IPEX exhibition brings together signage printers

Yesterday the 2010 International Printers Exhibition (IPEX) opens its doors at the Birmingham NEC.

The event gathers together professionals in the signs, vinyl banners and poster printing trade with industry suppliers and corporate clients. Some companies have been planning their exhibitions at IPEX for years, with Print Week reporting that nearly 70,000 people are expected to attend the conference and expo – a record in the event’s history.

Organisers have been concerned about how people planning to attend from overseas would find their way to the expo in the face of ongoing airspace disruptions. They have welcomed the news that the British Airways strike is to be called off and that the volcanic ash cloud has moved away for now, with event director Trevor Crawford saying the developments were a “massive relief.”

Over 1,000 companies will attend and exhibit their goods and services at the expo. As well as creation and design businesses who specialise in creating signage, there will also be post press and finishing companies, used equipment vendors and providers of digital solutions.

Trevor Crawford says that so far, the event has shown the resilience of the industry throughout the economic recession.

“The fact that just about every manufacturer is here at the show…underlines just how resilient this industry is, even in the current economic difficulties,” he told Print Week. “In every hall I walk through, I’m hearing exhibitors talking extremely positively about seminar and meeting programmes.”