LABELSHOW'2009 & POLYGRAPHINTER'2009. Results

The international specialized exhibition of polygraphic equipment, technologies, materials and services POLYGRAPHINTER-2009 took place in Moscow in the International Exhibition Centre «Crocus Expo» from October, 28th till November, 3d. Organizers: International exhibition company MVK, Interregional Printing and Publishing Association (MAP).

POLYGRAPHINTER is the leading exhibition in the printing industry of Russia and Eastern Europe which traditionally draws qualified buyers of prepress, printing and finishing equipment; equipment for conversion of images, large format inkjet printers, binding and finishing equipment, packaging machinery, paper and consumables.

Over 300 exhibitors from 21 countries took part in the exhibition, the total exhibition area exceeded 28 000 sq.m. with 17, 843 domestic and foreign experts visiting the show throughout seven work days. There were not only traditional exhibitors, but also new participants including the foreign companies that are deeply interested in the Russian market. Such exhibitors as HEIDELBERG, KBA, XEROX, YAM INTERNATIONAL, NISSA, VIP SYSTEMS, Animar, Vneshmaltigraf, Mt-Invest, SUPPLYLAND, SIKO, Polygraphic systems, GFS Ltd., Itrako, RISO, COMLINE, KOEHLER / SINIY APELSIN, EPSON and many other foreign and Russian companies took part in the exhibition. For the first time, POLYGRAPHINTER-2009 hosted an exposition and a series of conferences devoted to digital printing technologies — ON DEMAND RUSSIA — which will become a communication platform for such globally recognized brands as HP, XEROX, KONICA MINOLTA, CANON, OCE, KODAK, GMC, and Presstek.

Polygraphinter-2009 presented the advanced technology and upmarket offers from foreign and domestic producers and suppliers. The trade show comers were able to meet the top managers of the leading companies and learn about the new offerings from the first hand!

Exhibitors and exposition

According to the majority of exhibitors, POLYGRAPHINTER-2009 was successful and the companies were satisfied with participation. Thus, Concern Koenig and Bauer considered their participation in the exhibition successful from the commercial point of view. “The number of visitors appeared to be larger than it had been expected because of a difficult economic situation in Russia. Not only printers from Moscow region, but also visitors from the Far East, Caucasus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan visited the exhibition. Apart from the machine on display we sold Rapida 105 equipped with five colour sections and polishing section. Some more projects will be realized in the beginning of next year with the help of the exhibition. The negotiations that took place during the exhibition, point out that the market situation in Russia in 2010 will essentially improve. And cancellation of duties on loaded paper import also allows advertising printing houses to make plans for the future”.

Heidelberg-CIS has presented a large exposition of complex solutions for all stages of polygraphic manufacture. The company presented 10 units of equipment in work at the area of 875 sq.m. at the exhibition, also 42 presentations have been spent and more than 500 meetings with clients. The accent has been made on programs of working stream Heidelberg Prinect — as a result, more than 20 products Prinect will appear in printing houses of Russia and CIS countries soon. All the visitors were interested in printing machine Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52-4 with a revolutionary technology Anicolor. Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 with polishing section, with extended acceptance and the device of sheet 4+4 turn over became the central point of this exposition.

General Director of Heidelberg-CIS Bahtier Dzhanzakov noted: “Results of participation for company Heidelberg-CIS were better than we had expected. We were seriously prepared for this event and offered our clients solutions for all production processes and their optimization. The exhibition is very important for the industry branch because it is a unique possibility for printers to see the advanced equipment at work, to exchange experience, to track tendencies. The exhibition reflects the branch situation at the moment. It was proved that printing industry has the future. Undoubtedly, the world crisis put an impact on the enterprises. In spite of it, decision on extension of the equipment stock and also upgrade and manufacture automation was made during the exhibition. It proves that the printing industry continues to develop”.

YAM International confirms that exhibition POLYGRAPHINTER traditionally outlines the development tendencies of the national printing industry for the next two years. It was the position that the company had determined when defining its concept of participation in it and these expectations have completely proved to be true. First of all, gossips about the branch collapse were exaggerated. Numerous representatives from the regions of Russia and abroad had visited the exhibition throughout seven days. The decision of YAM International to present the most interesting and perspective solutions at its booth appeared to be completely justified: the company exposition evoked the meticulous attention of the exhibition visitors. Secondly, the approach of the domestic printers to manufacture development, predictably, had changed essentially. Times of bulk marketing of the equipment remained in the past and will hardly ever return. Today printing houses are trying to optimize available equipment, to find new solution to achieve new levels of efficiency without essential investments. Exposition of YAM International has shown the example of a modern effective printing house equipped with latest technical and technological solutions. Among the innovations which the company had demonstrated at the booth, in particular, there are the following:

Great interest of the leading Russian product and solution polygraphy developers proved to be true. The exhibition demonstrated the latest developments by almost all world leaders which is to be considered as a signal of readiness and keep on offering best solutions and services. All this allows YAM international to look ahead and fills the company with optimism about the successful future of national polygraphy.

Michael Kuvshinov, director for strategy and marketing of company Nissa Centrum, considers that crisis has not simply affected the exhibition, but also defined behaviour of all players. “All in all, the interest of visitors was focused on efficiency of business: it was not a question of millions invested into new projects, but about tuning... Decrease of circulation made the use of some units of equipment and even technological processes inefficient. Thus to solve as much problems as possible for the clients of printing house is equivalent to survival. Therefore interest to digital printing amplified and transformed simultaneously.... We feel not a shade of doubt about the future operation of Nissa Centrum in the polygraphic market”.

Russia's first demonstration of digital offset machine HP Indigo 7000 was held at the HP stand. There was displayed the flagship model in the line of digital offset printing machines HP Indigo press 7000. The world first saw the HP Indigo press 7000 last year at the Drupa exhibition where it boomed. In late August this year the machine was installed in a Yekaterinburg printing office According to Michael Nesterenko, general director of Terra Print, this year exhibition decreased in the exhibition area but, thanks to its organizers, it was well organized and professionally conducted in the current economic situation. “Basically we were conducting negotiations  with old clients but, certainly, there were some new meetings. In general the feeling about the market activity is reserved-optimistic... The main result of the exhibition is that all participants of the market said to each other that the situation seemed to get better, such a psychological revival is exactly what we are missing».

Open company SIKO, the newcomer of POLYGRAPHINTER-2009, estimated this exhibition as successful. During the exhibition they arrangeв some agreements on delivery of book line BF 512 KOLBUS, new thread book sewing machine ASTER EL, production company MECCANOTECNICA; high-performance machine for production of glued lids with valves and integrated (flexible) covers SAB 100 DIGITAL, produced by company PETRATTO.

In the centerpiece of the Epson exposition there was the Epson Digital Label Press - development for the industrial low volume high quality label printing of and post printing finishing. This year the visitors were able to carefully study the ready product just before its official release in the market.

A distinctive feature of POLYGRAPHINTER this year was that all important printing industry projects were accumulated on one and the same platform: International Conference and Exhibition on digital technology ONDEMAND RUSSIA-2009, Etiketka/LabelShow-2009, PAPEXPO/Upakkarton-2009. Besides, the framework of POLYGRAPHINTER-2009 included the ceremony of awards of the open competition in the field of printing art MASTER OF POLYGRAPHY 2009.

For the first time alongside with POLYGRAPHINTER there was held the International Conference and Exhibition ONDEMAND RUSSIA - 2009. The ONDEMAND exhibition focusing on Print-On-Demand technologies and introduction of visitors to the latest methods of printing in terms of design, management, personalization, printing and distribution of information was held in hall 4 of Crocus Expo. The exposition presented the business proposals of the companies on display and assisted in choosing technology, methods and techniques specifically for its complex of business services. HP, Canon, Konica Minolta, Xerox and many other printing equipment market leaders presented their new products in the field of on-demand printing.

Apart from ONDEMAND Russia'2009 POLYGRAPHINTER 2009 also introduced the international specialized exhibitions: 14th International specialized exhibition Etiketka/ LabelShow  2009 (labels for packaging, design and modern technology of packaging and label product design, machinery, equipment, technology and materials for print, production and labeling; label as the brand most important part and as a means of goods promotion) and the fifth international specialized exhibition for pulp and paper products, new technologies, equipment and materials for production of pulp and paper products, cardboard and corrugated packaging PAPEXPO / Packcarton'2009.

Bringing together these specialized projects to one platform made it possible to cover various segments of the printing industry and related industries, including digital technology and production of labels, paper and cardboard packaging which, without doubt, increased the efficiency of the exhibition work for the exhibitors and visitors.

Program of events

A highly-topical business programme including 21 activities was set as a part of POLYGRAPHINTER. The central event: a two-day international conference on digital technology ONDEMAND Russia-2009 (28 and 29 October) which provided exhaustive information on practical application of digital solutions in printing - from content development to digital workflow and production, including solutions for post-press processing and distribution . Organizers of the event: InfoTrends and American Technology Print Center (ATPC) with the support of MVK International Exhibition Company.

The program of the ONDEMAND Russia-2009 conference will allow students to choose their subject of interest from more than 20 seminars to attend which will focus on how to use digital printing most effectively. Speakers will touch upon the key areas of technology, process control, value-added services and other opportunities, as well as tell you how to incorporate them into the existing business strategies. Becoming a part of these events, you will get new knowledge that will enable a new strategy for improving your business. ONDEMAND Russia is an important event to learn about the latest methods of printing in terms of design, management, personalization, printing and distribution of information. Take part in this event, and you'll learn how to apply new knowledge used in the contemporary market of digital technologies for successful development of your business. You can learn more about the exhibition and conference on digital printing technologies at www.ondemandexpo.ru.

"Day of Regions" (29 October) brought together regional representatives of professional associations and unions. On the same day the international seminar PRINTOLOGY organized by the company of YaM International gave floor to the representatives of the largest companies – the leaders in manufacture of printing products. They touched upon the solutions that would allow printing company to improve efficiency.

CANON DAY on October 30: Canon's new solutions for improvement of business profitability.

November 2 was declared in the business program as the "Day of Design", which featured the scheduled session "Label. Following the standard or making it original?" and a master-class on design of labels, brands and private labels. The exhibition context also included "Day of Expert" (31 October) and "Career Day" (November 2). Organized by the Association of Brand Companies of Russia DEPOT-WPF, with the support of MVK International Exhibition Company. The invited design experts expressed their opinions concerning  “Perseverance of brand identity…”, “Anti-recessionary trends in design and packaging”, “Cooperation of client and designer”, etc.

On October 29 POLYGRAPHINTER 2009 hosted the awarding ceremony. 19 companies were granted with memorable diplomas and awards. Among the awardees there were such stars of the industry, as technological magazine POLYGRAPHY (85-years), Moscow printing-polygraphic college n.a. I. Fedorov (80-years), company LISOW AG (40-years), company YAM International, Vneshmaltigraf, ITRAKO, Peter Velikiy which celebrated its 20th anniversary, and also other companies were among the awardees.

The winners of a competition Grand Etiket-2009 and Eko-Pack Russia-2009 were awarded with the prizes and honorable diplomas (organizers of projects: magazine Container and Packing, Center of Packaging, Label, Design, with assistance of the Russia Union of Designers, National Packaging Confederation, supported by MVK. The gold medal prizes in the Grand Etiket-2009 nomination Labels for Drinks were awarded to: Vita-Flekso, Master Print, Emergency Print, Dominants-Prints, Label Studio, Printing House Rost, Ekotek Plus, Vita-Print, Alaska-Poligrafoformlenie. In a nomination Labels for Foodstuff the first prizes were granted to SSL-CONTOUR and HOLOGRAY. In a nomination Label for Perfume Goods the gold medal went to company Uniflex (Belarus), in the nomination Labels for Industrial Goods the first prize was awarded to Stupinskiy Chemical Plant, in the nomination Protective Labels the gold medal was taken by the First Printing Yard, Holographic Technologies.

The Eko-Pak Russia-2009 National Competition on The Best Graphic Design of Ecological Emblem for Packaging was organized for the first time this year. Equally professional designers and university students of design departments took part in the competition. The works on the contest were evaluated by the following criteria: correspondence to the definite tasks and aims, skillfulness, possibility of usage in packaging and label products, buyer’s attitude etc. The works submitted for competition were displayed at exhibition Etiketka/LabelShow-2009.

On October 30 Winners Awarding Ceremony of open competition in the sphere of printing art MASTER of POLYGRAPHY 2009 took place. It is a unique competition in the polygraphic market, organized by professionals and for professionals, open competition among polygraphic enterprises on the best polygraphic product.

Competition was initiated by Heidelberg Club and organized with support of Moscow Polygraphic Union. “The competition main tasks are to stimulate printing development, to show latest achievements in branch, to define the basic directions of its development”, noted Chairman of the Organizing Committee, president of Group of Printing companies Pol.S.Tar Group Sergey Tarubarov. This year the winners were: in nomination School - LTD Triada, in  nomination Packaging — Moscow Centre of Packaging, in  nomination Label (self-adhesive) — Aurora-Print (Rostov-on-Don), in nomination Color Illustrated Magazine — Artmedia Group and Offset Express, in nomination Color Newspaper — Prime Print Moscow. And also — the nomination Color Newspaper was won by German Factory of Press, Grand Prize was taken by Skaz (Kaliningrad), in nomination Corporate Edition the first prize was awarded to Smith& Hartman and Synergy, in  nomination Business Card the first place was taken by Service of Polygraphic Rescue Alliance BMP and 5 minutes. In nomination Printing House Advertising Materials the winner was the company Lucky Pack (Rostov-on-Don); in a nomination Polygraphy and Theatre the winner was Aksvek Print, Grand Prize was awarded to company City Print.

The official closing of the competition summarized the results of the exhibitors competition and awarded the participants who had made a great contribution into the display formation (via the technologies and equipment displayed, work with visitors, organization of special events at the booths, etc.): twenty-three companies accepted Second and Third Class Diplomas and commemorative souvenirs, twenty-gour companies were awarded with Third Class Honorary Diplomas. Twenty-six companies were distinguished with the exhibition diplomas (the newcomer exhibitors of this year), the honorary diplomas were also awarded to the co-organizers and partners of the event.

POLYGRAPHINTER-2009 presented the advanced technology and exclusive business offers from foreign and domestic manufacturers and suppliers. The exhibition displayed the operation equipment and technologies from the leading world brands, as well as technology innovations. This year POLYGRAPHINTER was the exhibition of technologies / solutions / ideas. The printers now seek for new information and professional consultation to improve the current production and operational efficiency. The exhibition offered them new ideas on how to overcome the crisis, and start earning in the changing market again.

POLYGRAPHINTER 2009 became a new stage in development of the domestic printing business!

For detailed information visit: www.polygraphinter.ru

[Wednesday, November 18, 2009]