The arrival of 2012 has stirred excitement in many fields: the London Olympics, the Queen's Jubilee, even an apocalypse claimed to have been predicted in Mayan script. For most of us in the sign and display industry, however, it is just another year, but one with an events calendar more packed than usual. The big one for Europe is drupa, but there are several new kids on the block worth investigating too, as well as annual veterans.
In the UK, Sign and Digital UK will be the first one many sign-makers will planning for, as it returns to the NEC near Birmingham from March 27th to 29th. The trade fair will be celebrating its 25th anniversary – with the help of visitor-contributed pictures of vintage equipment and 'dodgy' 80s haircuts – as well as launching the new Green Trail, a route around the show floor via eco-conscious exhibitors that had been postponed until now due to the perceived priority of cost over sustainability. The environment will be a key principle of the whole 2012 show calendar, along with continued impact of the recession – but hopefully without the cancellations and empty floor spaces characteristic of a few years ago. Indeed, Sign and Digital Ireland, co-located with Print Ireland, will return to Dublin after an unplanned three-year gap on October 24th and 25th. It's a smaller show than the UK version but a good showcase of the Irish market.
The packed 2012 sign and display trade show calendar features drupa, expected to be of interest to small- and wide-format printers alike
For those already on their marks, the NEC is also hosting Trophex on January 15th and 16th. While the emphasis is on trophies, it's a great place to see new engraving kit at a show with a small enough footprint to pop over for an afternoon.
September will bring two new shows, Cross Media 2012 at the Business Design Centre in London on September 3rd and 4th, and Digital Print UK at the NEC from September 18th to 20th. Both are targeted more at the production print sector, but the social media and internet slant of Cross Media and the digital printing developments showcased at Digital Print UK are likely to be worth a look. While both are brand new and unproven, they are from the organisers of print mega-show Ipex and Sign and Digital respectively, which suggests they will be well laid out with strong themes.
Another new show appears in the autumn: EcoPrint, taking place in Berlin on September 26th and 27th. As the name suggests it has a strong environmental ethos and given the calibre of its organising team – namely former FESPA faces Frazer Chesterman and Marcus Timson – it may well be the start of not only a new annual event but also a real shift towards sustainability in the print and display sector.
FESPA Digital itself will take place in Barcelona from February 21st to 24th, with lots on offer for the digital wide-format market. The influence of drupa will make reams of product launches unlikely, but with specialist areas – including the mini-show FESPA Fabric – and a wide seminar programme it's not a show to be discounted.
The one the print sector has been waiting for, drupa, will take over Düsseldorf for a marathon fortnight (May 3rd to 16th) of machine debuts, networking and education. While there will be a great deal for small-format production print companies, the uptake of diversification since the last drupa four years ago will ensure plenty for wide-format printers too. Like many others, drupa will feature an area dedicated to sustainable printing, but most likely on scale to make it a mini-show all of its own. Given that drupa is serious enough to have its own pop song, it's not one to be missed by anyone involved in printing.
As the nights start to draw in, Viscom's four shows will appear this autumn. Each will have the flavour of its European location – Paris (September 25th to 27th), Milan (October 4th to 6th), Madrid (October 18th to 20th) and Frankfurt (October 25th to 27th) – and are certain to pack a lot into small spaces. Making its return in 2012 will be Imag'In the City, a demonstration space for ingenious graphic display products. Last year's Viscom Paris visitors seemed to consider the space similar to a sober art gallery rather than a place to explore, but it will hopefully spark the imagination this time.