FESPA's education programme shaping up

The educational programme for FESPA Digital 2014 is already taking shape, with an early line-up of compelling presentations on the most critical topics across Digital, Fabric and Signage.

All education sessions and workshops within FESPA Digital will be delivered in four themed ‘hubs’, giving visitors a clear destination within the exhibition if they want to find information, insight and inspiration on Digital, Fabric, Signage and Wrap.

Reflecting FESPA Digital’s call to printers to ‘dive deeper into digital’, Ron Gilboa of prominent industry research organisation Infotrends will deliver a tailored keynote presentation in the Digital, Fabric and Signage Hubs on Day One of the show, focussing on existing opportunities, and offering guidance to FESPA visitors on how to develop their business. These sessions will provide visitors with invaluable pointers to bear in mind as they take in the many innovations to be found on the FESPA Digital show floor.

Print media business expert Ulrich Smets will present in German in all hubs, on a range of topics designed to optimise financial management, including cost calculations; cost advantages of digital vs analogue processes; controlling solutions; business planning; credit; and bank ratings.

In the Digital hub, visitors with an interest in optimising colour reproduction will benefit from four separate workshops from digital colour expert Marco Olivotto on Understanding Colour Settings; Unleashing the Power of LAB; The Gamut Riddle and How to Solve It; and PDFs for the Digital Printing Age.

The Digital Hub will offer various sessions focused on industrial print, including Wolfgang Mildner of PolyIC, who will address the growth market for printed electronics, and Thomas Struckmeier, owner of Blasé GmbH, a leading German producer of print for industrial applications.

Digital Hub delegates can also hear from the buyer’s perspective, in a key session delivered by Deutsche Bahn AG’s print procurement manager Carola Lammich. Frau Lammich will speak about the company’s strategic approach to print suppliers, highlighting Deutsche Bahn’s print requirements and how they are likely to develop, interaction with suppliers and the impact of EU public procurement law on print purchasing.

Visitors on Thursday 22nd May can hear from Sanders Group, an expert in printed magnetic products, and Roland Hill of Contravision will also tackle the important topic of Intellectual Property for Printers, advising printers on how to avoid falling foul of copyright legislation.

Other Digital Hub sessions will focus on business growth opportunities for printers, including digitally printed interiors, web2print, personalisation, and promotional products. Practical advice on printhead maintenance will be delivered by FESPA technology partner Xaar.

Sessions confirmed in the Fabric Hub include Christopher Bernat of Vapor Apparel, talking about the opportunity to Grow with Sublimation Apparel and Accessories. A second session from Christopher will offer a ‘Technology Reality Tour’ of Sublimation vs Direct-to-Garment.

Turning to home textiles, Thomas Poetz of Printed Interior Decoration will speak in English and German to advise printers on successfully entering the home textile market with inkjet technology.

Sign makers looking for new opportunities can head to the Signage Hub to hear from Daniel Parisien of Broadsign, with his presentation entitled ‘What Your Mother Never Told You About Digital Signage’. His colleague and content marketing specialist Stephanie Gutnik will focus in a separate session on ‘How Network Operators Can Succeed at Selling Advertising’.

The Signage Hub will also host the European Sign Federation Awards on Thursday 22nd May.

Each hub will also offer tailored business advice sessions addressing areas such as efficiency, sales and marketing and finance.

The Wrap Hub will see pro wrappers compete in the World Wrap Masters 2014, while every visitor will have the chance to try wrapping head-to-head to gain an appreciation of the challenges inherent in the craft. Each day will see a ‘tips and tricks’ session hosted by expert wrappers, where they share their experience and knowledge with visitors keen to improve their technique. There will also be a variety of items being wrapped â€" showcasing the versatility of wrapping beyond vehicles.

FESPA Head of New Media & Events Duncan MacOwan comments, “As we start to flesh out each stream of our Digital 2014 educational programme, we’re confident that the four hubs in Munich will deliver everything that visitors need to help them dive deeper into the many business growth opportunities that exist in the digital wide format printing space. Each hub will offer a rich blend of technical, practical, factual and inspirational content, delivered by internationally respected experts in their individual fields. Delegates will head out onto the exhibition floor with fresh insights and expert guidance to inform their business decisions at the show and beyond.”

Sessions in each hub will run from 11.00h until 17.00h from Tuesday 20th to Thursday 22nd May, and until 14.00h on Friday 23rd May. All conference session and workshops are free of charge to visitors registered for FESPA Digital, FESPA Fabric or European Sign Expo. To pre-register, visit the FESPA Digital website at www.fespa.com/digital.

The detailed programme and session times can be viewed at www.fespa.com/digital/features.