Graph Expo Draws Fewer...And More

Reports on Graph Expo attendance are mixed. Overall attendance was down 12.5 percent over the 2007 show, surpassing 26,000. Yet the number of companies sending buyers to the Chicago show rose to 8,800. And vendors report that those attendees were more serious than in previous years. "Given the situation in the economy, we weren't sure what to expect at the show," acknowledged Sheryl Pattek, vice president, marketing services, production printing systems, at Océ North America. "However. the traffic [was] very steady. Sunday was the busiest Sunday I can remember in the last five years, and Monday was even busier."

Indeed, many attendees were reportedly intent on buying at the show. "We've been coming to GRAPH EXPO every year for the last 15 years to buy equipment at the show," said attendee Betty Maul, president of Front End Graphics, a Cherry Hill, NJ, print production company that she operates with her husband. "We come with a budget, and we spend it all, every year."