TUSTIN, Calif., (Apr. 10, 2008) With three years of history now under its
belt, PrintFest has continued to grow in size each year bringing high
quality buyers together with sellers, and combining the worlds of print and
marketing on the west coast. 1163 printers, marketers, creatives and print
buyers attended the three-day event last month at its new home in Anaheim,
California, right across the street from Disneyland. Exhibitors were pleased
with the quality.
A typical comment heard around the expo floor is repeated by Anthony Blanco,
Show Coordinator for Duplo USA Corp., one of PrintFest's largest exhibitors
since the show debuted in 2006. Mr. Blanco states, "The show was good for
us. It got us lots of sales leads and new customers." Paul Mitcham, Director
of Marketing and Sales Support for Yupo Corp. of America agrees, "(There
were) good quality attendees which should generate good sales leads for our
company."
Representing another sector, Billi Little, Trade Show and Events Manager for
Quark, had this to say, "Through our exhibit and hands-on teaching lab we
were able to connect with more than 250 printers and designers that use
Quark Xpress ... We sold enough software to pay for our booth space."
PrintFest focuses on helping printers and their customers to generate good
profits using tried-and-true methods in niche categories such as cross
media, variable data printing, mailing and fulfillment, label printing,
package printing, CIM/MIS systems, and other areas where margins are good
and opportunities are expanding. Its unique partnership with DMA in Southern
California this year brought in the missing element of marketers, creatives
and print buyers to complete the picture, delivering an environment where
printers and their customers can learn about the business case for niche
opportunities, the technical know-how to implement, and the tools they need
to make it happen.
And it seems to be working. A survey was conducted of exhibitors on-site,
and 90% of the 109 respondents said they met new prospective customers at
PrintFest that they weren't previously aware of! And, 78% of those selling
products at the show reported new sales as a direct result of their
participation in PrintFest to clients on their existing customer lists that
they had not sold to prior to exhibiting in the show.
From his perspective, Tom DeVito, President of Gluing Machinery & Systems,
Inc., sums it up this way, "PrintFest is a valuable resource for
manufacturers to reach customers in the Southern California market."
Show management wants you to mark your calendars for next year.
PrintFest 2009 will return to the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern
California next March. The expo runs March 27-28, 2009, and the conference
runs March 26-28, 2009.