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Next month, Geneva’s Palexpo venue will open its doors to the second Fespa Digital exhibition. Large-format digital is a buoyant sector at the moment, thanks to recent improvements in quality and speed. Its growing popularity was what inspired Fespa to launch its first digital show in Amster­dam two years ago. The organisers were impressed enough to run a second, but what sealed it was the attention digital technology received at last year’s main Fespa exhibition in Berlin.

“When we launched the event two years ago, we saw digital growing,” says Karen Pooley, Fespa group marketing manager. “What we are finding is that screen printing isn’t changing at such a rapid pace. Last year in Berlin, digital played a major part of the exhibition. This technology is now really taking off.”

So much so that Fespa Digital is set to become 40% bigger, with the organisation hoping to attract 12,000 visitors. It’s attracted some of the big manufacturing names with HP, EFI, Xaar and Agfa among the sponsors. There is also an impressive number of exhibitors including DuPont, Sun Chemical, Epson and Screen Europe.

And all this in a Drupa year. While Fespa notes that the world’s biggest print show looms large on the horizon, it believes it can attract a significant number of visitors.

“With Drupa this year, it is a challenge,” admits Pooley. “But the difference with our show is that it is more targeted. While 80% of our exhibitors will be at both shows, it hasn’t affected us. We have a loyal visitor base and many benefit more by going to Fespa than Drupa.”

All levels of experience
The exhibition hopes to welcome visitors with or without detailed knowledge of wide-format digital print. “Visitors to the show in April may be digital beginners or already confi­dently deploying digital technology,” says Fespa managing director Fraser Chesterman. “They may be looking for ways of branching out with new applications, or they may simply need to optimise productivity by streamlining digital workflows.”

One print firm clued up on the kind of developments Fespa is observing is SMP Group. The large-format specialist is working closely with a number of digital suppliers in developing new equipment and technology. Bradley Slade, the firm’s managing director, says that there have been large developments in the digital sector over the past couple of years.

“The digital process brings improvements in speed, quality and flexibility, plus reduction of waste and cost from equipment,” he says. “We now use the digital process across all major point-of-sale (PoS) campaigns as often as we do litho and more often than screen.

He adds that his firm runs its Agfa M-Press high-speed flatbed digital screen hybrid press for many PoS campaigns and it is colour calibrated to match the footprint of its litho presses. SMP Group was the first installation of the M-Press worldwide and still the only installation in the UK.

Fespa has also spotted another trend in the market and has organised a conference to cater for it. Digital printing on textiles is on the up so Fespa is launching the first digital textile conference. The separate event is at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Geneva.

Chesterman explains that last year’s exhibition in Berlin actually represented “the biggest textile printing show in Europe”. With over 25% of total exhibition space devoted to textile printing, Chesterman believes that the time is right to support Fespa’s members in that market.

“Fespa has recently witnessed tremendous interest in wide-format digital technology for textile applications among members,” he explains. “We feel it’s the right time to support our members in this market with a dedicated conference.

John Scrimshaw, conference moderator and digital textile expert, adds that the major advances in the technical maturity of digital textile printing kit in the past few years has meant many of the machinery and ink suppliers now offer specially designed solutions for each niche market. “Textile printers have a wide array of equipment and ink chemistries to choose from, and as many different markets to explore,” he says.

The textile conference covers a range of topics including the customising of garment printing, inks and technical developments in digital textile machinery. Textile printing also forms part of Fespa’s Digital Print Awards, with the winners announced at the show.

There are eight categories: textile, packaging, outdoor, indoor, décor, manufactured goods and fine art. There were 300 entries from Europe, the Middle East and Africa: three times the number of entries submitted to the last awards two years ago.

“The calibre of the entries demonstrates very clearly the balance of technological maturity and creative innovation which is driving this growth sector,” says Fespa chief executive Nigel Steffens.

If the quality of the award entries is anything to go by, printers in the large-format sector are not only embracing digital but putting it to good use. It seems Fespa has caught digital at the sweet spot of its development. Digital machines are now much closer to their conventional rivals in terms of quality and they are able to offer shorter runs more cost-effectively. That’s why Fespa has decided that is as good a time as any to press ahead with the standalone event.

Selected exhibitor highlights
Epson stand B81
Epson makes its Fespa Digital debut and will show new technology that it says will “deliver higher levels of quality into the digital signage market”. The company also aims to demonstrate its services for the point-of-sale, marketing and fine art markets. Featured on the stand will be the Stylus Pro 11880, the manufacturer’s first 64in printer incorporating Epson’s TFP printhead. Senior business manager for large format production Claes Jeppsson says: “We are excited to be making our Epson debut with new technology that will enable us to move into new markets.”

Screen A80
The Truepress Jet2500UV will make its commercial launch at Fespa Digital. The machine is a wide-format flatbed and roll-fed inkjet printer featuring greyscale printheads enabling printing on both flexible and rigid substrates. It can change quickly to different formats and has a flexible resolution of 300 to 1,500dpi.

Inca Digital D115
Inca Digital will demonstrate its latest eight-colour Spyder 320-8 printer. The large-format digital flatbed UV printer will be demonstrated by distributor Fujifilm Sericol and feature the new Uvijet Ultratone enhanced colour set plus white ink. “The continued progress of inkjet technology is as reliant on the development of ink as it is on machine innovations,” says Inca Digital managing director Bill Baxter. The Cambridge-based company will also discuss its Onset machine which can print at 500m² per hour.

EskoArtwork K70
EskoArtwork will launch SignUp, an integrated nesting application for sign and display as well as introducing the wider Kongsberg i-XE32 and i-XE54. According to the firm, SignUp nests jobs based on size, shape and ordered quantities, placing designs as tightly as possible onto the substrate. It’s designed to minimise waste and reduce production costs. Meanwhile, the Kongsberg i-XE32 dieless cutting and creasing table will make its European debut at Fespa Digital.

GBC Commercial Laminating Solutions Group L80
GBC will reveal the first prototype of its green film for over-lamination applications. According to marketing and sales director Giel Klinkers, the company has invested a lot of R&D resources in producing an eco-friendly way to avoid unnecessary wastage. “GBC’s green over-laminating film is one of the first of its kind to be launched in the world,” he adds. GBC will also be showing its full range of Arctic Films as well as its inline laminating system in combination with the HP Scitex FB6700. Its entry-level Catena-Series will also be shown.

Freudenberg Evolon H21
The performance textile manufacturer will be demonstrating its Evolon printing substrate at the show. The product is an “innovative, environmentally friendly media” designed for indoor and outdoor applications including signs and graphics. Evolon features a matt artistic look and is compati­ble with inkjet printing using water-based, solvent, eco-solvent and UV-cured inks. The substrate is also eco-friendly: there is no risk of halogeneous substance emissions upon disposal.

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FESPA DIGITAL
Where Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland
When 1-3 April
Size 15,000m²
Exhibitors 200
Visitors 12,000 predicted
Corporate and platinum sponsors HP, EFI, Gandi Innovations
Technology partners Xaar, Agfa
Website www.fespadigital.com

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CONFERENCE AND SEMINAR PROGRAMME
The digital textile conference makes its debut alongside the main event. Based at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Geneva, the event is titled ‘Digital Printing for Commercial Success’. Speakers include Gerrit Koele from Dutch technical fabric producer Royal Ten Cate who will give the keynote speech on the importance of digital printing to the European textile industry.

Targeted talks
Other speakers at the conference include: Patti Williams from IT Strategies who will look at market projections for digitally printed garments and fabric; Carole Porzycki from Affaire Personnelle who is talking about consumer customisation in garment printing; Mickael Mheidle from Sawgrass Europe covering inks for garment printing; Ron Smart from RA Smart Digital Textile Printing Services who will cover production and sampling for fashion and interiors; and Michael Lazzara from DuPont
Digital Printing who will talk about inks for fashion and interiors.

The digital textile conference runs from 31 March-1 April and costs €795 for non-members and 695 euros for members. The fee covers one night’s accommodation at the Crowne Plaza hotel, lunch and dinner. To book, go to the Fespa Digital website (www.fespadigital.com).

Showcase Theatre
Meanwhile at the main exhibition, the Showcase Theatre will host several seminars covering a host of topics. Among the subjects up for discussion will be the results of Fespa’s research into the digital wide-format market, in association with Infotrends. The session will give attendees the opportunity to further discuss business development, main growth applications, investment in digital equipment and the future of the industry in general.

The Green Day
On 3 April, the Showcase Theatre is devoted to one of the subjects at the forefront of any buyer’s mind – the environment. ‘The Green Day’ looks at the issues facing the sector and how to achieve sustainable development.

Other seminar topics will explore areas such as digital ink applications, achieving flexibility through technology, superwide digital printing and colour management. For a full breakdown of the seminar programme at the show, visit www.fespa.com