Following three successful show and conference days, the second InPrint event closed its doors on Thursday, 12 November 2015. A total of 3,400 visitors from 68 countries came to the Munich Trade Fair Centre to learn about cutting-edge technology, components and services for speciality, screen, digital, inkjet and 3D. Three fields of application; functional, decorative and packaging printing were at the centre of interest throughout the show.

In line with the exhibition’s target, the programme of over 60 conference sessions, that took place on two stages directly on the show floor, also gathered crowds of visitors. The Italian company Kuei won the Great Innovations Award 2015 for their invention “Haptink”, which is a specially formulated haptic ink that creates a 3D printed effect for wood decoration.

In addition to 3,400 InPrint visitors, a further 1,324 visitors of the co-located productronica show made use of the offer to visit both shows with one combined ticket. During InPrint 2015, 150 companies from 16 countries showcased their products and services on 5,500 net square metres in hall A6. Compared to the InPrint premiere show in 2014, the number of exhibitors and visitors, as well as the total net exhibition space have grown by one third.

The conference offered a varied programme that was structured in line with the three focal points of the show. The sessions comprised speeches giving an overview on industry developments and panel discussions as well as precise investigations of certain topics and Tech Talks.

Frazer Chesterman, InPrint founder and co-organiser summed up: “What we have seen from the 2014 show to 2015 is a rapid development and evolution of the market. Larger exhibition stands, refined messaging, more machines, different inks & coatings and amazing technological innovation across a diverse range of applications. Clearly, the InPrint show continues to reflect this market evolution. When I spoke to exhibitors, I heard the same comments over and over again, that this event delivers a unique audience of visitors looking for customised system and technology solutions from both manufacturing and print sectors.”

Gary Barnes, Marketing Manager for Industrial Inkjet at Fujifilm was very pleased with the outcome of the talks he and his colleagues had on-site: “We have seen a significant increase in lead numbers since the previous show. A diverse range of companies and a large variety of industry sectors have come through, and the quality of the visitors at our stand was high. At InPrint, we see potential customers that we see nowhere else. For us it is the only show where we put the total capability of Fuji’s inkjet range on display together, and all our three sectors have been doing well. We’ve already signed up for the next year, so see you in Milan.”

Roberto Zinser, Channel Manager Wide Format Direct Sales at Canon Germany had also perceived a strong progress: “At InPrint 2015 in Munich, we noticed a considerable increase in the number of high-level talks and new business contacts compared to the year before. It is fantastic to see how digital in packaging, decorative and functional printing is really picking up speed. The InPrint show has become a valuable platform with respect to an exchange of experiences and know-how between visitors and exhibitors. This show allows us not only to communicate our practical experiences and application results, but also to get new inspiration and ideas from visitors at the same time. We will certainly miss InPrint round here next year, but are happy for our Italian colleagues and clients and are looking forward to welcoming InPrint back to Germany in 2017.”

Friedrich Goldner, Director New Business Development at Marabu added: “At InPrint 2015, we saw a continuation at a higher level of InPrint 2014, which showed diversified leads coming across many industries. This is what makes InPrint so special. The people visiting us came with specific production challenges and improvements in mind. And there were all kinds of directions – there were people from the screen world who had not thought of using digital in combination. And there were people from the screen side who didn’t know that there is a UV ink that would give them performance advantages. We also had a good number of leads for glass for interior and for packaging as well as many requests for industrial inkjet applications. The show was of a higher quality and more complete with new people looking at new industrial solutions from the manufacturing world, suggesting to us at Marabu that the target of the show was being achieved.”

International community: Decision makers from the manufacturing and printing industries

Fifty-six per cent of the visitors came from within Germany. At the same time, the majority of the companies who exhibited at the show, 54%, are located abroad. Individually, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland were represented best among the exhibiting countries at the show. Looking at the nationalities of the visitors, Germany, Italy, Austria, Great Britain, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Poland, the USA and Japan are leading the list of 65 countries.

Once more, there were a considerable proportion of decision makers among the visitors who came from various manufacturing industries, from the industrial printing sector and from traditional printing companies. The majority came from Executive Management or from Research & Development. Other job functions were Sales/Marketing/Public Relations; Operations; Purchasing/Procurement/Contract Buyers as well as Education & Training. Of those visitors working in manufacturing industries, most came from mechanical engineering, followed by plastics, electronics, automotive as well as additive manufacturing and 3D. The visitors from the printing sector work mainly in the segments digital print, inkjet and screen.

Sixty-five per cent of the visitors named functional print as their main area of interest at InPrint. More than half of all visitors were additionally interested in decorative printing and more than one third in packaging printing as well as in additive manufacturing and 3D. Taking a closer look, most visitors chose to visit InPrint in order to find out about printing machines and systems. Other main areas of interest were ink, fluids and chemicals, materials and substrates, print heads, screens and other special parts as well as integrated and customised parts.

Marcus Timson, InPrint co-founder and organiser continued: “InPrint is now firmly established as a show that is playing a role in assisting the development of industrial printing. Exhibitors reported visitors of a very high calibre, the show networking areas were full and the two conference theatres well attended suggesting that advanced technical knowledge exchange is essential. Functional printing was of the highest interest for visitors, and as we shift our attention towards Milan, we expect to see an increase in interest for decorative printing. For InPrint 2015, the international attendance continued to grow and we expect this to continue into the future as InPrint becomes a truly European event.”

InPrint Milan in 2016, next show in Germany to follow in 2017

Next year – from 15 to 17 November 2016 – the InPrint show will take place in Milan, Italy – at the MiCo (Milano Congressi), located closely to Milan city centre. The choice of location came in direct response to demand from the market for a dedicated forum for industrial print technology in Italy. Lombardy itself is a major centre for innovation in industrial technology, chemistry and manufacturing and the Milan region has a distinguished reputation for leadership in design and engineering.
InPrint 2017 will make a return to Germany.

Further information regarding InPrint is available at www.inprintshow.com.