Association for Print Technologies' Open House Highlights Rebranding

With a renewed focus on technology and the industry’s future, Thayer Long, president of the association formerly known as NPES, announced that the association has rebranded as the Association for Print Technologies. The announcement was made during a Jan. 16 open house event at the association’s Reston, Va., headquarters, which was attended by a select group of industry media.

Long explained that the print industry is in the midst of a transformation causing a “fusion” of technologies that are coming together and combining both the physical and digital worlds. He stated that by reaching out to industry stakeholders, the association discovered that throughout the supply chain, there is an overarching feeling that the print industry is segmented and is in need of alignment.

“We went out to 13,000 stakeholders in the value chain and didn’t say what they need, but asked ‘What are your struggles?’ What keeps you up at night?’” Long said.

Long stated that moving forward, the Association for Print Technologies will measure its success on how well it is helping the industry achieve this alignment and driving its growth and success.

In addition to the rebranding of the association, the open house highlighted that beginning this year, the association’s annual fall event will be known as PRINT. Historically, the event had utilized both the GRAPH EXPO and PRINT names, with PRINT occurring every fourth year, and intended to be a larger show for a more international audience.

PRINT 18 will be held from Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The three-day schedule is also a new development, as PRINT 17 ran for five days and GRAPH EXPO 16 lasted four days.

Kelly Kilga, Association for Print Technologies’ VP of meetings and events, also detailed that the show will feature a keynote presentation at the start of the event, a first time attendee reception, and a show floor that will include both printing and related technologies.

“The focus is on the entire printing value chain to attend the signature printing industry event,” Kilga said.

The event also covered the rebranded association’s plans and initiatives in research, communications, standards, government affairs and more. For additional information, click here.