Labelexpo Europe 2013 has reported its largest ever edition with record-breaking attendance figures. The show, which took place 24-27 September, covered seven of Brussels Expo’s exhibition halls for the first time and attracted 31,795 visitors (up 11% on 2011) from 158 countries (up from 123 in 2011) and just under 600 exhibitors (up from 550 in 2011). Underlining the show’s importance to what is the fastest growing sector of the wider print industry, Labelexpo Europe occupied 31,000sqm; its largest show floor size in its 33 year history.

As the label and package printing industry’s major platform for product launches, Labexpo Europe 2013 saw the unveiling of over 150 new products including presses, ancillaries and consumables. Big launches included Epson’s Sure PrecisionCore technology and its Surepress L-6304 UV inkjet label press, Mark Andy’s award-winning PRO-LED flexo curing system, Ritrama’s Core Linerless Solutions and Screen’s Truepress Jet L350UV single pass inkjet press.

Numerous market leading exhibitors increased their presence at 2013’s event including Avery Dennison, Durst, EFI, Gallus, HP Indigo, Mark Andy, MPS, Nilpeter, UPM Raflatac and Xeikon. By the end of the show, 86% of the space had already been rebooked for the 2015 edition – the highest ever onsite rebook rate.

Labelexpo Europe 2013 also welcomed the successful debut of several new busy feature areas. The Package Printing Workshop showcased the opportunities both digital and conventional printing can bring to folding carton, lid laminate and stand up pouch decoration. The Inkjet Trail put the different available inkjet technologies under the spotlight and compared their results when producing identical label designs on the same label stocks.

Lisa Milburn, managing director of Labelexpo Global Series, remarks: “With the Eurozone now out of recession, confidence and optimism is beginning to return to wider global industry and converters are starting to invest in their businesses again. This year’s Labelexpo Europe is without doubt another world-class event! Seeing our manufacturers and suppliers making sales here confirms that Labelexpo Europe is the best-selling platform in the label and package printing industry with printers prepared to spend high on capital equipment.

“Continued innovation across the various product groups and strong, sustainable growth in demand across the labeling and package printing market are being translated into sizeable order books. We’ve again had excellent feedback from exhibitors underlining that Labelexpo Europe is the show to secure significant sales with numerous reports of many presses being sold,” Millburn says.