The “other” Graphics Canada we seldom appreciate

To my mind, there are always two elements to any tradeshow: the business aspect and the personal connections. With that in mind, I’d like to present a sidebar to the Graphics Canada wrap-up feature in this issue. This is a salute to some of my friends and industry colleagues I met at the show, whose efforts far too often go unnoticed.
To Dennis Low, who heads Point One Graphics:  Do you remember printing that poster for my client decades ago for the Molson Export Supercross? You had a small hole-in-the wall shop on Carlton near Parliament St. in Toronto with your mom and dad. It was about half the size of the last Heidelberg press you installed, correct? Look at you today! A multi-million-dollar operation with 70,000 square feet of production space in Etobicoke. Wow!
To Don Schroeder of C.P. Bourg:  Weren’t you supposed to retire last year? I hear you’ll be getting another offer to stay on with C.P. Bourg. You know Don, I always knew your bosses were smart. They just proved it again.
To Martin Reist of ATS-Tanner:  I see your son has taken the reins and is now a key part of your operation. You two make a great team. But weren’t you taller than him before I saw you at Graphics Canada?
To Jackie Kisiloski of PDS:  Thank you for chatting with me about our aging parents and the challenges we must all eventually confront. You and your family are doing a great job making PDS successful.
To Tim and Suzanne Wakefield of Insource:  It’s too bad the Canadian women’s national hockey team lost in overtime to the Americans during the show. But win or lose, I know that your daughter Jennifer will always be a key player for Canada and always make you proud. By the way, where do you keep her Olympic Gold Medal?
To Jennie Douangmixay from Epson Canada:  It was so nice to finally meet you in person. The textile printing samples at your booth were amazing. Forgive me, but I’m still working on pronouncing your name properly.
Finally, to all those who I missed because I couldn’t make it to the show on day three, look on the bright side – you didn’t have to put up with my terrible jokes!
Around the industry this month
Here are a few interesting tidbits of news that you might be interested in. Azon, the creators of the DTS Grande leather printer (pg. 37), have over 80 distributors worldwide. But I understand that they’re also looking for distributors here in Canada. It might be worth checking out.
EyeC, the German manufacturer of print inspection systems, has introduced its ultra-fast Proofiler 1200 DT and 1700 DT. The inspection systems claim to identify all relevant defects at twice the speed of competitive systems. For example, a combination job on a typical press sheet (42” x 30‘‘) with multiple die positions can be inspected in less than two minutes!
I see Mimaki is getting into 3D. In 2015 the OEM started its own full-colour, 3D printer development and is now in the commercialization phase. Its 3D UV-cure inkjet printer prototype can output clear ink as well as over 10 million possible colour combinations. The differentiator here is that its printer and ink technologies enable 3D printing of products that are quite delicate, extremely precise and incredibly realistic.
It’s nice to see the Ontario government step up to the plate and support Canada’s growing printed electronics industry (pg. 13 ) by funding several industry events. I hope other provinces will follow their lead. It’ll also be interesting to see if commercial printers will test the waters of this emerging technology in the coming years.
Are you an expert in colour? The PIA needs speakers for its January 2018 Color Conference in California. If interested, you’re invited to propose topics for keynote sessions for the general audience, or for detailed colour topics in breakout sessions.
I’m going to check out the ADM Expo May 16-18 in Toronto and report back. The 2017 Advanced Design and Manufacturing Expo brings the region’s leading advanced manufacturing events together – ATX Canada, Design & Manufacturing Canada, Packex Toronto, Plast-Ex, and Powder & Bulk Solids Toronto. I’m definitely no expert, but want to hear from some of the over 6,000 design and manufacturing pros expected to attend, as well as the exhibitors involved in packaging, package printing and design.
Until next time, always remember that we’re here to help.