The old cliché “the show must go on” has never been more evident than this year. We’ve got drupa, the world’s largest printing show, running May 3 – 16 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Graph Expo, October 7 – 10 at McCormick Place South in Chicago, the SGIA Specialty Printing & Imaging Technology Show in Las Vegas, October 18 – 20, the Print World show on short-run technology November 17 – 19 at Exhibition Place in Toronto, and of course our own event, Printing Survivor II in Toronto, Thursday, September 20. Better mark them on your calendar. I also think we’ll need the summer to re-charge our batteries after drupa.
Speaking of drupa, we have our feet on the ground right now searching out some of the best technology from around the world and will report the results to you in our June issue. This drupa wrap-up will also include reports from many of the Canadian companies and Canadian representatives who are currenly exhibiting. We’ll ask them to rate the overall show, how sales went and what machines and technology attracted the most interest. Be sure to check out our several pages of ongoing coverage starting on page 26. You might also want to look at our interesting articles on wide-format printing and the art of bookbinding.
Special congratulations to Michael Mugavero, a well known industry professional with an extensive background in capital equipment sales and printing plant operation management, who has been named the manroland sheetfed Managing Director and CEO for the United States and Canada. It was an excellent choice.
Our May issue has plenty of news, including pages on technology, and not surprisingly, acquisitions and partnerships. As we encounter more challenges in this industry, mergers and partnerships are becoming more commonplace as companies and organizations team up to help one another move forward.
At press time the weather was still rather cold, but the NHL playoffs seemed to have at least warmed up sports fans, despite the fact that there are no Canadian teams left. I’m not going to predict a winner, but it should be a great ride.
Plans for our Second Annual Printing Survivor II event in Toronto Thursday, September 20 are already underway. The event will be held at the Paradise Banquet and Convention Centre, 7601 Jane Street, Concord, Ontario. We’ll once again have some exceptional speakers including the return of John Foley Jr. and Peter Muir. Watch for coming announcements regarding speakers, topics, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities and, of course, tickets – which are $125 ( HST) each and just $95 ( HST) for early registration. For more information call toll-free: 1-877-513-3999.
As always, stay positive and stay focused.
