TUSTIN, Calif., (Aug. 7, 2007) — Nearly eight months before opening next March at it’s new home at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California, the third annual PrintFest trade show continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  Over 71% of last year’s floor space is already committed and this year’s floor plan is 25% larger than it was in 2007!  Before all is said and done, PrintFest promoters expect the show to grow by a total of 38% over the size of the 2007 show.
“At PrintFest we deliver measurable value by focusing on the needs of our customers, and helping them to focus on the needs of their customers,” says Chris Jacobson, producer of PrintFest and son of David Jacobson, founder of the original Gutenberg Festival shows.  “Because we truly care about whether or not our customers make money as a result of their participation, we’ve been able to develop a loyal following of supporters and the show continues to grow substantially each year.”  Here’s what a few PrintFest 2007 exhibitors had to say…
“I was impressed with the turnout yesterday.  This show is going in the right direction and (is) definitely worth it.” - Ryan Wilkes, Printservice Consultant, MAN Roland
“We had a client from Hawaii who liked our printing press (52DI) and wanted to try it out on his work, so he had some files sent over via email and we printed them on the spot!  He loved them and will return today to buy the floor model.” - Dennis James, Marketing Project Manager, Presstek, Inc.
“It is uncanny what has happened in the last two years.  Every single person we’ve spoken to has had real interest.” -  Larry Corwin, President, Rollem Corp. of America
“Very impressed with the quality of people attending.” - Klaus Hoefner, Technical Support Specialist, Buskro USA
“Best show we have ever attended!  Enormous amount of traffic.  More leads in one day at this show than entire show ... in Chicago.” - Mark Myers, President, Estimator Corp.
“We got enough leads yesterday to make the whole show worthwhile!  We already signed up for next year.” - Craig Young, Area Sales Manager, Western Pacific Pulp & Paper
Jacobson, who grew up in the industry, says he’s just following his father’s philosophy of taking care of the customer, which resulted in twenty-seven years of success with Gutenberg Festival before the family finally sold the show in 1999.  He claims, “If we don’t add value to the middle of the buy-sell equation for both our exhibitor/sponsor and attendee customers, then we don’t belong in the middle.  We do a lot of consultative sales to custom-fit a program for each customer.”
With few face-to-face events left in the industry, PrintFest shines brightly as a model for the right way to do things.  Jacobson credits the success primarily to the attendees.  “Let’s face it,” he says bluntly, “the vendors need to continue to develop relationships with existing and new customers.  PrintFest’s success is entirely measured by those people who are qualified and interested enough to show up.”
Because of this, Jacobson believes it’s more important than ever to vote with one’s feet by attending regional shows in one’s own backyard and encouraging others to do the same.  He explains, “The Exhibitors and Sponsors want to know that a certain geographic area is worth their while to invest their marketing dollars.  The demographic information collected through the registration process and the survey results from the conference sessions are what give vendors the tangible evidence and leverage they need in order to justify a marketing expense in a specific region.”  He says the best things printers and creatives can do is to spread the word and make it a priority to attend the show in their own region, “no matter what else is on the calendar.”
The strategy seems to be working.  Jacobson signed a three-year deal to take the show to the Anaheim Convention Center, which is located directly across the street from Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme parks in Southern California.  Dates are the same weekend at the end of March each year.  In 2008, the conference runs Thursday through Saturday, March 27-29.  The expo runs Friday and Saturday, March 28-29, a full two months ahead of Drupa.  2009 dates are March 26-28, and in 2010 they are March 25-27.