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In just a few weeks 'Printing United' open the doors for the very first time ever. Yes, it is built on the SGIA Expo that some already know. However, 'Printing United' is not just a show but also a symbol. It's a symbol on a fierce full fight over the exhibition market, where you on the one side had APTech and their GraphExpo/Print® shows in Chicago, and on the other side a new powerful duo NAPCO Media, and SGIA. 

What started as a corporation between two parties culminated just a few months ago with an announcement of SGIA acquiring NAPCO Media. SGIA is a members organisation, and with the acquisition of NAPCO Media, they have a strong communication channel. Some may say, too strong, but I guess that depends on the eyes watching. The Printing United show is way more than just a fight over an expo, it's also a powerful demonstration of what Printing United have achieved. 

The fact that Printing United is more than 3 times bigger than the recent Print®19 show in Chicago is one measurement. The number of visitors will be another one, but you can also look at the commitment some of the larger brands have given to Printing United. Ricoh, Konica-Minolta, Canon, Heidelberg, just to mention a few chose to only exhibit at Printing United.

Evil tongues say that the exhibitors were strong-held to choose a side. I don't know if that is true, but if so, I believe the quality, the execution, and the delivery of Printing United will be even more important to the team behind the show.

One of the driving forces behind Printing United is, obviously, Mark Subers. He is a well-known face in the printing industry. I like him, but I also believe he is a tough guy that want things to happen on almost his terms. That can, of course, be seen as negative, but think about it. Nations and cultures were built on strong beliefs and a will to fight for what you believe in. Isn't that what the American Dream is all about?

So what can we expect? In an American perspective Printing United, is HUGE. 650+ exhibitors and to quote Mark Subers - "all under one roof." That in itself will keep you on your feet during the three days show, but it also raises the ever-recurring question. 'Is the industry so united that an 'under-one-roof' approach will attract visitors and leave all of them with a great experience? 

Organizers of trade-shows obviously do the very best they can, but when the day is over, it's the exhibitors that fill-out the frame, and therefore str tremendously important. The show must be exciting enough. The recipe for a trade-show is not just filling up halls with equipment, and deliver some conferences as well. The overall experience has to be great. The bigger an event is, the more important it is the map of the show-floor. If you are only interested in binding equipment, this has to be easy to get to.

So what is the future of not only Printing United, but tradeshows in general? We have talked to quite a few people over this issue during the past year. The nice folks at Printing United seem unstoppable, and as far as I know, they are planning for an even bigger show next year. When we spoke to Sabine Geldermann from drupa, she also was very positive about the future, and as you know, drupa is already next year - and is the biggest print show on the globe a lot of resources have been tightened up for that one show in the budgets of 2020. We also spoke to Dayaker Reddy Sripathi from IPAMA the organizers of PrintPack India, they are also unstoppable and have a tremendous belief in the future of tradeshows. What direction the tradeshows are heading is, of course, difficult to predict, but I am quite certain that there will be fewer in the future. I am also quite convinced that print shows in the future will have to change. The trend where the big exhibitors such as EFI, Hunkeler, HP, Xerox, Ricoh, and many more are doing their own shows is something that I believe is important to take notice of. The "private shows" have a tendency that I find interesting, i.e. at the upcoming Think Smart Factory in Kyoto, Japan - the organizers are setting up entire workflows across brands, vendors, etc. This is simply not possible at the conventional shows, but damn, it is liberating as a visitor to see something that resembles a real printing company more.

We are covering the Printing United, SpicyTalks, and Think Smart Factory Tour in the autumn, and will be working hard to find the good stories, the great stories, the stories that need to be told.