Ipex 2014's Open Day - which took place on Wednesday 20th November at the exhibition's new home at the ExCeL London - has been hailed by attendees as a resounding success. Over 250 delegates, including prospective and current exhibitors, media and other key players from across the industry, were presented with a comprehensive overview of Ipex 2014 (24-29 March 2014) and the role the event can play in boosting their businesses.

An opportunity to meet and network with fellow exhibitors and 36 of the event's associate partners, attendees were provided with an in-depth presentation on the latest developments and features of Ipex 2014, with key insights into the World Print Summit, Future Innovations area, Inspiration Avenue, Eco Zone, Master Classes, Make-Ready Challenge and the co-located, inaugural Cross Media Production event.

After the event update from Ipex 2014 Event Director Trevor Crawford, attendees were provided with essential tools to ensure they maximise their exhibition return on investment (ROI). This included exhibition tips from Answers Training International CEO Simon Naudi, information from Ipex 2014's Group Marketing Manager Angelina Stojsavljevic on how to benefit from Ipex's co-marketing opportunities, and expert advice on how to generate important coverage in influential industry publications - including the Ipex Daily. An additional workshop will be run by Informa Exhibitions for Ipex 2014 exhibitors, taking place at the St Bride Foundation in London onDecember 10th 2013.

The morning's proceedings were brought to a close by Ipex 2014 President and St Ives CEO Patrick Martell, before a venue tour to showcase the London ExCeL's exceptional facilities to host international events, and concluded with a Emirates Air Line cable car ride over to the O2 arena - the future home of Ipex After Hours.

Sidney Bobb, Chairman of the BAPC, comments: "The Ipex Open Day was an excellent event with something for everyone. I have the impression that optimism has returned and there is a very warm feeling towards Ipex."

Sarah Crumpler, UK Marketing Manager, Duplo International, comments: "The Ipex Open Day provided a great forum for networking and sharing ideas with both the Ipex team and other exhibitors. Duplo is looking forward to the event and contributing to the overall value that it presents to visitors."

"I thought the Open Day was a great launch pad for Ipex," says Eric Bell, Director of Marketing Services, Goss International. "I spoke to a number of exhibitors who indicated that next year's event provided them with the opportunity to start looking forward instead of back. The ExCeL looks to be a smart move too - a well-structured, modern venue that will serve Ipex well."

Terri Winstanley, Head of Marketing and PR, Intec Printing Solutions, summarises: "The Ipex Open Day reminded us of the focus and hard work Informa puts in to ensure Ipex is a great event. It is an important platform for us to promote and launch our new products in March, and it offers us the opportunity to meet with prospects from the UK and the international community - all under one roof. Overall it was a well organised and informative event that enabled us to meet with media partners and engage with suppliers, as well as offer us new incentives to ensure we have a strong exhibition."

Mark Hinder, Market Development Manager, Konica Minolta, adds: "Personally I am really encouraged by all the hard work Ipex is putting in. The programme to support a commercial printer is very well thought through, Cross Media Production will appeal to marketers and print service providers, and for me, I hope the industry can now see how the event is adapting to the changing landscape."

"The event was run very professionally, and we came away happy that Informa is putting a huge effort into making Ipex 2014 a very relevant show for today's industry," explains Miles Bentley, Commercial Director, Lumejet. "The Ipex team is working extremely hard to not only to drive footfall, but also to support the exhibitors. In fact, we are so confident that the show will be a great success that we have doubled our floor space."

"The Ipex team organised and hosted an excellent Open Day, which I found to be very interesting and informative," reflects Graham Harris, Managing Director of Tech-ni-Fold. "We spoke to quite a few co-exhibitors and the mood was extremely upbeat and positive - everyone is looking forward to a successful and fruitful Ipex 2014, which is great to hear. We have set up meetings with a few of the Ipex associates who were there to help support us all, as we really want Tech-ni-Fold to maximise all opportunities on offer to make this event successful."

Anne de Lanoy, Marketing Manager of censhare, explains why the integrated publishing solutions provider has committed to Cross Media Production. "The Open Day for Ipex 2014 was very informative, and we found the discussions about the evolving industry to be relevant and pertinent. It was an ideal opportunity to see how the co-located Cross Media Production will be beneficial to a company like censhare. The event will complement Ipex perfectly, and censhare is looking forward to demonstrating how the creation, management and distribution of content through different channels can work on every level. It is important for the industry as a whole to be receptive to the changes that are taking place, and Cross Media Production will certainly reflect that."

Trevor Crawford, Event Director, Ipex 2014, concludes:  "It was a really productive and successful day - the excitement and enthusiasm in the room was palpable! It is always great to meet our customers face-to-face and to share our vision for Ipex - an event that has been developed with their interests at its heart. The feedback on what Ipex is aiming to achieve has been overwhelmingly positive, in both the direction of the event, the features, its content programme and the move to the ExCeL in London. The relationship between Ipex and the print industry is symbiotic, and fortunately for both, the tide is turning. We can't wait to see it all in action."