Fespa’s global wide format print expo will now take place every year, as opposed to biennially, replacing Fespa Digital on the odd years.
Fespa 2017 will run from May 8-12 in Hamburg, Germany, while the 2018 and 2019 events will take place in Berlin and Munich respectively, also in May.
Fespa says it made the decision in consultation with exhibitors and visitors to create one comprehensive yearly destination event, covering all technologies, processes and applications. Fespa Digital focused on digital wide format technologies.
Neil Felton, chief executive of Fespa says, “With this change, we aim to bring clarity and consistency to the global print community. Since 2006, our flagship Fespa event has alternated with Fespa Digital, reflecting the digital revolution that has so dramatically reshaped and revitalised our sector over the last decade. Fespa Digital succeeded to the point where it is virtually as significant a landmark in the print event calendar as the original Fespa. Today, feedback from both visitors and exhibitors is that – as digital becomes a mature technology – they would prefer to see Fespa present one annual event, embracing both digital and analogue products and applications to reflect the diversity of their business.”
Roz McGuiness, divisional director for Fespa, says “By unifying our European events and removing the digital distinction, we can focus all our energies on delivering the same event experience for all participants, every year. For our visitors, it ensures that whatever the year, wherever they are in their investment cycle, they can attend a trusted Fespa event in Europe that meets all their needs as a source of information and inspiration.”
Fespa says that the global expo is complemented by tailored regional exhibitions in Asia, Eurasia, central and south America and Africa, facilitating access to Fespa events for print service providers in these developing markets. For Australian printers the European show is always the most popular, attracting an increasing number of wide format printers from these shores.
Fespa says it aims to support exhibiting companies with long-term planning, while ensuring that visitors are aware of the show locations and can make advance travel plans accordingly. This feeds into the company’s decision to notify exhibitors of the locations and timeframe of later editions of the Fespa exhibition well in advance.
