It's always interesting to go to shows. The EAGLE recently commented on the major revelations from IPEX, normally known as a print show dominated by offset, and this year more dominated by the digital print phenomena. In a similar way, the "Sign Show," this year's International Sign Expo (ISA 2006, April 5-8), provided comparable feedback. The old sign technologies had been almost totally supplanted by digital. You could buy easily programmable LED signs that were as small as a pin or as large as a wall, and giant digital inkjet printers up to 15' wide, printing on almost anything you could imagine down to a quantity of one.

After years of talking, finally three of the main powerhouses in the prepress marketplace—Pitman DuPont, and Agfa—had a major presence at ISA. The EAGLE only hopes that it isn't too late and too little for the graphic arts titans.

You also never know who you will run into at these new shows, or what they're doing. After years of talking, finally three of the main powerhouses in the prepress marketplace had a major presence at ISA. Pitman was there (with a booth) alongside of DuPont, selling wide format printers both in roll feed and UV flatbed formats, and Agfa showed its new :Anapurna 100 wide format printers developed in collaboration with Mimaki, rather than the Mutoh OEM brands carried in their Sherpa product line.