Graph Expo is Approaching

With Graph Expo 15 and CPP Expo 15 set to touch down in the Windy City’s McCormick Place from Sept. 13-16, we thought we’d offer you a glimpse of what will be new at this year’s event:

• Co-located Events. The annual printing and packaging event finds itself with new neighbors for 2015: Process Expo, the International Dairy Show and InterBev Process. Graph Expo and Process Expo will have a two-day overlap—Sept. 15 and 16—so attendees of any of the five events will enjoy all-access admission to all of the exhibit halls. Printers, packagers, processors and converters can network (over a glass of milk perhaps) and explore common ground and crossover opportunities.

• The Industrial Printing Pavilion. Interest in printing and plastics—namely, 3D printing, industrial and decorative applications—is high. Attendees can get a glimpse of the machines in action, along with a dossier of possible applications.

• Materials Matter. This booth celebrates the role materials play in the print ecosystem as multiple substrate manufacturers demonstrate their wares.

• Application Island. This island-themed exhibit shows off some of the hottest applications from the exhibit floor. Tiki presentations featuring some of the industry’s best-known gurus will provide sage advice on creating and selling these applications.

• Education Main Street. Printers looking for that next batch of skilled employees need look no further than Main Street, where representatives from colleges, universities and educational organizations will be on hand. Learn about curriculum, scholarships and even internship opportunities.

Graph Expo will offer pavilions dedicated to inkjet printing, in-plants, mailing and fulfillment, marketing and newspapers, to name a few. Executive Outlook, a four-hour preview event, will provide a glimpse of the technologies and trends that will be on display. The Must See ’Ems, as the name suggests, is a technological appetizer that spotlights some of the hottest new hardware, software and workflows to grace the industry. And, as always, attendees will have a choice of more than 50 educational seminars to whet their informational appetites.

400 Exhibitors Expected

According to Ralph Nappi, president of the Graphic Arts Show Co. (Graph Expo’s organizer), roughly 400 exhibitors representing more than 1,000 different product brands will be on hand, making it essentially the same size as the 2014 show. Nappi expects somewhere above 20,000 visitors to grace the South Hall.

As has been the case for the past several years, Nappi expects inkjet and packaging solutions to garner lots of attention at the show. “I think there will be a little more emphasis on workflow, too. There’s been a lot of interest there,” he says.

Nappi points out that the exhibition will play host to around 50 co-located events hosted by related organizations, a figure that will probably remain static in the foreseeable future. The fact that the show did not add a new market segment for the first time in about eight years further indicates that the event has come of age in representing all key facets of the industry.

That said, Graph Expo will take a break from Chicago in 2016