Networking and the creation of professional relationships between European colleagues were the strengths of the fifth edition of the Southern European Print Congress, organized by FESPA Spain, FESPA Italy, FESPA France and Apigraf of Portugal with the support of FESPA International.
The event, held at the Hotel Ilunion Pío XII in Madrid on June 19 and 20, was attended by 65 professionals from all over Europe, especially from the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Italy and Spain.
This fifth edition of the FESPA Europe South congress began on Wednesday with the welcome of the presidents of the organizing associations: Alberto Masserdotti, President of FESPA Italy; Christophe Aussenanc, President of FESPA France; Pedro Santos, Vice President of Apigraf; Gabriel Virto, President of FESPA Spain, as well as Christian Duyckaerts, President of FESPA International.
The professional program began with a presentation by Emma Tuddenham, Associations Manager of FESPA International, who spoke about current trends in the visual communication printing market, presenting the results of the Print Census study. Among the top industry trends in the Print Census study, Tuddenham mentioned optimism about the future of the business; adaptation to customer demands, with personalization and faster deliveries; investment in digital technology; the rise of textile printing or environmental responsibility, with the use of recyclable products.
Then it was the turn of Marco Capoferri, Product Manager of Sei Laser, who presented the company, dedicated to the design and production of laser cutting and marking technology machines. Iker Tejedor, a technician at Luminosos Arga, Sei Laser clients, also intervened. After his intervention, the first round of presentation of successful cases of visual communication companies in southern Europe took place. Thomas Morlier, from PANO France, explained their franchise model that today allows them to have more than 100 agencies in the country dedicated to signage, shop window decoration, shops, vehicle decoration, etc. Fabrizio Citro, Director of FG Grafica (from Italy) explained that his company began operating in the digital market in large formats in 1995. This first round was closed by Àlex García, by Marc Martí (Spain), who presented work carried out by the company in the that the objective was to achieve a sensation of volume. The last speaker on Wednesday was Tony García, Sistrade Business Director for Spain and Latin America, who spoke about Industry 4.0 and its application to the visual communication sector. Wednesday's day ended with the speedy meetings.
Thursday's session began with a presentation by Graeme Richardson-Locke, Head of Technical Support at FESPA International, who spoke about how to add value to customers by improving color management. Among the advice he offered was the importance of the selection of the work monitor and its calibration, the simplification of the work process with suitable software or the final quality controls and the evaluation of the color compared to standard values.
Then it was the turn of the second round of presentation of success stories from visual communication companies in southern Europe. Pedro Santos, vice president of Apigraf, presented the Ocyan company, which focuses mainly on color management. He was followed by François Grange, from the Professional School Lycée Etienne Mimard, in France, who presented a program of professional certificates that they are launching with the support of FESPA France and companies in the sector. The next success story was that of the Spanish company Clorofila Digital and was presented by its Product Manager Natalia Dolz. Crolofila was born to serve artists, photographers, set designers, etc. although now they also work in the retail or decoration sector. The last case was that of the Sismaitalia company, presented by its General Director Oscar Stucchi; Today its main areas are 2D and 3D printing, posters and finishes.
The last presentations at the Southern European Print Congress were those of Juan Antonio Moreno, CEO of Adivin Banderas, who spoke about the trend of consumers towards online self-service; and that of Carlos Casado, head of Business Development at Ricoh Commercial & Industrial Printing, who spoke about the world hidden behind a printhead. Juan Antonio Moreno spoke about how to increase the profits of a company, either by increasing revenue or by reducing costs. At this point, he explained Adivin Banderas' strategy, based on product and customer segmentation. The last speaker, Carlos Casado, presented Ricoh through his heads.
