The third German InPrint show has been hailed a success
Held 14-16 November at the Munich Trade Fair Centre, the industrial print show, InPrint, returned to Germany attracting some 3000 industry professionals, including inventors and integrators as well as printing and production specialists from various industry sectors.
A total of 153 exhibitors from 19 countries showcased the latest technology in speciality, screen, digital and inkjet printing for printing on metal, plastics, textiles, glass, ceramics, wood and other surfaces. The applications demonstrated at the exhibition are designed to be integrated into production lines and thus allow mass customisation of a wide variety of industrial goods.
In addition to the activities on the exhibition stands, a supporting programme in two conference theatres within the exhibition hall offered visitors valuable insight into prevailing trends and the latest developments in functional, decorative and packaging printing. The sessions included keynote speeches and expert talks as well as a podium discussion and were well received by the attendees.
‘With its specialist community coming together to drive emerging markets for innovative print technologies, InPrint has now firmly established itself as the seminal event for print applications in industrial production,’ said Nicola Hamann, managing director at the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions. ‘While the exhibition is an important platform for the exchange of ideas and innovative thinking, this time a large number of concrete solutions have been demonstrated by exhibitors.’
She concluded, ‘What we can see as a result of this year’s show, is that InPrint is clearly evolving from a developmental networking event into a networking and trade exhibition, with increasing sales activity on the show floor.’
The variety of industry sectors represented by visitors ranged from the automotive industry, interior design, fashion, electronics production and white goods to toys, sports, pharmaceuticals, food & drinks, ceramics and many more. The list included delegates from brands such as adidas, Audi, Boehringer Ingelheim, Continental, Daimler, EVONIK, Fischersports, LEGO System, Marc Cain, Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing, Ravensburger Spieleverlag, Rodenstock, Swarovski, Swatch Group and uvex sports group.
A total of 2951 visitors from 63 countries came to Munich to discover the latest equipment, to exchange expertise or find business partners for developing market-ready solutions. An initial analysis of the exhibition survey shows that half of the visitors came from outside Germany. Top visitor countries besides Germany were Italy, Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Poland and Russia.
While 60% were printing specialists, a third of visitors were from different sectors of the manufacturing industry and some 7% came from the packaging sector. They mainly operate in the digital printing sector (38%), in inkjet (26%), screen printing (20%) or speciality printing (9%). The main areas of interest of all visitors to the show were machinery and printing systems, inks, fluids and chemicals, print heads, screens and other special parts, materials and substrates, and hardware and software as well as integrated and customised parts.
