The international specialist print community is due to descend on Madrid this spring for FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 (IFEMA – Feria de Madrid, 24 – 27 March 2020), Europe’s largest exhibition for screen and digital wide format printing, textile printing and sign making. Print service providers and sign makers will be able to experience the latest innovations in screen and digital printing presses, consumables, workflow, and colour management. Gold exhibition sponsors include first time FESPA exhibitor, HanGlory, the Shenzhen-based specialist provider of digital UV hybrid and flatbed printers, along with HP, Mimaki, and Brother.

Neil Felton, CEO of FESPA, says: “For decades, FESPA exhibitions have been the foremost forums for experiencing the latest and greatest offered by manufacturers serving the specialist print industries. As such, FESPA exhibition booths are famed for being an engaging blend of colour and cutting-edge design, as exhibitors compete to capture the attention of visitors, and FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 will be no different.”

Textile Print
Print Make Wear, FESPA’s fast fashion factory, was one of the most popular features at FESPA 2019 in Munich. It returns in Madrid in 2020 and will act as the physical link to the co-located Sportswear Pro exhibition. Mimaki, Kornit, Drytac, Antalis, Roland, and Berger Textiles are among around 20 exhibitors who will collaborate to create a live end-to-end production process for sports and athleisure garments.

Among the many textile printing solutions that will be shown at FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 are HP’s (Hall 5, Stand C10) recently launched HP STITCH S1000 126-in Printer and the HP STITCH S500 64-in Printer, providing dye sublimation production for soft signage, sportswear, fashion, interior décor textiles industries and beyond. With fast, precise colour-matching, these solutions deliver continuous high-quality prints on paper and fabric with simplified operation at high productivity levels.

Visitors will also be able to experience a new hybrid digital textile printer from Bihong Printing Equipment (Hall 3, Stand A10), a new addition to the TexJet® series of direct-to-garment printers - the TexJet® shortee2 - from specialists Polyprint SA (Hall 3, Stand C40), and new organic cottons, recycled polyester and eco fabrics from Premier Digital Textiles (Hall 3, Stand A121). Berger Textiles (Hall 7, Stand B30) will also be showing a new range of sustainable textile products, all manufactured in Germany.

Digital Print
Visitors to the Mutoh stand (Hall 7, Stand B95) will be inspired by multiple application possibilities for sign & display, digital transfer, direct textile and specialty/industrial applications. Mutoh will present the XpertJet 1641SR and the XpertJet 1682SR, its two new 64” wide, high quality and high productivity piezo drop-on-demand roll fed solutions for sign and display. These printers feature, a dual ink option including a new 7 colour ink set, along with multiple product enhancements. Mutoh will also exhibit its second generation direct-to-object printers, the XpertJet 461UF and the XpertJet 661UF, as well its new ValueCut II sign cutting plotter range, signalling its commitment to sign cutting and the print-to-cut industry.

HP (Hall 5, Stand C10) will show the new HP Latex R Printer Series Edition 2020. The HP Latex R Printer Series range has the ability to enhance any rigid or flexible substrate with amazing colours, offering the versatility to expand into new applications. HP will also exhibit the HP Latex 1500 Printer, the HP Latex 570 Printer, and the HP DesignJet Z9 dual roll 44-in PostScript® with Vertical Trimmer.

Canon (Hall 7, Stand A60) will bring a full line-up of end-to-end solutions to FESPA Global Print Expo 2020, including the Arizona flatbed series and Colorado roll-to-roll series. These include the Canon Arizona 1300 series with a roll media option, the Canon Colorado 1640 in line with cutting technology from Fotoba, and the Canon Colorado 1650. Canon will also exhibit its Xpert software solution that simplifies and automates complex print jobs and its Touchstone textured printing solution, along with software and finishing solutions from partners.

Visitors to Agfa (Hall 5, Stand D10) will experience the Jeti Tauro H3300 LED in action, the award winning printer that enables smooth, detailed UV-cured prints up to 3.3m wide at up 453 m²/h. It combines vivid six-colour print quality (plus white or primer) with extreme productivity, low ink consumption and cutting-edge automation. Also operational on the stand will be the hybrid Anapurna H3200i LED, a mid-range six-colour + white hybrid LED-curing inkjet system designed for a variety of rigid and flexible substrates up to 3.2 m for indoor and outdoor applications.

Visitors can expect new product announcements from Epson (Hall 3, Stand B20) at FESPA Global Print Expo. To be revealed on the first day of the exhibition, these will include new products for commercial signage and display, dye sublimation, digital textile print for wallpapers, vinyls, PVC and new printing solutions for direct-to-garment product.

Screen Print
Screen printers can expect to see a range of new products in the halls at FESPA Global Print Expo 2020, ranging from heat transfer materials from SEF (Hall 3, Stand A35) to the EconoRed III Conveyor Dryer from Vastex International (Hall 1, Stand C30). CHT (Hall 1, Stand D40), producer of speciality chemistry, will be showing a whole range of new screen printing products including a new generation of silicone and water-based pastes and pigment colour solutions.

Visitors interested in the hybrid approach can visit Digital Screen Printing Technologies (Hall 1, Stand B40), specialising in the production of hybrid transfer technologies, including release liners, inks, adhesives and anti-migration ink and additives. In addition, EXILE Technologies (Hall 1, Stand C10) will show the new SPYDER III Computer to Screen System, incorporating the latest phase-change printhead technology. It operates faster and at double the resolution of its predecessor, providing sharper detail, finer halftones and smoother gradients. It can also print smaller font sizes and more detailed vector and bitmap graphics, making it ideally suited for industrial screen printing applications.

Inks
Among exhibitors demonstrating new advances in ink technology at FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 are Zhuhai Print-Rite New Materials Corporation Limited (Hall 3, Stand A40), with its new high penetration sublimation ink for chiffon, and DAF K?MYA ?Ç VE DI? T?C. A.?. (Hall 1, Stand A12) will show its unique range of hybrid water-based and plastisol products that include textile screen printing inks, textile sublimation inks, as well as ecological pigments and PVC-free and phthalate-free plastisol inks. Sun Chemical (Hall 7, Stand D10) will demonstrate its extensive portfolio of inks with highlights expected across the categories of wide format, textile, and screen and industrial.

Substrates and Consumables
Ahlstrom-Munksjö (Hall 7, B40) will exhibit its range of sustainable and innovative fibre-based solutions, including new wall coverings for eco-solvent printing. On show in Madrid will be two new non-woven wall décor products, specifically designed to assure excellent printability with eco-solvent inks. Antalis (Hall 5, Stand C35) will launch the new Coala Interior Film range, designed to realistically recreate the look of natural materials and be applied to walls, doors, ceilings, furniture, elevators, partitions, and so on. It will be available by the metre and is easy to apply, facilitating a perfect application on any furniture contour or shape.

Workflow and Colour Management
As automation becomes ever more important in driving efficiencies and protecting margins, visitors to FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 can expect to experience many new advances in software. Esko Graphics (Hall 7, Stand A10) will demonstrate a range of its solutions including ArtiosCAD Preflight, Automation Engine, Share & Approve, and Kongsberg X Edge. New RIP technology from CADlink Technology Corporation (Hall 3, Stand B31) will be exhibited, including its new Digital Factory RIP Software (wide format print and cut RIP software), and Digital Factory UV Edition Software (RIP software specialising in UV design and production). New colour management solutions at FESPA this year will include the Sublisplash® Driver – Colour Management Software Solution for Sublisplash Inks, from Print Equipment (Hall 3, Stand E20).

In addition to showing products from over 500 exhibitors, FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 will connect visitors with industry leaders via a range of content-rich exhibition features designed for knowledge-sharing, such as Colour L*A*B*, the Trend Theatre, Printeriors, Print Make Wear, FESPA Awards, and FESPA World Wrap Masters. To explore these features, visit https://www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com/features. 

To see the full exhibitor list for FESPA Global Print Expo, click here: https://www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com/exhibitors-frb5/exhibitor-list. 

For more information on FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 and to register to attend, visit: www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com. For free entry use code FESM218, which will also grant you access to co-located show European Sign Expo and Sportswear Pro.