Pro Imaging CONNECT, the new executive conference for the photo/imaging industry, has announced the first major speakers at its conference March 21-22, 2020, at Horseshoe Bay Resort in Austin, Texas.

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Pro Imaging CONNECT, the new executive conference for the photo/imaging industry, has announced the first major speakers at its conference March 2122, 2020, at Horseshoe Bay Resort in Austin, Texas.

“Pro Imaging CONNECT brings together executives from different segments of the photo/imaging industry to share ideas and to build relationships,” says Toren Prawdzik, conference organizer, and president, Photo EVO. “Digital technology is breaking down the barriers between amateur photography, the professional photography and graphic arts markets. PI CONNECT unites these industry interests for the future.”

“The first Pro Imaging CONNECT was a good start to building a strong network among personalized photo companies, printers, and the graphic-arts world,” says Andrew Laffoon, founder, Mixbook. “I look forward to seeing it grow to a premier meeting place for our industry!”

Pro Imaging CONNECT will kick off Saturday, March 21, at 1 p.m., with a presentation by Alan Bullock, associate director, Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends, with the educational program, “A Snapshot of the US Photo Printing & Imaging Market”; the session is sponsored by Mediaclip.

The session will provide an overview of photo/imaging trends that Keypoint Intelligence - InfoTrends is seeing in several annual U.S. end-user surveys. Attendees will learn how consumers are using the images they are taking and ultimately how they are printing and producing photo products with them. Bullock will talk about the who, what, when, where, and why behind the print and photo merchandise markets – specifically focusing on books, cards, and wall décor products, including the triggers that lead consumers to order print products. He will also touch on the retail photo landscape as well as the print habits of professional photographers.

The international world of photo imaging

Speaking next will be leading international photo/imaging researcher, Don Franz, presenting, “The International World of Photo Imaging.” In this presentation, Franz will explore how social media and the internet have driven photo/imaging sharing and output around the world, both for consumers and professionals. He will also consider the reviving interest in film photography by both consumers and professionals. The former distinction between graphic arts and photography production facilities for output has blurred, and he will look at the impact of this evolution on the traditional photofinishing industry.

Franz has studied the photo/imaging world for more than 40 years. In addition to the monthly Photo Imaging News newsletter, he conducts market research around the world and participates in international photo conferences.

New standards for color and appearance management

The evening program, the Future Imaging Symposium, will feature Don Carli, president and co-founder, Nima Hunter Inc., speaking about “New standards for color and appearance management: Why you should care and what you need to know.”

There is far more to appearance than color, there is far more to color than RGB and CMYK, and there is far more to print than 2D. This session will explain what you need to know about iccMAX (ISO 20677) and related new standards for color and appearance management. Carli will present information on brands leading development of solutions to address growing high-value markets by making it possible to capture, to model, to display, and to print expanded gamut color as well as metallic, pearlescent, iridescent, gonio-chromatic, fluorescent, gloss, sparkle, surface texture, and other appearance effects for 3D e-commerce and AR/VR/XR, as well as for 2D, 2.5D, and 3D print applications.

Carli co-founded Nima Hunter Inc., a market insight consultancy founded in 1986 that conducts research in support of branding, positioning, product development, product marketing, competitive intelligence, market forecasting, business strategy and sales process improvement.

About Pro Imaging CONNECT

Pro Imaging CONNECT kicks off with two days of executive-level education, while Pro Imaging Golf follows with two days of networking and the famous scramble golf tournament. Attendees can choose to attend just the Pro Imaging CONNECT educational event, March 21-22; just the Pro Imaging Golf event, March 23-24; or both events.

Pro Imaging CONNECT registration is currently underway, with conference-only registration of $199. Until March 10, a nightly room at Horseshoe Bay Resort is $267.74 per night includes conference registration. To attend both events, the registration package for Pro Imaging CONNECT, Pro Imaging Golf, nightly room, plus one round of golf per day at Horseshoe Bay Resort is $355.74 per night. There is a hard cut-off of March 10 for registration.

The Pro Imaging CONNECT program is programmed by Gary Pageau, editor of The Dead Pixels Society, the photo/imaging networking group and news site.

For more information, visit www.proimagingconnect.com.