Commemorate 9/11 in Support of The Garden of Refl ection 9-11 Memorial The fi rst one hundred attendees to visit Compart North America (Booth 2073) will receive a free 9/11 Memorial Pin commemorating the 15th anniversary of that day. The pin is the creation of Philadelphia jewelry designer Steven Singer. He donates all proceeds to The Garden of Refl ection 9-11 Memorial. For more, visit 9-11memorialgarden.org/ and ihatestevensinger. com. “It’s almost impossible to be at GRAPH EXPO and not think of that horrible day -PRINT 01 was going on in the McCormick Center, and we had people in our offi ce in Connecticut who had family and friends working in the towers,” says Scott Gerschwer, Marketing Manager for Compart NA. “The show has since fallen on 9/11 a few times, and there is always a moment of silence. We wanted to keep that feeling of refl ection going, even though the show is obviously later on in the month this year. When we heard about this campaign to raise money for the Garden of Refl ection, we didn’t hesitate. “Wearing the pin at the show is a statement that we will not forget, no matter how many years go by and that we honor those lives that were lost that day.” Giving back to the community we live in is a core Compart value. In Germany, for example, CEO Harald Grumser opens up offi ce space and personnel to be used as a classroom to teach Syrian refugees to speak German so they can assimilate better into the society there. The Garden of Refl ection 9-11 Memorial is located in Bucks County, PA. Showcasing Opportunity Applications reign supreme in The House That Print Built Inside The House That Print Built (Booth 2566) on the GRAPH EXPO 16 show fl oor this year, applications will reign supreme. Unlike other show fl oor features that will highlight some of the latest technologies vendors have to offer, this one will specifi cally be all about how to use that technology to fi nd new and interesting ways to bring print to the world. “Commercial print service providers (PSPs) comprise a large percentage of GRAPH EXPO 16’s attendees,” notes Tom Wittenberg, Marketing Manager, The Americas - Sign & Display, Graphic Solutions Business, HP (Booth 1825). “We know that they are looking for new opportunities to expand their businesses beyond the traditional products and customer base they have today. Participating in the House That Print Built pavilion enables HP to showcase the breadth of opportunities available in a variety of markets that are growing and accessible to commercial PSPs.” Wittenberg notes that the applications they plan to highlight go beyond just ink on paper, beyond applications that feature an image on a fl at, static surface. Instead, the pavilion will stretch printers to think beyond the ordinary. “We are demonstrating a variety of unique applications, including window blinds, wallcoverings, curtains, stereo speaker alternatives, and printed doors. We chose these applications because they offer PSPs tremendous growth opportunities,” he says. Today’s brands are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd, to rise above the marketing clutter. Printers who look at the world and see nothing but opportunities for printed embellishments and who are willing to demonstrate how those ideas could help a brand grow will find themselves far ahead of the competition. They will move out of the “commodity” box, and will move into a partnership with customers that will only lead to growth for everyone involved. The House That Print Built is a great place to start recognizing just how plentiful those opportunities really are. An Industry Going Soft One of the trends impacting the print industry is the increasing popularity of textile printing. While visiting the Inkjet Candy Store (Booth 2367) this year, and seeing all of the latest equipment in action, be sure to keep in mind this trend, since investments made in equipment today should be able to handle whatever tomorrow brings. There are a few different opportunities in the wide-format inkjet space around textile printing, and while not every application will be a fi t for every printer, the odds are good that at some point, many print buyers will see the benefi ts to some sort of textile options. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind. 1. Wall coverings/wallpaper. The ability to custom-print wall coverings (which only cover one wall, or part of a wall) and wallpaper (which cover all the walls in a room or area) is becoming a popular choice with designers. Printers who have the equipment to take on these projects and offer suggestions on the best ways to implement the application for the greatest impact will absolutely be ahead of the game. 2. Furniture. It might seem like a stretch, but the fact is, furniture designers are beginning to catch on to the fl exibility that digital print can bring to their creations. Having the ability to custom-print the fabric for a single couch or chair, for example, allows those designers to offer highly premium pieces to their customers. Another application might be a corporate offi ce for a major brand, that wants the furniture to match the same brand style and colors as the rest of the space. This is still a fl edgling trend, but it is one that will only gain traction as the months progress. 3. Window coverings. Whether it’s blinds or curtains, the traditional clings and window graphics aren’t the only game in town anymore. Now, designers are looking to enhance their spaces with custom window coverings that let them really highlight the overall look and feel they are trying to achieve with a space. The days of having to spend hours going through catalogs to fi nd just the right curtain fabric are fast ending, as digital printing will give them the option of taking the vision they have in their head and bringing it to life. And these are just a few of the bigger potential textile applications that printers should be thinking about as they check out the latest technological innovations in wide-format inkjet, and consider just how those technologies can help expand and grow the business. 8 | September 27, 2016 | GRAPH EXPO 16 Offi cial Show Daily | PrintingNews.com
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