Muller Martini has signed on as Premier Partner for Printing Expo, the virtual exhibition dedicated to the printing industry.

This will see Muller Martini hosted in a bespoke 360-degree, 3D walkaround showroom that will contain all of its production lines, a technology centre and a virtual conference auditorium. The 2000sqm virtual showroom will offer customers a high-end 3D experience that will be built into Muller Martini’s digital marketing campaign globally. Muller Martini believes that the interlinking of different media channels will open up ‘some interesting opportunities’, and consistent alignment with market needs and regular business model adjustments ‘key to success’ for the finishing equipment manufacturer and its customers.

2020 has been a challenging year for print industry events with the postponement and rescheduling of almost all exhibitions that were due to take place in the spring, summer and autumn. This has included drupa and interpack, Fespa, Labelexpo and Printing United. Events with biennial and quadrennial cycles have mostly moved to next year, while those that take place annually are skipping an edition and resuming in 2021. Many event organisers have also added virtual components to their event portfolios to support the industry at this time, such as Labelexpo Americas and Printing United. More dedicated virtual presences for the print industry have also sprung up, such as the FuturePrint Virtual Summit series and Printing Expo.  In a more recent development, a number of suppliers to the print industry have confirmed they will be reducing their presence at physical international trade shows in 2021, such as Heidelberg, Bobst and Xerox, who have all made the headlines by pulling out of drupa. Conversely, Koenig & Bauer and Eagle Systems have reaffirmed their commitment to attending drupa next year.

Regarding the decision to sign up as Premier Partner with Printing Expo, Georg Riva, vice president of global sales at Muller Martini, commented, ‘We have been monitoring the market over the last few months and have decided to offer our customers a safe environment to engage with us. The new virtual showroom will enable customers to view all our systems in full 3D, watch educational videos, download brochures and attend seminars from anywhere in the world.’

Wayne Beckett, Printing Expo event director commented, ‘We are so pleased to have a brand as big as Muller Martini at the show. It really understands the concept of digital marketing and has asked us to create an amazing showroom that will give customers a virtual environment to really understand the full range of products and solutions on offer.’

Digital Labels & Packaging is a media partner of Printing Expo, as are sister publications Digital Printer and FlexoTech.

Read an interview with Mr Beckett in the March/April issue of Digital Labels & Packaging, and here

Read more about finishing and converting in the July/August issue of Digital Labels & Packaging; register here to receive the magazine for free