This year there will be a host of feature areas which will demonstrate technology processes to help your business stay ahead of its competitors and will help you to create new opportunities for your clients, reduce your costs and increase profits.

Labelexpo Technology Workshops

These are a major development for Labelexpo Americas 2010 and will take place in a specially dedicated feature area in Hall F. The area will feature four working presses from Nilpeter - to represent HD Flexo, EFI - to represent inkjet, HP - to represent liquid toner and Xeikon - to represent powder toner. A neutral moderator will run the workshops which will see each press set up to produce the same job origination on identical substrate qualities. The aim is to show attendees how to set-up and run each narrow-web label press – whether conventional or digital printing - to optimize label print performance and quality, to demonstrate to them how to assess new product and market opportunities and to compare print quality and performance across different conventional and digital printing processes.

Beyond Labels – new opportunities for the converter

This area of the show floor in Hall C will be dedicated to the print and packaging process beyond the label which are opportunities for the label converter. Exhibitors in this area will demonstrate combined package printing and they will cover different products such as flexible packaging and medical products. Over 26% of label converters in North America also produce flexible packaging, so we are focusing on a growing market place. Previous show figures indicate a 50% increase in attendance from flexible packaging and folding carton suppliers and more than half of the top 25 dedicated flexible packaging converters have already attended Labelexpo Americas in the past.

Gather on the Green

Companies cannot ignore the latest green initiatives and environmental strategies that are being taken by the industry. This feature will allow suppliers to display their environmentally friendly projects and enable brand owners to be aware of the strategies that different businesses are taking to ensure that they are green giving them valuable information about what action to take to help reduce the impact of their business on the environment. There area will be able to be found in Hall C.

The conference

As in previous years, Labelexpo Americas will have a high-level conference, organized in collaboration with TLMI. This year will be focused on the use of new digital technologies and solutions, but will also have a strong view on the state of the industry and the market in North America across three streams. There will be reviews by top editors in the industry who will disclose their opinions on the recovery process that is changing the industry, showing what the best markets to invest in are, and the how to generate sales. Hot topics during the conference will include:

• A panel of brand owners talking about their wants and needs.

• Color management and the way the industry evaluates the use of color.

• Brand protection and how counterfeiters work to defraud manufacturers and deceive the public.

• Inkjet printing: key markets and applications.

• Automation and integration of digital solutions through the production chain

• Flexible packaging as a key opportunity.

• How to develop a sustainable supply chain.

• Converter partners: Brand success with packaging & social media. (A case study on a brewing company).

A ‘How to’ Digital Label Printing Masterclass from Mike Fairley

Label converters looking to invest in digital printing for the first time will have the opportunity to attend a three-hour Masterclass in which key industry experts will discuss the current state-of-the-art in digital printing, review and explain the main digital printing technologies, understand the importance of digital pre-press, workflow and color management, highlight label substrate requirements, explain in-line and off-line finishing options, and look at the changing role of management, sales and marketing in a digital environment.

Labelexpo Americas will also play host to the seventh prestigious Label Industry Global Awards on the first night of the show. The awards recognize and celebrate excellence in printing and labeling. Representatives from the industry were invited to enter their submissions at www.labelawards.com. The winners’ names will be revealed at an informal networking event on the Spirit of Chicago, Navy Pier.

Commenting on the upcoming show, Roger Pellow, Labelexpo Managing Director, said: "This year’s show has a host of new features which reflect the changes and opportunities taking place in our industry. Labelexpo Americas really is a must attend event for anyone in the label and production decoration market. It is the only place in the Americas to see the latest innovations and learn about the latest technologies under one roof. If you want to be successful, profitable and stay ahead of your competitors, it is essential that you and your team attend this show. We are looking forward to another successful show in Chicago this September with attendees and exhibitors alike benefiting from doing business and sharing knowledge.”

Despite the current unstable economic situation, Labelexpo Americas proved the label industry is still a resilient and innovative sector. The show demonstrated an excellent quality of attendees, with numbers exceeding 12,000. By the end of the show over 80% of the exhibition space had already been rebooked for Labelexpo Americas 2010.

The show saw 420 national and international suppliers bringing their latest developments in technology and materials to demonstrate to the North American market. There were many presses launched by the market leaders: Nilpeter introduced its new FG-line of UV flexo presses; Mark Andy unveiled the Comco C1 ProGlide and demonstrated its updated XP5000 shaftless press. EFI Jetrion showcased its 4000 UV-inkjet printer; HP Indigo debuted to the North American market its ws6000 digital-offset press; Xeikon for the first time in the Americas demonstrated its new digital label press, the 3300; Epson’s new digital label press was on display showing its integration with the EskoArtwork and Kodak pre-press software/hardware and the Grafisk Maskinfabrik DC330 converter.

For suppliers the show was not only a great launch pad, but also the most effective medium to make sales and set up new partnerships. Sales orders kept coming in, and the suppliers witnessed a lot of purchasing power coming from Latin America and Eastern Europe. Nilpeter sold 29 presses at the show, five of which were sold in the first three hours of the show!

Among the most popular areas of the show were the newly introduced feature areas – the Digital Printing Experience and Gather on the Green.

The Digital Printing Experience pavilion, located in Hall F, gathered the leading suppliers in digital printing technology – HP, Xeikon, EFI Jetrion, Epson, Impika, Degrava, Sun Chemical, Xaar, Konika Minolta to name a few. The pavilion had more digital printing technology than ever showcased at any Labelexpo event or any other converting event before. Attendees were offered the best pick of digital presses, as well as digital pre-press software, platemaking and and post-press finishing, with live demonstrations running continuously. In addition, the pavilion had a series of seminars and panel discussions, which focused on the present and future of digital printing and its role in the development of the label industry worldwide. The pavilion enjoyed good visitor traffic during all hours of the show giving suppliers plenty opportunities to demonstrate their groundbreaking technologies and discuss in detail their products’ offering.

Sustainability was an important theme of many conference sessions and also during various presentations at suppliers’ booths. The conference program was organized in partnership with the TLMI.

Avery Dennison, UPM Raflatac, Mactac, among many, showcased their latest environmentally-friendly products. The new feature area, Gather on the Green, received a lot of attention as converters were eager to see the wide selection of products created with the use of sustainable technology.

The conference sessions that ran for the duration of the show provided visitors with a good opportunity to hear the latest industry news and developments from the high calibre speakers. Highlights of the conference program included several international panel sessions that focused on the subjects of most interest and concern to the label community: the current market situation, the industry’s future growth, digital printing technologies, sustainable technology and end-user requirements, advancements in flexo presses and many others.

The conferences started with a keynote presentation by Dean Scarborough, President and CEO of Avery Dennison, who, as always, delivered a most engaging and stimulating speech. Mr Scarborough discussed the challenges and opportunities in the North American market.

Expressing his view on the success of the show, Roger Pellow, Labelexpo Managing Director, said: “We are very pleased with the event results. The American economy is going through an uneasy period, and many industries are suffering as a result. Despite this, Labelexpo Americas attracted high quality of visitors who were willing to invest in new technologies and keep their businesses developing. I was very pleased to see many sales orders put through at the show, which once again demonstrated that Labelexpo Americas is the number one event for the American label industry. We had an excellent attendance from Latin America, and the quality of attendees was very high.

The launch of our new Digital Printing Experience Pavilion was a great success. Converters had a unique opportunity to see the latest and most innovative developments in digital printing technologies, and the suppliers were overwhelmed with enquiries and requests. The show unveiled a lot of new innovative technology, and I very much look forward to seeing the industry advance and continue to thrive in the future.”