PrintExpo, Chennai attracted strategic visitors to the show!

The 13th edition in August 2023 in Chennai marked the first PrintExpo with the involvement of Messe Frankfurt India, in collaboration with Showcase Trade Fairs and Business Media. The show has evolved as a robust platform displaying cutting-edge technological innovations in machinery, processes and products, to meet the burgeoning demands arising from the e-commerce and economic developments.

Here, Raj Manek, Executive Director, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, and Ashok Neelkant, Managing Director, Showcase Trade Fairs and Business Media Pvt Ltd share their views on their partnership and PrintExpo.

On partnership …

“We’ve been partners for just a few months, but we’ve worked very hard in the last few months to bring in the international way of working, and you can see around the show how much it’s improved in terms of the way, look and feel of the show. Even the visitors numbers are huge as we did a lot of marketing. We did a lot of connection with our own database, as well as the database we’ve inherited. So I would say my overall experience so far, in a very short period of time, has been phenomenal and I’m really looking forward to actually taking this one or two steps further now,to make it a truly international exhibition in the coming editions,” says Raj.

While Ashok says, “We signed an agreement just about 3 months back and we always wanted to work with Messe Frankfurt as they have the experience and the expertise in doing shows like this and I think it is working wonderfully well and in the coming years we would probably grow the show much bigger and better, with more qualified attendees to the show and more technology solutions and innovations that wouldvcome by.”

Theme of Print Expo…

“Print Expo has been established for many years now and this is the 13th edition, so the main theme has always been for printing, publishing, and for the paper side of it. So the theme hasn’t changed, but what we will do now is look at all the concepts behind the printing, the publishing side, the new technologies that are coming in, the new software that’s coming in, and we will then start incorporating this within a concept of the show, so there’s a very much a better flow to the exhibition,” shares Raj.

“We wish to bring some internationals into the show, so that we can show new technology or new innovations that are happening overseas that need to come to India. We’ve already started to understand a lot more about the industry and we will start to plan and develop this show into a much more structured manner for the coming editions,” he adds.

While, Ashok shares, “The main theme, the idea of placing Print Expo here in South of India, that’s the base of the show, is to get the technology to the printers in South India, that’s how it started in 2009 and we carry forward that thinking. In South India, there is only a small percentage of people who go to shows outside this region, so we wanted to make Print Expo one stop solution for technology solutions and innovations for the printers in South India to see. The bigger printers go all over the place; they go to shows abroad and shows in India but the mid-level and the smaller printers come here. We wanted them to get a peek at the technology too.”

Innovations @ Print Expo 2023

“There are quite a few new technologies and a couple of new machines that have been launched at the show. One of the important ones I’ve seen is that you’ve got machines which now have a focus on sustainability, which didn’t really appear in the Indian thing, so carbon footprint has become an important aspect,” shares Raj.

“In this show, we have digital which is very visible and then we have packaging also; so we are getting the right mix of technologies and solutions. This is a complete mix of technology that the printers in South India will be able to witness and it’s a dazzling display of technology solutions and innovations,” adds Ashok.

On Print Expo going to other cities…

“There are plans being considered, but ultimately first what we want to do is to make this one highly successful. We want to change the profile, we want to internationalize it. We also want to make the visitors much more pan-India rather than regional. But of course, if you look at India and how large it is, and how much printing is such an important part of the growth of the country, it’s growing at 15% CAGR in India, and there are pockets around the country which are very predominantly print-based. So yes, we would look at the future and say where could we take this show to other cities. But our first priority is, we have acquired the show very recently and we will work closely with our partners now to make this one a very, very good established international show, and then we’ll maybe look at other cities,” shares Raj.

On a concluding note…

“Industry professionals should participate in PrintExpo as the level of exhibitors and the quality of visitors and the buyers is very good. There’s no better place than to have a booth at this show with face-to-face meetings with buyers who are very strategic buyers, and you will get a better ROI than just trying to do it on a marketing campaign,” concludes Raj and Ashok.