Visitor registrations have opened online for what organisers are calling “the most important PacPrint ever held”, with the September expo likely to be the first print trade show to be held anywhere in the world for almost two years.
PacPrint 2021 will be held at its usual home, the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, running for four days from Tuesday 28 September to Friday 1 October. Click here to register.
The week of equipment exhibitions, workshops and seminars, will also include print's night of nights, the National Print Awards, which will be held on the Thursday evening, and the Asga Fespa HP Awards for Excellence, which will be on the Tuesday evening.
PacPrint, along with its co-located shows – the Visual Impact sign, display and wide-format show, and the Label & Packaging Expo – typically attracts more than 8000 visitors from Australia, New Zealand, and surrounding regions. PacPrint 2021 is expected to be more strongly subscribed.
Peter Harper, CEO of Visual Connections, which organises the event and co-hosts it with the Print & Visual Communications Association (PVCA), says indications from fellow event organisers and the Exhibitions & Events Association of Australia are that not only are markets ready to return to in-person’events, but are keener than ever.
“For example, we heard from colleagues in Queensland that the events they have held late last year and in early 2021 have not only exceeded expectations, but in some instances, have broken attendance records for the shows in question,” says Harper.
“Not only that, but record business has been transacted at many of these shows, reinforcing the value of the physical B2B environment of an industry expo.”
Visual Connections’ own research backs the contention that the market is ready to gather at trade shows, with some 70 per cent of respondents to a recent survey indicating they would attend this year’s show. The survey found another 18 per cent were considering it, while only 12 per cent said they had no intentions of attending.
“We are in a great position in Australia to plan for a return to exhibitions and events,” explains Harper.
“With seven months still to run until doors open at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC), we are extremely confident that PacPrint will not only proceed, but potentially be one of the biggest and most important shows we’ve ever held.
“Now, with plans progressing well for the show, it’s time for business owners and key decision makers to clear their diaries, start to make plans, and of course, register to attend the show.”
For further details, visit the event website here, while those wanting to register should click here.
Covid has caused all print trade shows to be cancelled or postponed since last March, with even drupa succumbing to the fall-out from the pandemic. Located in what will be by then an almost fully vaccinated Australia, the 2021 PacPrint will not have to deal with restrictions from the pandemic, nor the travel restrictions that have put the kybosh on so many shows.
