This year’s Graphics Canada show at the Toronto International Centre, although smaller than usual, offered a lot of great value to both visitors and exhibitors. Although some exhibitors seemed apprehensive about what the show’s turn-out would be like, most people agreed that the attendance was better than expected. It was great to see a lot of the familiar faces of the Canadian printing industry, but also the new faces of many eager students.

Dr. Joe Webb kicked off the show with his keynote speech on the morning of November 12 by talking about the changing industry, new technologies and how the real entrepreneurs will thrive as the economy turns around.

“If you had a five-year plan in 2006 – I’m sorry, but it’s wrong. The media markets have changed dramatically today as a result of a variety of technologies,” he explained, citing how things like Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone and e-readers were relatively unheard of merely a few years ago.

Dr. Joe continued: “Now we’ve got quite a different business. These new technologies have affected print, but more than that affected the way companies and businesses interact with their prospects and customers. It is quite a change that a lot of us are having difficulty grasping.”

One of his key points was that any time you have economic stress, there is a great incentive to change the way you do things. New technology can be bolstered by having tough economic times.

Dr. Joe’s sentiments seemed to parallel the spirit of the show: the industry is struggling right now, but we’re looking towards a technology-rich future ahead of us.

And now – lights, camera, action – on with the show!

Fujifilm was arguably one of the biggest presences at Graphics Canada this year with its booth in the key spot at the very front. The first thing visitors could see upon entrance was a large staff of representatives, eye-catching displays and, of course, the equipment. The Acuity X2 Advance flatbed was quite a show-stopper, as was some of Fujifilm’s signage featuring different animals morphed together.

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At the Ricoh booth, new equipment was on display such as the Pro C900 Colour Production System with an EFI Fiery print controller.

CiMa-Pak displayed a wide range of shrink-wrapping and polybagging machines such as its Mailbag device, which allows in-house polywrapping at a cost-effective price.

Presstek had its 52DI digital offset press on display. This machine intrigued a steady stream of people, especially since a number of exhibitors didn’t bring an abundance of equipment to the show. The entire printing operation is automated for the DI, from plate advancing to imaging, printing and cleaning.

The staff at Konica Minolta were hard to miss, all decked out in their Team Canada jerseys. As sponsors of Hockey Canada, the team’s motto was “come shoot with the PROs!” The Bizhub Pro 1200 production printing system was a must-see. It was impressive to watch it run with the side panels open, exposing the gears and inner-workings of the machine as it output jobs at 120ppm.

Ernest Green & Son had a very large booth jam packed with equipment. The Mutoh ValueJet 1608 Bio-Hybrid printer could print on substrates ranging from polystyrene, PVC and foam board all the way to banners and wall coverings. The company also displayed several HP products including the massive Designjet L65500, the Scitex FB950 printer and the brand new Designjet L25500, which was only rumoured to appear at the show.

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RISO featured products from its ComColor series including the 9050 and 7050 models, which are Energy Star qualified. Proud to be green, RISO makes sure all its digital duplicators and inkjet products use a no-heat imaging process and very little power.

The HeatSeal Sprint H950 desktop laminator was a product in the spotlight at the GBC booth. It is the first of its kind and is fully automated, laminating up to 50 documents in 12 minutes. The H950 can feed, laminate and trim all in one shot.

ND Graphics had an innovative method of grabbing visitors’ attention: a life-size video cut-out of a woman talking about the company’s products, called a “virtual mannequin.” It was created using the special 3M Vikuiti rear-projection film that can be cut to any shape – in this case, the woman’s figure! The Agfa :Anapurna M2 flatbed UV printer was also a key product to see.

Drytac highlighted several products this year, including live demos of its new DES-4 Foam product, designed to work with heat-sensitive foam display boards. Also notable was a small machine that packs a lot of punch: the VersaCoater DocuMate Plus, Drytac’s micro format UV coater for on-demand print shops.

Printer Gateway and EZ Trade stood out at the show in many peoples’ minds, each with unique marketing strategies. Printer Gateway joined forces with San Francisco-based Design Back Office to create more than 1200 custom-made logos for show visitors – for free. The company also announced its new same-day turnaround guarantee.

EZ trade did something new and innovative as well – its new catalogue doubles as a free, three-step marketing campaign for trade printers and copy centres wanting to get into the signage market without having to invest in new machinery. Step 1: Display the included free sales poster. Step 2: Hand out the free catalogue. Step 3: Place the order. EZ trade takes care of the rest, and print shops will get 40 per cent off the cost of EZ trade’s retail list.

Avanti, Hiflex and EFI all stood out for their innovative MIS solutions. Avanti has integrated Microsoft Outlook into its JDF-certified MIS solution, which will synchronize tasks and allow staff to work remotely.

Hiflex refers to its eBusiness, Webshop and Print Support MIS products such as “Print Management on steroids!” The company held live product demonstrations at its booth, highlighting the JDF-connectivity of its MIS products. EFI showcased its Pace, PrintSmith and Digital Storefront systems. Pace is an integrated browser-based MIS solution specially designed for print environments.

Sydney R. Stone brought all kinds of equipment to Graphics Canada this year. The Duplo System 2000 collating and booklet-making system was a big feature. Other equipment such as the Morgana Major Folder and the Duplo DC-615 slitter/cutter/creaser were also on display. The company had an entire second booth designed to feature all of its reconditioned equipment available for sale such as cutters, binders and folders, to list a few.

Graphic Whizard showcased a number of pieces of equipment at its booth, including the GW6000 and GW12000 machines from its series of number/perf/score products. The VividCoater Micro was also on display, which is always a popular device with its award-winning coating capabilities.

Muller Martini wanted to highlight its Variable Sleeve Offset Printing (VSOP) at Graphics Canada, as well as its Alprinta-V technology for labels, packaging and box printing. While the company didn’t have any equipment at its booth, it featured product information on signage displays and had staff on-hand to explain more.

Pressdown Services highlighted the Digixpress at its booth. This device is a digital envelope press that can print short-run jobs in 4-colour variable data. It can print in one pass, on-demand and on a variety of substrates including post cards, labels and banners. The company also featured a number of CTP units, coaters, creasers and bookbinding equipment.

manroland took the same strategy as it did at September’s Print 09 show and focused on its theme of PRINTVALUE to help print operations become more competitive in their field. The company’s goal is to work one-on-one with customers and create solutions for production, service and training.

Robert E. Thistle presented quite a lot of equipment, including several C.P. Bourg products. Some of these included the BST-e tower collator, the BM-e booklet maker, the BB 3002 Bourg binder and the BSF sheet feeder.

Hans Gronhi was one of the very few companies to bring offset presses with them to the show – a refreshing sight to see amid some equipment-less booths. Most people come to the trade shows to watch machines run, smell the ink, as well as see and touch the printed result and in this case, Hans Gronhi didn’t disappoint! The company displayed its GH472 2-colour and its GH524 4-colour offset presses along with other equipment such as CtP devices.

KBR Graphics presented products from Standard Finishing and MGI. The Standard Horizon Book Binder BQ-470 can produce books of variable thickness at speeds up to 1,350 books per hour, on-demand. KBR also showcased some award-winning products from MGI, as its new Canadian distributor. The Meteor DP60 digital press, a unique 13’’ x 47’’ size, can operate with sheets as small as 4’’ x 6’’ and can run envelopes in a non-stop operation. The Meteor DP20 is a 4-in-1 photo press and boasts the ability to duplex, laminate, cut and crease in one pass.

All in all, Graphics Canada was quite successful this year. A lot of people were surprised that some of the big players didn’t participate, but that didn’t stop visitors from enjoying the show. It might even have been advantageous for some of the smaller companies that were able to take some of the spotlight and show everyone what they’re made of. Many exhibitors noted that they received a great response from the crowds, and attendees in turn were impressed by the equipment that was on display. Despite these tricky economic circumstances, it was clear at the show that the Canadian printing industry is quite a survivor and is headed towards a changing – but always interesting – future.