Chris Price

HYPE RARELY lives up to reality. But, in the case of Graph Expo in Chicago last month, the trade show met—and, in many cases, surpassed—the expectations of exhibitors and visitors alike. More than 650 exhibitors filling more than 460,000 square feet of exhibit space made Graph Expo 2007 the largest one since 2000, and the second largest ever. It wasn’t just the sheer size of the event that delivered on its advance billing, though. Most impressive was the upbeat mood that permeated the four-day event. Despite the sub-prime mortgage crisis and an erratic stock market capturing national headlines, Graph Expo hit on all cylinders

TO PARAPHRASE a gag from the late, great comedian Rodney Dangerfield, “I went to Graph Expo the other day and an On Demand show broke out.” If imitation is really the sincerest form of flattery, then the On Demand folks should be downright blushing at the degree of digital technologies that will be offered when Graph Expo storms into Chicago’s McCormick Place South complex from September 9-12. Not that the Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC), Graph Expo’s producer, is out to steal another show’s thunder; rather, it is only a telltale sign of the trend that is enabling printers across North America to

BY MARK MICHELSON With its emphasis on attracting graphic arts professionals from both North and Latin America, the 27th annual Graphics of the Americas (GOA) exhibition, held in early February at the Miami Beach Convention Center, bucked current industry trends of weak buying activity and light trade show traffic. All told, 22,101 people attended the event, which featured over 500 exhibitors representing approximately 1,500 different companies and occupying nearly 1,400 booths. The Printing Association of Florida (PAF), the exhibition organizer, points to several key factors to explain the strong showing in light of recent economic turmoil. "As the first major printing, converting and graphic arts show

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