The 75th Annual International Sign Association (ISA) Sign Expo opened this week in Las Vegas, and by the start of the second day, 20,000 attendees had walked the show floor to check out the ever-increasing diversity of equipment and materials that can produce signage of all kinds. From traditional channel letters and cut lettering, to various display graphics printing, to LEDs, to holograms, there seems to be no end to the ways one can produce signage—and that has generated a sense of excitement among many attendees. “You can feel in the air a palpable sense of excitement,” said Lori Anderson, President and CEO of ISA.

Indeed, the technology used to create signage has always been in flux. It wasn’t too long ago that print was the new kid on the signage block, and if you have been paying attention to the last few Sign Expos, you have seen textiles—whether it’s soft signage or printed textiles in general—proliferate. These days, printing is printing, and whether it’s signage, décor, garments, or even commercial printing like direct mail or transactional, opportunities abound in an increasingly converging industry. As a result, it makes perfect sense that ISA has announced that next year, the 2020 Sign Expo in Orlando will colocate with the Impressions Expo, formerly the Imprinted Sportswear Show, which focuses on the apparel side of the printing world.

“The lines continue to blur,” said Joshua Carruth, Show Director of Impressions Expo. “There is tremendous value in bringing the two communities together. We couldn’t find a reason why it didn’t work.”