offering up to 1800dpi print
resolution.
Running at up to 360sq m per hour, Vanguard describes the kit as
one that can grow and scale depending on customer needs and
requirements.
The machine has a new look with Vanguard saying it has listened to
its customers when designing the bigger size, number of printheads, and
addition of new software from Durst.
Finally, Mutoh launched the new XpertJet 1462UF flatbed UV LED printer with CMYK, White, and Varnish inks and a moving gantry.
Equipped with two piezo drop-on-demand printheads in a staggered
setup, the first head prints CMYK and the second White and Varnish. This
enables two-layer printing for applications such as braille and 2D
structure prints without speed loss. Two 4”-wide UV LED lamps enable
fast curing.
The XpertJet 1462UF model has a print bed of 1,470mm x 740mm and can print on a range of substrates up to 150mm high.
Available with new-generation soft UV LED inks that are free of
Substances of Very High Concern ingredients, the printer is described as
an extension of the XPJ-461UF (A3+) and XPJ-661TUF (A2+)
direct-to-object desktop UV LED printer models.
The new model will be released later this year by Mutoh in EMEA.
A company that was exhibiting at FESPA for the first time in ten
years was Xeikon which returned to the show to showcase its digital
print portfolio. The stand included an interactive kiosk with one of
Sweden’s largest wallpaper suppliers, Färggrossen, where visitors could
choose, customise, and visualise wallpaper.
Speaking to Print Monthly at the exhibition, market segment
director at Xeikon, Dimitri Van Gaever, said: “We know FESPA as a very
dynamic show with a lot of movement and development, so this year we
decided to be part of that.
“The fact we’re here is already offering a new perspective. We’re
still big in the label business but we’re also showing people what else
can be done with our technology. At the show, there is a lot of
multi-pass and UV inkjet technology, but as an innovator of dry toner
inks and single-pass print we can demonstrate what people can do to
increase automation, productivity, and sustainability.”
Popular Event Features
The Personalisation Experience, while a smaller section, did
demonstrate the integration of the show, much like the European Sign
Expo and Sustainability Spotlight, the exhibition didn’t feel as
segmented as in previous years, using its space to spread out a wide
range of solutions and interweave large and small companies together.
With the FESPA Awards, FESPA Party, World Wrap Masters, and
Printeriors also taking place it was hard for some elements of the show
to not feel overlooked, especially as the Personalisation Experience
featured a three-day conference programme with different speakers on top
of the many stand tours and announcements already taking place.
Despite this, visitors still had the space and ability to book
their time effectively and meet and see who or what they wanted via the
specially developed FESPA app.
With exhibitors and visitors returning from the likes of Asia and
Australia, as well as more UK visitors attending due to an easing of
travel fears and fewer clashes with public holidays (last year being the
platinum jubilee) FESPA 2023 felt far more populated and a much bigger
celebration and chance for businesses to network.
The increase in business diversity is welcomed by FESPA which in a
conference at the event detailed its commitment to more shows and
focuses on different parts of the visual communications market.
Duncan MacOwan, head of marketing and events at FESPA, said the
future of personalisation was exciting to many businesses in the
industry, especially many big web-to-print businesses like Vistaprint
and Moonpig.
Speaking about future events, FESPA chief executive officer Neil
Felton stated that FESPA Middle East will open up new doors in that part
of the world especially as the exhibition will hold its own version of
WrapFest.
The inaugural event in Silverstone, UK was considered a success for
the global federation as it was a way of engaging with a different part
of the market.
FESPA confirmed its next European event will take place between
March 19th and 22nd, 2024, in Amsterdam, where Sportswear Pro 2024 will
also be hosted after being delayed for several years due to the
pandemic.
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