Nashville – More than 2,000 digital print professionals gathered at Dscoop8: Spark, the 2013 Dscoop Annual Conference that ran February 21-23 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Attendee turnout marked a 30 percent increase in core North American attendees from last year’s event and included attendees from 38 countries around the world. In addition, 95 Partners participated in the Solutions Showcase exhibition.

"Dscoop8 was a huge success in every sense of the word,” said Chris Petro, Dscoop global chairman and president and CEO, GlobalSoft Digital Solutions. “The level of enthusiasm and energy at the conference exceeded our expectations. Our attendees heard a number exciting announcements from HP and Partners, inspiring presentations from industry leaders and received top-notch education from experts and peers. The ability for members to connect with each other while offering inspiration to take their business to the next level is a unique benefit that is only available through Dscoop.”

In addition to the more than 120 educational sessions throughout the three-day event, the organization also featured new Spark sessions, hands-on workshops that gave members an opportunity to explore specific topics that meet their interests.

Additional highlights from Dscoop8 included:

• Mark King, CEO and president of TaylorMade and Gary Vaynerchuk, The New York Times Best-selling author and social media expert, opened the conference with inspiring keynote presentations. Each delivered a message that motivated and encouraged attendees to explore new innovations in the industry. King and Vaynnerchuk engaged attendees with inspirational stories that spoke to business owners, executives and employees in the technical, marketing and sales fields.
• Eric Hawkinson, Dscoop executive director and Chris Petro, Dscoop global chairman, jointly announced that Dscoop is launching two new efforts to enhance membership value and business growth worldwide, Dscoop University and the Dscoop Print Directory.
• The announcement of Dscoop University, powered by HP, is a community-driven training program available worldwide for print service providers to expand their knowledge of the digital print industry and drive business growth. The customized curriculum will span multiple market segments and functional tracks that include marketing, sales, operations and technology-specific topics.
• The launch of the Dscoop Print Directory will serve as a web-based tool and is designed to provide marketers, designers and print professionals with a quick way to research and connect with digital print service providers around the globe.
• The Dscoop Board of Directors presented the 2013 Jack Glacken Award for outstanding contributions to the Dscoop community to Larry Vaughn, president of Seebridge Media. Among his many achievements, Vaughn has served as the Dscoop conference chair, treasurer and has sat on the founding Global Board of Directors. His strong support of the Dscoop community and passion for digital print has inspired others in the industry.
• The second annual Dscoop EMEA conference was announced for November 6-8, 2013 in Rome, Italy. Dscoop Asia 2013 will be held May 12-13 in Beijing, China in conjunction with China Print 2013.

"Dscoop8 has once again raised the bar,” said Eric Hawkinson, Dscoop global executive director. “The excitement around the launch of Dscoop University and the Dscoop Print Directory worldwide has been undeniable. We see great things for the future of print because all of our members are working together to shape the industry with tools that allow our members to grow their businesses.”

Conference proceedings will be available on the website for Dscoop members to access starting next week.

Dscoop9 will be held March 6-8, 2014, at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Conference Center in Orlando, Florida.