Organizations that typically host live print industry conferences and trade shows in the spring and fall pivoted to a slew of online events in the fall of 2020. Below are some of the print industry online events planned in October and November to help printing, graphics, and visual communications professionals make new connections, learn about new products, and gear up for a better 2021.
Scroll down to learn about events planned by the following organizations:
- FM Future
- APTech
- Smithers
- PRINTING UNTIED Alliance
- International Sign Association
FuturePrint Virtual Summit
October 12-16, 2020
Hosted by FM Future
Week-long event includes 120 speakers from 15 countries delivering more than 70 sessions. Each day will feature education and networking in a specific categegory:
October 12: Young Guns in Print
October 13: Industrial Print
October 14: Wide Format Print
October 15: Packaging and Labels
October 16: Commercial Print
John Mills, CEO of Xaar, will outline how Xaar’s new bulk printhead will enable equipment manufacturers to push the boundaries of what’s possible with powerful, reliable, and efficient inkjet technology.
Global retail innovation expert Steve Lister will provide up-to-the-minute insights of what is happening in retail and how it could affect companies that produce retail-related print.
Georgia Parker, Innovation Manager of Fashion for Good, will talk about how digital is accelerating sustainable innovation in the fashion industry,
Nick Landa of Landa Digital Printing will take you on a tour of a Nanographic printing press and explain why its different than any other print process.
Young print entrepreneurs and other young print-industry professionals will help business owners learn how to make print-related careers a more attractive and deliberate choice for the next generation.
Other sessions will provide
- updates on ink developments
- a 2040 forecast for the packaging industry,
- high-speed inkjet printing
- the mysteries of pricing
- multi-material inkjet 3D printing
- new opportunities with 3D sublimation printing
Leading PRINT Summit
October 13, 2020
Hosted by Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech)
Fee: Free for members, $79 for non-members
Four-hour program (11 am to 3 pm ET) on post-COVID-shutdown business operations focuses on four key areas impacted by 2020 disruptive events: Culture, Operations, Sales, Business Development, and Customer Dynamics.
In a headline session on Print 5.0, print-industry expert and author Frank Romano will discuss how printing is evolving in 2020 and beyond. APTech’s Ken Garner will discuss the quest for the elusive, sustainable competitive advantage. Consultant Leslie Groene will talk about sales management for the new reality.
Other speakers will discuss how to
- recalibrate your business to thrive in challenging times
- navigate customer dynamics to develop a competitive position
- prepare for our next-generation industry leaders, and
- nurture and convert leads to sales.
Digital Print for Packaging US
October 12-14, 2020
Hosted by Smithers
Fee: $399
Online event for brand owners, converters, printing equipment suppliers, and packaging designers. Content will focus on the market need for digital print from the brand’s perspective.
Stephen Kaufman, Chief Product Officer for Esko, will discuss how workflows and color management can solve real problems.
Rob Day, CEO of Tonejet, will discuss Tonejet’s first end-to-end beverage can printing system that went live at the end of 2019.
Alexis Tonneau, Project Manager of Kurz, will discuss how to combine attractive package design and sustainability.
Other sessions will cover topics such as:
- the efficient production of digital preprint for corrugated packaging
- special requirements for pigments used for package printing
- designs for canabis packaging
- emerging technologies such as NFC, ioT, and AR cam will enable greater efficiencies in strategic packaging management
- leveraging digital print to create one-of-a-kind customer experiences
- how artificial intelligence can automate design for digital print projects
Case studies look at some of the pros and cons of integrating digital printing capabilities into an analog flexographic printing line and digitl designs for folding cartons printed on high-speed inkjet presses.
In addition to attending live and recorded presentations, you can join live Q&A sessions and/or facilitated virtual networking rooms.
Digital Textile Printing US
October 15-16, 2020
Hosted by Smithers
Fee: $399
High-level insights from textile printers, end users, fashion designers, retail brands, and equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and technology providers. Live and recorded sessions will focus on how business models, technology , and collaboration can accelerate the commercial adoption of digital print for textiles.
Speakers include: Gart Davis, CEO & Co-founder of Spoonflower; Luca Zaconi, Director of Raw Materials Print, Lululemon Athletica; Jena Nesbitt, Product Strategy Director, Pine Crest Fabrics; Reid Lutter, CEO and Founder, PodiumWear Custom Sports Apparel; Francesca Rosella, Chief Creative Director and Co-Founder, CuteCircuit; and Jessica Schreiber, Founder & CEO at FABSCRAP; Scott Aitken, Managing Director, SPGPrints.
Sessions will cover topics such as:
- how color and the chemical evolutions are affecting new-century printers
- how digital textile printing is pushing the boundaries of conventional textile printing
- using digital print and high-end fabrics for team uniforms
- innovation to fast track the textile industry to a circular future
- pretreatment and pigment inkjet ink for textile printing
- sustainability through innovative textile printing solutions
- the role of testing in evaluating print textiles
- color and pattern trends for fashion and apparel
- color lifecycle management in printed textiles
Attend live Q&A sessions and/or facilitated virtual networking rooms.
PRINTING UNITED Digital Experience
October 26-Nov. 12, 2020
Hosted by PRINTING United Alliance and NAPCO Media.
During 14 business days of no-fee programming, print business owners, operations managers, and employees can choose from 100 educational sessions and 40 product launches. Each day will feature a different focus for educational programming and product demonstrations from exhibitors:
October 26: Graphics/Wide-Format – Hardware and Consumables
October 27: Apparel – Screen Printing/Decorating
October 28: Commercial Printing – Digital Inkjet
October 29: Packaging – Labels and Flexible Packaging
October 30: Graphics/Wide-Format – Finishing and Workflow
November 2: In-Plant Forum
November 3: Commercial – Offset Printing
November 4: Packaging – Folding Carton and Corrugated
November 5: Mailing and Fulfillment
November 6: Workflow and Software – All segments
November 9: Apparel – Direct-to-Garment/Direct-to-Substate
November 10: Commercial Printing – Digital Dry and Liquid Toner
November 11: Industrial
November 12: Digital Textile
Some of the topics the program will cover include:
- Building a manufacturing mindset for wide-format graphics
- Opportunities post-COVID in production inkjet printing
- Wide-format growth markets for 2020 and beyond
- Thrive in a transformative marketplace with the sheetfed offset technology
- Trends and opportunities in folding carton and corrugated packaging
- Workflow and automation: from date night to marriage
- Dazzling prints with digital embellishments
- How to research new markets
- Developing your sales team
- Direct-to-consumer marketing leadership
- Emerging direct mail trends for COVID 19 and beyond
- Establishing today’s successful screen printing business
- The rise of e-commerce in apparel printing
- Driving profitability and efficiency in apparel decoration
- Essential strategies for equipment purchases
- Facing new competition in core markets
- How a focus on finishing can help you finish first
- How commercial offset printers are shrinking turn times to meet short-run demands
- How high-speed digital production inkjet printing is redefining commercial printing
- The digital future for labels and flexible packaging
- By the numbers: KPIs. metrics, and ratios
- Migrating into industrial printing
- Modern strategies for stand-out package design
- Industrial printing: What’s hot and where is it headed
- In-plant printing trends in the midst of the pandemic
- Production inkjet printing in the In-plant shop
- The science and skill of graphics installation
- Paperboard packaging: differentiation through digital
- Effective selling through online portals
- Managing client color expectations
- How sustainability is driving the next generation of fashion
- Finding success with digital toner vs. inkjet printing processes
- Electrophotography-digital print of the past and future
- Beyond wallpaper: industrial printing for home decor
- How to build a digital textile business
- Textiles and color assurance
- The future of signs and graphics
To see the the full program and register, visit: https://digital.printingunited.com/
The Wrap Experience Digital
November 11-12, 2020
Hosted by the International Sign Association and the Wrap Institute
Networking, education, exhibits, and demonstrations will help wrap installers explore ways to expand into new products and use cutting-edge technologies.
Sessions will focus on design, visualization tools, and upsells such as architectural items, ceramic coatings, vehicle paint protection films (PPF), and more. In the after-hours Speakeasy Area, attendees can connect with some of the wrap industry’s top influencers and shop owners.
Dan Antonelli, of the KickCharge Creative small-business marketing agency, will discuss vehicle wrap design and related brand identity design topics.
The Wrap Institute, co-founded by installer/instructor Justin Pate, is regarded as the world’s top online wrap training program. For the past two years, the Institute brought hands-on instruction to ISA in-person events. In 2020, The Wrap Experience Digital will be part of ISA’s The Link series of virtual events to help sign, graphics and visual communications companies sustain and grow their businesses.