Visual Impact Brisbane closed its doors on Saturday after featuring a line-up of wide format technology, laser engravers, display companies, and promotional printed products.
Peter Harper, general manager for events and publications at show organiser Visual Connections, says, “It went quite well. Obviously we would like more numbers. The numbers on Thursday were quiet, but higher than our expectations from two years ago. The Friday was busier in the morning.
“The feedback we are getting is that people are happy. Usually when I’m walking the floor if the exhibitors are not happy they will quickly tell me. It is a good little show, Brisbane. A lot of smaller companies, and mom and pop shops are up here.No-one can come here and say it is just a large format show. We have had so many display people this year, a lot of laser engraving people too. The trends have shifted from large format to display, which is good.
“There were a few new people, like Hexis who are brand new here, and Orafol, who have been here for 12 months now, and their second show. It must be successful, as many have booked for Sydney, which is 80-95 per cent sold. We expected to have the seminars on the floor space, but ran out of room so they were ran in a back room.
“Having Currie Group is always a good coup, to encourage more printing people to come along.”
Currie Group had the largest stand of the show, bringing in its Mobile Showroom, having to enter the exhibition hall first to park it. Inside the truck was a HP Indigo 7900 digital press operating with Horizon finishing equipment inline, with other Horizon and Foliant equipment placed outside, and Roberto the Robot.
Currie says the HP and Horizon inline combo, which made its world debut at PacPrint 2017 in Melbourne last year, delivers end-to-end productivity and solutions and is an illustration of automated printing – a theme which is underscored by the company’s eye-catching Sawyer robot, which held up a welcome sign to to draw in visitors.
Phillip Rennell, sales and marketing director, Currie Group, says, “The Horizon booklet maker takes the sheets from the HP Indigo and, in one operation, stitches, folds and 3-way trims, to deliver a finished product onto the conveyor at the far end, all without a single touch point.
Complementing that line,Currie Group showed a range of finishing equipment – Horizon RD-4055 rotary die-cutting system, Horizon SmartSlitter sheet cutter and creaser, Horizon CRF-362 creaser and folder, Foliant Mercury 400SF laminator, set up in front of the mobile showroom.
Bernie Robinson, managing director, Currie Group, says, “We have had the mobile showroom for 13 years. We are taking the 2018 Roadshow to Brisbane on May 2-3, then on to Albury and Adelaide with plans to take it to Perth before the end of the year. It is big, colourful, and we are happy with it. With its own generator we can pull up anywhere, it has air-conditioning too.
“Then we can start to plan for PrintEx up in Sydney.”
