By Shane Drew
Well, the wish-fest that is the Gold Coast sign show has come and gone again for this year.
Roughly 55 exhibitors faced the sign industries front line operators with their latest wares.
Platinum sponsors, Roland DG, were very well represented this year. They had a huge display of their own, as well as being represented on the individual retailer displays. I must say the Metallic printer was impressive and certainly good value at a show special.
Also on offer was an AVS promotion for a trip and accomodation for two to Las Vegas for the SGIA show when buying one of the Roland printer models. A good incentive in anyone’s language.
To be perfectly frank, I’m glad my wife didn’t accompany me or I may have been the proud owner of one of the printers, and the trip for 2, before I had got home.
Roland clearly put a lot into this show and did a very good job at showcasing their new and innovative products. I hasten to add though that I’m not taking anything away from the other print suppliers who also did well to showcase their wares, but Roland clearly wanted to make an impact, and I don’t think it was lost on the majority of attendees.
Speaking to some of the printer sales people on the floor, the general consensus was that the interest levels were high, and most were very confident sales will flow, either at the show or in the weeks after.
Even the sales people selling associated printer accessories and substrates reported a steady flow of interest, which we all agreed was an encouraging sign - no pun intended.
In terms of substrate suppliers, one stand that was popular was the Halifax Vogel Group. HVG showed their green credentials once again at this show, displaying some new products that fit nicely into the ‘green’ or ’eco’ market with products directly targeting that growing environmental sector. Words like ‘carbon footprint reduction’ and ‘recyclable’ were mentioned a fair few times during my visit, and it was well received by companies that are keen to be seen as ‘greener’.
Another product HVG were showcasing was the new Reboard substrate. This also fitted into their ‘green’ message due to its recyclable capacity. Although it has strong competition already in that sector of the market, HVG are confident they have a winner, and are pushing hard to get market share.
Halifax Vogel even pushed the message subliminally by wearing lovely green polo shirts. I didn’t have the heart to tell some of the sales guys that green was not a colour that suited them. But, as long as it got the point across, I don’t think they cared.
Another interesting find was a Gold Coast based company called Seymour Field. Never heard of them? Neither had I.
Essentially they are a company that supplies the industry with aluminium composite panel and corflute. Surely not another one? I thought the same thing to be honest.
But what interested me apart from their excellent show prices was the fact that they sell Australian products over imported, if they can. They presently sell Australian made corflute at a rate that is very competitive to the imported products also available in the market. Promoting the fact that they are trying to support Australian producers is a clever idea. I’d rather my money stay in Australia too if the product is comparable or better quality than what is coming from overseas.
I noted they were not on the official floor plan list, so I can only assume they were a last minute addition.
As usual, the Corel stand was also very busy. Corel are excellent supporters of the sign shows. It seems that most people already had an idea on the benefits of an upgrade to X5 as the staff were kept very busy making sales. The extra discount for the sign show attendees was also a good incentive to buy.
I parted over my hard earned cash toward the end of the day, after hearing that they only had 3 programs left. They didn’t know if they’d have any more for the Saturday either so I guess it pays to be early.
Walking around the show toward the end of the first day, most sales staff seemed happy with the turn out.
Speaking with Vince from ColourGRAPHIX, he was very happy with the response at his stand displaying the new AGFA Flat Bed.
I must say the results were very impressive, and his stand was still busy with less than an hour to go before the show closed for the first day.
One of the regular sign show vendors, Ezy Taper, once again had a good response. With Warrick and Maree having returned from a very successful ISA Sign Show in Orlando the week before, I had the impression that they were really looking forward to getting home and having a well earned rest.
Another stand that generated a fair bit of interest was Airbrush Venturi. The only national organisation that offers a dedicated hands on approach to the art of airbrushing. Glenn Crotty seems to be a lone voice in the digital age that has become the modern sign industry. He told me over a cup of tea that he sees his airbrush school as a value added addition to the modern sign shop rather than a direct competitor.
After showing me his work, and the work his students pump out at the end of their course, it is obvious that Glenn is a very talented teacher. I saw samples of work from many people in all age groups. Some of his students now work for him as teachers, some go on to make a very good living either as a stand alone operator or as a compliment to their sign business.
Australian Visual Graphics and Graphic Art Mart also had good stands that gave both their major suppliers, 3M and Avery, good representation.
All in all, I think the show was worth a visit. It was an opportunity to catch up with sales reps, see new products, and keep abreast with what is available in the market today. It was a good to be able to ask questions, touch and feel the products quality, check out new ideas, or rekindle interest in long forgotten products.
I thought the show was probably a bit small, it certainly seemed smaller than the last Gold Coast show. It didn’t take long to walk around all the exhibits at a reasonable pace. If you were only going to fill in time, I doubt you would have been there long.
So often at these events, the out of sight - out of mind is the mindset. So, to see so many established suppliers supporting the industry is certainly encouraging.
If the show did have a negative, it would be that it was held on the start to a long weekend here in Queensland.
If I had not been able to make it on the Friday, I would have been forced to miss the event altogether. My family had plans for the 3 day long weekend, and going to the show on Saturday wasn’t going to work for us as a result.
I’d be interested in your comments. Write to me at newsletter@dsi.net.au
