The trains were up the spout for much of the show and the heavens opened with a torrential daily downpour, but this did little to dampen the spirits of the thousands who attended the four-day event, where colour explosion, sustainable solutions, DTF and DTG options were all upstaged by the rush to see, source and buy new finishing solutions.
Epson worked up some unique imagery in line with its theme around 'Coming Alive' at PacPrint
In spite of perceived pre-show challenges and PacPrint’s close proximity to FESPA Global, the general consensus of those exhibiting and visiting alike was extremely positive, with a number of exhibitors on the floor of PacPrint selling equipment off the stand, or at least securing some strong leads.
As previously reported here, Officeworks swooped in on Day Two of the show to buy an AcurioShine 3600 press off the Konica Minolta stand, before jumping across to the neighbouring Fujifilm Business Innovations Australia stand to purchase 3 of the ‘new-to-Australia’ Vivid ‘VeloBlade Volta’ solutions.
Meanwhile, Abe Weiszberger and Stick On Signs continued to stick on with their initial flurry of sales activity, ultimately selling our of their current stock of the new Neschen Coldlam 1650 SW Laminators and reaching back to their European suppliers to send more ‘down under’ urgently to satisfy the raft of additional new orders they took.
It was a race to the finish too for Wilenco’s Ron King, who at last count had sold 7 of the highly popular, Norwegian-made Rollover Flatbed Applicators.
All the big guns reported stand sales too, many still shrouded in the secrecy of deals being done, prices being negotiated. With the British Lions tour a few months away and Rugby World Cup heading to Australia next year, Smart Tech’s Rugby AU promotion helped to attract a constant flow of visitors to their stand. Centre stage presence for Fujifilm and HP, coupled with strong messages around one-stop solutions from both camps proved fruitful too. Meanwhile, foot traffic continued to push through to Epson, Mimaki and Mutoh, all reporting off-the-stand sales success.
For some exhibitors, like a Roland DG, the show was all about showcasing their equipment, whilst steering potential customers to their elected distributors. The next generation Roland DG DA-640 Dimense printer being a point in case, initially cloaked in secrecy, only seen on Day One by invitation only into a secret room housed on distribution partner Celmac’s stand.
Celmac also invested in the show by bringing the Jessop team out from their Chicago home, whilst Fujifilm Business Innovations Australia drove a similar investment by bringing the Vivid export team across to help them sell the new Veloblade kit. A similar story for Rollover Applicator’s Norwegian Sales Director, Dorthe Schiodt, who flew in from Norway to support Ron King on the Wilenco stand.
For others, the investment was more in the various concepts that they knew would attract foot traffic. Graphic Art Mart’s ‘Signage Playground’ was constantly buzzing…the Spicers Precinct struck a balance between education and innovation…the Avery Dennison ‘wrap battle’ brought constant interest and car-wrapping on the Avery and Helix stands always piqued the interest of passers-by. Meanwhile Canon and Currie Group ‘business in a box’ collaboration always intended to let the Colorado do the talking and colour explosions on the Epson floor and in the Pozitive neon glow-cave added even more volume and value to what was overall a very colourful and successful week of activity.
Congrats to the show organisers. As with all these types of events, the real gauge for success is in sales secured over the next few weeks, so good luck to all exhibitors on that front too.
On a sad note, both Sarah Moore and Charley Blades of organiser Visual Connections will depart in June. We wish them success and happiness in their futures.
