FTA has announced the decision to move Fall Conference 2020 to a fully virtual environment. Now known as Virtual Fall Conference 2020, it retains six of its technical sessions, evolves into a fully online exhibit space, and adds opportunities to connect with attendees before, during and after the event.

The decision comes following an arduous review of the issues raised by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, travel and in-person gathering restrictions, the state of business in the flexographic industry, and above all, concern for the safety and well-being of FTA members.

“We’ve spent the past several weeks listening to the community, including sponsors, contributors and participants, in order to determine the best way to still bring Fall Conference to life,” explains Virtual Fall Conference 2020 chair Paul Lancelle of Miraclon Corp. “Companies and individuals throughout the industry are looking for the sense of togetherness that is most associated with annual meetings like Fall Conference. We feel we’ve found a way to provide that, while respecting the present circumstances. So while it will not be the same, we are excited about the ability to create a valuable, virtual space for our industry to come together.”

Virtual Fall Conference 2020 takes place October 5-7 in FTA’s Virtual Conference Center. Each day begins with a pair of back-to-back technical sessions. Attendees will be able to listen live to industry experts discussing essential topics, dissect a print sample sent to registrants, participate in live polls and ask questions to presenters.

The virtual exhibit space will allow attendees to connect with exhibitors for live equipment and product demonstrations—on demand or pre-scheduled—conduct video calls for one-on-one networking, and obtain additional company and product information through pre-recorded presentations, brochures and other downloads. The virtual exhibit space opens October 5 and will remain open for 10 days through October 14.

Replicating the mingling, shoptalk and social atmosphere Fall Conference is known for, attendees and exhibitors will be given access to an exclusive Slack workspace. There, they can interact during the month before and after the event, and speak with presenters.

“Coming off Virtual Forum 2020 and its successful transition to an online environment, industry volunteers and FTA staff are well prepared to put the lessons they’ve learned to use in creating a conference that leverages best-of-breed technologies and closely imitates the familiarity of an FTA event,” says FTA president Mark Cisternino. “On behalf of everyone involved, I am very excited to show you what we have in store.