Business News
Successful Pre-Registration Visitor Figures Shows Industry Responding Well to New Attractions at Northprint
Thursday 24. March 2011 - A wealth of free visitor attractions and learning experiences on offer for the three day duration of Northprint 2011 [www.northprintexpo.com], is set to position the event beyond its traditional roots as a trade show. Complementing the latest printing solutions and technologies spanning the web to finish production cycle which will be presented on supplier stands, Northprint will also provide the most comprehensive range of visitor features and attractions in the shows history.
“The industry is certainly responding well to the new-look Northprint and the range of additional attractions and features on offer,” says Trevor Crawford, Director of the IIR Print Group. “Pre-registration is going extremely well and were already out performing previous cycles.”
New to Northprint 2011 will be the Printers Profit Zone (stand C252), following its success at Ipex 2010, organised in association with industry expert and The Print Coach, Nick Devine. The Printers Profit Zone at Northprint will feature master class sessions, case study presentations and a series of lively panel debates covering some of the industrys most controversial and hottest topics, such as Offset vs Toner vs Inkjet; Print vs Electronic and The Investment Dilemma – where SME printers should invest in 2011?
The Sales, Profit and Marketing Master Class sessions, which take place at 11.30am and 2.00pm each day, will present simple, practical and proven tools that can be put into place to generate sales and improve profits. The sessions will cover a range of topics on how to improve business opportunities, and will equip visitors with the tools to find better quality customers, how to reach decision makers, win new jobs without discounting and market a business without focussing on price.
The Digital Profit Finder Case Study Presentations will explore how companies can pitch new value-added services to their customers in order to sell higher margin print through the use of digital technologies, such as photobooks. Each case study will focus on the money trail, showing how SME printers and their customers have created sales, increased profit or reduced costs.
The BPIFs Financial Alliance team of experts will also be hosting a Finance Clinic (B236/B252) where printers can drop in for impartial advice on finance and funding, tax issues, mergers & acquisitions, debt recovery as well as other related issues, and benefit from a range of short informative presentations. Other trade associations such as the BAPC, APCOM, IPIA and FOPAP will also be on hand to offer advice and support to members.
Located on stand B208 will be the Litho Technology Theatre where offset manufacturers and distributors, accompanied by their customers will run videos, demonstrations and case study-style presentations. Sessions will feature presentations from manroland, Ricoh, IFS, RedTie Proskills, BPIF and IPIA.
In addition, in recognition of the growth in the digital wide format market, Northprint 2011 will present the latest innovations in the dedicated Wide Format Applications Showcase (A318). Supported by Image Reports Magazine, this specialised area will highlight the capabilities of wide-format technology and demonstrate the wide range of creative applications to printers who are considering diversifying and investing into this constantly evolving technology.
To conclude the event, Northprint will play host to the PrintIT! 2011 Awards Ceremony, which will take place on Thursday 12th May in the Royal Hall theatre. Celebrating the best in young potential talent, the awards will recognise all the finalist students and their teachers who participated in this years competition, and present category winners with individual awards as well as prizes for their schools in the form of print-related equipment. Prior to the ceremony, the students and teachers will have the opportunity to visit the exhibits and industry attractions, providing them with a greater insight into the many career opportunities that the UK print industry offers.
Adds Trevor Crawford, “While presenting the quality line up of the latest industry technologies on the show floor remains essential to an event of this nature, we recognise the need to deliver even more value for the visitors who commit to a day out of the office. With this in mind, weve made a considerable commitment to deliver a packed agenda of seminars, industry debates, interactive showcase applications and case study workshops to present a host of additional educational, learning and networking experiences for visitors to Northprint 2011.”