PRINTING United 2024 returned to Las Vegas for its three-day run from September 10-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year’s show drew 24,969 registered attendees and 800 exhibitors, who covered one million square feet of exhibitor space to highlight their latest technologies to the printing industry.

Ford Bowers, PRINTING United Alliance CEO, reported that the feedback from the show was excellent. “We have almost 5,000 members now and have one of the 30 largest shows in the country. Here in the moment, everyone seems very happy,” Bowers observed. “It has been everything from steady to overwhelming depending on the exhibitor you talk with – everyone seems to be very happy with it. The feedback on the educational program has also been good. The amount of equipment here is very impressive, especially considering it is a drupa year.”

Bowers noted the growing interest in digital printing, which is ideal for PRINTING United.

“There is a gravitational pull right now in the industry, as the digital barrier to entry is lower now,” said Bowers. “Exhibitors want to spend less money in terms of marketing. They’d rather have everyone in one place, and printers want to minimize the number of shows they go to and see everything that can make them money.”

Latest Industry Analysis
During Media Day, PRINTING United analysts presented their insights into the industry. Lisa Cross, principal analyst of NAPCO Research, reported that printing industry sales are up 1.3% in first half of 2024, but operating costs went up 4.9%, and inflation outpaced price increases. Cross pointed to four key disruptors in the future: AI, government, data and sustainability.

“We think the future of the printing industry is positive for companies that use all the tools available – including AI – to do three things: maximize productivity company-wide, build robust databases and data analytics, and embrace transformative technologies and prepare for the next disruptor,” Cross noted. “Print companies will need to do these three things to survive.”

Nathan Safran, VP, research for NAPCO Media, pointed out that 68% of the close to 600 State of the Industry panel members have diversified beyond their primary segment.

“Seventy percent of respondents have invested in new equipment in the past five years to expand into new applications,” added Safran. “It’s not just talk or theoretical – there are actual applications. Digital technology is lowering entry barriers to enter adjacent markets, while digital media is reducing demand in some segments. If you’re in the commercial printing market, you may want to look into packaging.”

Exhibitors’ Thoughts on PRINTING United
With 800 exhibitors on-hand, attendees had plenty to see in terms of new presses, inks, software and more.

Chris Guyette, sales and marketing coordinator, Durst Image Technology US, noted that Durst showcased  four printers on the show floor: the P5 350/HSD4 hybrid that can do rigid as well as roll material; the Multi-Track 6, which can do six boards simultaneously; the P5 350/HSR high-speed roll printer, which can do 3 meter or dual rolls simultaneously; and the P5 Tex iSub dye sublimation printer, which eliminates the need for a separate heat press or calendaring unit. 

“The show has been busy,” Guyette said. “The second day was extremely busy with a lot of our existing customers looking to add on and new clients taking a hands-on look.”

Paul Edwards, VP of the Digital Division at INX International, observed that this feels like the early 2000s, when digital was starting to emerge in ceramics and wide format, but today it is packaging.

“There are more applications in the industrial and packaging space that are really emerging, including flooring applications and decoration, and for an ink company, it’s very bespoke,” Edwards said. “Understanding ink is really important, as ink technology can solve many of these harder problems.”

Edwards noted that INX is well positioned in many key digital segments.

“We have a variety of different areas,” added Edwards. “The aftermarket is very interesting to us, as we have a very large customer base where we have great relations for decades. We now work with multiple OEMs to develop ink technologies for their printers. We’ve provided the ink technology and print engine technology for direct-to-object printing for our Huntsville, AL operations.

“This is where the ink technology and knowledge of printing come together, and this is the model that is going to work well with us as we move into the packaging area,” Edwards continued. “INX pretty much owns the metal packaging market, and there’s corrugated and flexible packaging, which I think is the exciting next adventure. What you don’t do is create a printer then design the ink.

“When people talk about flexible packaging, it’s not just a single application,” Edwards observed. “There are different requirements. The ability to add variable information and personalization is where brands want to be. We’ve picked some niches, and we’d like to provide companies with an ink/print engine solution. We have to be the solution provider rather than be solely an ink provider.”

“This show is interesting to see how the how the world of digital printing has changed,” Edwards said. “I would like to meet people and look at new opportunities – for me it’s the relationships, who’s doing what and see how we can help them.”

Konica Minolta had a wide range of new presses on hand at PRINTING United 2024, led by the AccurioLabel 400.

“AccurioLabel 400 is our newest press, which offers the option of white, while our AccurioLabel 230 is a 4-color home run,” Frank Mallozzi, president, industrial and production print for Konica Minolta, said. “We partner with GM and offer some really nice options plus embellishments. It is toner-based, prints at 1200 dpi and customers love it. We have about 1,600 units installed, and we have better than 50% market share in that space.

“We go after the client who outsources their short run digital label work and help them bring it in house,” Mallozzi added. “It prints on all sorts of material, and we are now targeting the converter market.”

Konica Minolta also showed its AccurioJet 3DW400 at Labelexpo, and Mallozzi said the response was terrific.

“The AccurioJet 3DW400 is the first of its kind that does all in one pass, including varnish and foil,” said Mallozzi. “It is very well received in the market; everywhere you go you have to do multi-pass and this eliminates that, improving productivity and eliminating mistakes. We are aspiring to build technology that provide automation and error correction and making it like running a copier, and I’m really impressed with what we have.”

“The show’s been good – we’re very happy we participated,” Mallozzi said. “There’s a lot we do to get customers here and our team did a nice job with that.”

Mark Pomerantz, sales and marketing director for Xeikon, showcased the new TX500 with Titon toner.

“The Titon toner now has the durability of UV ink but all the toner characteristics – no VOCs, durability, quality – remains,” said Pomerantz. “Now that it is durable, it doesn’t need lamination and can be printed on flexible paper-based packaging. When we combine it with the Kurz unit, we can create metalization effects at a fifth color station. The foil only sticks to the toner, so registration is always perfect.

Pomerantz noted that this makes the life of the printer a lot easier. “This prints the job in one step rather than three, and you don’t have to have the additional pieces of equipment,” he added. “This has created an ‘embellishments of one’; it has the most value to a designer due to cost. The only additional cost is the foil itself. We sold out all of our prototypes and more at drupa in applications we didn’t expect, like wall decorations. Wine labels are the most obvious application, and we think this will move a lot of converters over to this technology.”

Allan Quimby, head of marketing for Kurz, said that PRINTING United has been a really good show for Kurz.

“I’m happy with it,” Quimby said. “The quality has been good, with lots of brand owners, influencers, potential customers meeting with us. We are showing our digital embellishment solutions, such as our DM-MaxLiner 3D machine. These are good for the label and the sheetfed industry; as long as the foil color and the substrate are the same, we can switch jobs automatically, so printers can gang jobs together. The DM-UniLiner 2D is a stand-alone unit so it can be moved between presses inline or off-line.”

Christine Medordi, sales manager, North America for Sun Chemical, said that the show has been great. “We have had good traffic, and the booth has been very busy,” said Medordi. “We are meeting with many direct-to customers although we also have OEM business. The inquiries come from every part of the printing industry.”

Mark Schlimme, VP of marketing at SCREEN Americas, noted that there is a requirement for short-run sheetfed solutions.

“With the Truepress JET S320, we find that any time we sell a web press to a customer it is helpful have a cut sheet press nearby,” said Schlimme. “Our Truepress Jet 520P platform is a roll-to-roll press and we’re working with paper pouches on it. In the label and narrow web packaging space, we have the commercial release of Truepress Pac830F for flexible packaging, and we will develop a shrink platform eventually.”

“We have our new X350 wider web, with is 13” wide, and diecutter finishers and digital finishers to go with it,” said Kevin McHale, marketing manager, Afinia Label. “We also have a few applicators that have come out recently. We have been busy and are getting some installs already in Canada, Asia, and Europe.”

“We have our tactile films Caress and Fine Grit, and also Rainbow Holografik, and also have some compostable films, EcoElement and CLS, which comes in both gloss and matte,” said Laura Blake, marketing manager for Nobelus. “They are all unsupported film. The show has been good. The traffic has been good.”

“This is only the second time we’ve done the show – it’s always a question of location, but we’ve had some leads that have been generated so we’re glad that we’re here,” said Erich Midlik, EVP of Prime UV.

Jason Abate, Eastern region sales director, SEI Laser Digital Finishing Solutions, reported that PRINTING United 2024 was good for SEI Laser and Matik.

“We have a lot of previous customers stopping in to say hello and see our latest technology,” Abate said. “We have the X-Wave Conveyor, the fastest laser in the market. Our Infinity 5070 – is fully automated and smaller scale for a wide range from applications from acrylics and wood to etching on glass.”

Errol Moebius, president and CEO of IST America, discussed IST’s Hotswap technology.

“We have our Hotswap, which allows the printer to change the bulbs from mercury to LED cassettes,” said Moebius. “It makes sense from the perspective cost perspective on applications such as flexible packaging, where heat is a concern, as well as sustainability.

“There’s also been a lot of interest in FREEcure, which allows printers to run a coating or ink with reduced or completely eliminated photoinitiators,” Moebius remarked. “We moved the spectrum to the UV-C range to give us more power. Food packaging is one area, and we are working with ink companies and raw material suppliers. This would be a big evolution especially for the label market, where people are moving to LED. If you can get rid of photoinitiators that would be the big thing, as supply and migration have been problems.”

Andrew Gunn, director print on demand solutions for FUJIFILM, reported that PRINTING United went very well.

“The booth position is great, foot traffic has been great, the interaction with media is a welcome surprise, and the AI and robotics are the things that are sticking,” Gunn said. “There is a paradigm shift where some offset printers that haven’t adopted digital yet are finally moving over.”

Among FUJIFILM’s highlights at PRINTING United included the Revoria Press PC1120 6-color single pass production press, Revoria EC2100 Press, Revoria SC285 Press, Apeos C7070 color toner printer, J Press 750HS sheetfed press, Acuity Prime 30 wide format UV curing inks and Acuity Prime Hybrid UV LED.

“We had a record year in the US for sales and our market share has grown,” Gunn noted. “B2 democratization is becoming more prevalent, and people are starting to take note. The rising tide rises all the boats. With the Acuity Prime Hybrid, there is lot of interest board or roll to roll presses.”

Lily Hunter, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc., noted that attendees are interested in Epson’s new F9570H dye sublimation printer.

“Attendees are amazed by the compact and sleek design and how it sends a print job through at high speed and quality – this replaces all generations of 64”dye sub printers,” Hunter said. “Another thing people are loving is our technology debut of our roll-to-roll direct-to-film (DTF) printer, which has no name yet. We are showing people we are in the DTF game; for those who want to go into DTF production printing, this is our concept – it can print 35” wide and goes from printing directly to the shaking and melting the powder.”

David Lopez, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc., discussed the new SureColor V1070 direct-to-object printer.

“The reaction has been great – we will be sold out before the end of the show,” said Lopez. “It was definitely well received. People are doing the research on desktop direct-to-object printers and our price point is so much lower that our competitors, plus we do varnish, which is an added effect. The SureColor S9170 has also been a big hit for us. We are hitting more than 99% of the Pantone library by adding green ink.”