The cancelation of PRINTING United Expo, which had been scheduled for October in Orlando, has caused some questions about the XPLOR21 event, scheduled for November 16-18 in St. Pete Beach, Florida. At this point, Xplor International is electing to move forward with XPLOR21 for a variety of reasons:
- XPLOR21 and Printing United are two very different industry events.
- XPLOR21 will have a limited number of attendees between 275-325 whereas Printing United would have thousands.
- XPLOR21 booths are pretty much “all inclusive” with most vendors just bringing popups, brochures and a couple support staff. Conversely, at a large show like Printing United, vendors have to ship equipment well in advance in addition to sending large support staffs.
- Unlike larger shows, XPLOR21 is “self-contained.” All activities, including sessions, exhibits and networking events are held at a single site, the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort, with most attendees staying at the property.
- Smaller events such as the Inkjet Summit and ING did well.
- Enthusiasm remains high.
- Full agenda - Between Aug 12th and Aug 15th (once again during the peak of things) we received (28) speaker submissions. Our agenda is now populated.
- Growing Exhibits - Vendors continue to sign up to exhibit. We have filled 17 of 24 booth with ongoing discussions with many others. We expect to sell out.
- Attendees continue to sign up for the event - Historically we are tracking with past years at 10 weeks out.
The safety of our attendees is a priority and we will follow all CDC guidelines, provide masks and access to sanitizing stations in addition to all of the other safeguards taken by the TradeWinds.
With vaccination rates increasing and new cases in decline, we remain optimistic that the Delta variant is on the decline and hope to see you in St. Pete Beach.
We will be monitoring things over the next couple of weeks and will keep you updated should things change.
For an event preview, check out our short conference video or visit the XPLOR21 Conference site for more information.