The first live Fespa events in Europe since Spring 2019 attracted a strong audience dominated by business leaders, who came with an appetite to update their industry knowledge with a view to short- and medium-term investment.

International audience

Visitors came from more than 100 countries, with a strong emphasis on the Benelux region and Germany which accounted for 49% of the audience, in line with expectations given the location in Amsterdam. Other strongly represented countries were Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Poland. As anticipated, the challenges for long-haul travellers due to Covid-related restrictions resulted in fewer visitors from outside Europe than usual for a Global Print Expo event. In total, the events attracted 7,850 unique visitors, 42% of whom attended for more than one day, bringing total visits to 11,130.

Close to half of all visitors (44%) were owners or managing directors, reinforcing the significance of the event as a springboard for business recovery and forward planning. Two in three visitors influence or make final purchasing decisions in their business.

54% of visitors stated that they were visiting Fespa for the first time, indicating a thirst for market knowledge, insight and inspiration following the commercial challenges of the pandemic.

Sources of inspiration

Printeriors was once again a popular attraction for visitors. Inspired by nature and curated by Fespa’s Textile Ambassador, Debbie McKeegan, the feature highlighted digitally printed applications targeted at printers operating in or looking to expand into interior décor. In collaboration with industry suppliers including Imageco, Kornit Digital, PONGS, swissQprint and TTS, the products displayed were produced using a series of high-end technologies, print processes and materials.

The European leg of the Wrap Masters competition was also a key area of interest. In addition to a series of demonstrations and workshops from wrap experts, visitors saw competitors battle it out for the title of “Wrap Master Europe 2021”. On day four, Norman Brübach from Germany was crowned the winner and will go on to compete against regional champions in the World Wrap Masters final at FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 in Berlin.

For members of the community unable to attend the event in person, FESPA and its exhibitors provided an array of live-streamed and virtual content. The Live sessions involved conversations with key exhibitors, printers and print experts on the latest trends and innovations and these attracted 5,125 views throughout the four-day event. The recordings of the sessions are also still available to watch on demand.

• The next Global Print Expo and European Sign Expo will return to Messe Berlin, Germany, from 31 May – 3 June 2022.