Where to find Nicholas in 2012

To make an appointment for a meeting and consulting, or to ask for all this plus a Subscription to the FLAAR Reports, simply contact us.
If it is more convenient to fly Dr Hellmuth to your office (anywhere in the world) he is available (flew over 530,000 km last year, and about 514,000 km the year before; this is over a quarter of a million miles, each year).
Increasingly we are providing in-person consulting at expos around the world. So below we list the expos that Dr Hellmuth will attend. Please understand, however, that an appointment must be made, in advance. We invoice by PDF within 48 hours.
If there is another event that you would rather have FLAAR attend for a meeting with you: a conference, expo, in-House, Open House event, that you would like Nicholas to attend, this can be arranged. Simply fly Dr Hellmuth to the event and cover the standard fee. Please understand that appointments need to be made as far in advance as possible.

 

PMA@CES, Consumer Electronics Show, 2012, Jan 10-13, 2012

I will attend at least two days in 2012, for two reasons: first, FLAAR has been a leader in digital photography evaluations for even longer than we have been evaluating wide-format inkjet printers.

So if you wish to learn about digital photography cameras, lighting, equipment, techniques, consider making an appointment to meet Nicholas at PMA@CES.

Our www.digital-photography.org is the last remaining evaluation program that is independent: all the other informative digital camera web sites have gone commercial. I have no spouse and no children, and no girlfriend who needs a Prada bag or fancy car, so we can afford to keep the FLAAR web sites independent. Yes, of course we have funding from manufacturers, but we are infamous for listing the downsides of products (and yes, the manufacturers did withdraw support, which is our highest honor).

So instead of a million dollars, we have a million readers.

The second reason we will attend PMA@CES is because of the 3D imaging hardware and software. FLAAR has a long-range interest in 3D scanning, as you can see from our 3D web site.

Sign and Graphic Imaging Middle East (SGI), Dubai World Trade Centre, 31st January through 2nd February 2012

This is the first international printer expo of the year. So if you need to get a head start on your competitors, this is the expo to attend (most people will wait another month for FESPA or for the two huge Chinese printer expos).

But if you want to learn ahead of your competitors, you can make an appointment to discuss the TRENDs for 2012 in Dubai with Dr Hellmuth.

D•PES Printers & Engravers Expo, China Sign (Spring) Expo 2012, recently changed to 18-21 February.

The venue has also been switched from Dongguan to nearby Guangzhou. So “China Sign” (D-PES) and “Sign China” are both in the same city, and both in the same week.

This raises the logical question: what is the difference between the two expos?

And since FESPA is the same week, should you skip FESPA and go to China (and then go to DRUPA)?

Or, should you attend both Chinese expos, hop over to attend the last day of FESPA?

Or skip them both and go to APPPEXPO Shanghai in July and DRUPA in May?

We can provide answers for these questions, since D-PES, and FESPA, and DRUPA each have their attractions. But if you need to make a decision for your company (end-user/printshop owner or manager, or distributor who seeks help with selecting Chinese products) then FLAAR is available to assist.

Just e-mail FrontDesk “at” FLAAR.org and request the standard consulting rate info; we provide consulting before, during, and after each expo (we have several clients who have asked for consulting at all of these expos)

Sign China 2012, Guangzhou, 20-23 February, 2012

We can provide abundant information based on two years attending this expo. Sign China is very different in many respects from the competing China Sign.

Guangzhou is a pleasant city and has a monumental new airport (so is easy to reach internationally). Guangzhou is in southern China so the weather should be good

FESPA Digital Barcelona, 21-23 February 2012

I have enjoyed attending FESPA expos for many years. As a result, thousands of printshop owners and distributors and manufactures read the FLAAR Reports on FESPA (actually every month, since we have over one million individual readers per year on our network).

I will need to compare the exhibitor list of FESPA Digital Barcelona 2012 with the exhibitor list of FESPA Digital Hamburg 2011 to see whether the expo has grown or shrunk (because it’s a DRUPA Year now). Fortunately FESPA 2008 did well competing with the last DRUPA, so we hope they will do the same this present “DRUPA Year” 2012.

FESPA has added capable new talent to their management and we hope the expo is a success. It’s tough because of the recession in Spain and Portugal and the looming shadow of the impending DRUPA. But many people have said that they find FESPA more hospitable than DRUPA.

FESPA Americas, co-located with Graphics of the Americas, Miami, March 1-3, 2012

Each year I have been asked to lecture at Graphics of the Americas, so I attend these co-located expos. It is very nice that the show is back in Miami (last year it was in Orlando). Miami is much more popular with print shop owners from Mexico, Central America, and South America

Co-locating is a very clever idea. It would, for example, make sense if a wide-format inkjet/screen printing/textile printer expo would be clever enough to co-locate with GraphExpo.

Since GraphExpo is the remnants of an offset and office copier expo, it attracts only a portion of the potential total market. They tried on their own to grow their wide-format pavilion, but their GraphExpo exhibit dates are within two weeks of SGIA, so inkjet printer exhibitors, especially distributors, preferred SGIA (which is natural, and understandable).

If two shows co-locate, both will survive, and prosper.

Wallpaper & Decorative Textile Expo, Beijing, 5-8 March 2012

The 19th China International Building Decorations, Building Materials Expo

These are expos that I may attend, as FLAAR is doing a project in Beijing during March 2012.

ISA Sign Expo, Orlando, March 22-24, 2012

There are four viable printer trade shows in USA. Which should you attend?

What are the differences between ISA and SGIA?

What about the other smaller expos? Are they really worth attending?

At FLAAR we have been attending the key printer trade shows for over a decade and will be glad to answer your questions. Plus we can assist you during the trade show days. Just ask for consulting services and we will be glad to help you with our background, knowledge, and our networking contacts (built up over the many years).

ISA provides a complimentary booth, so you can visit FLAAR Reports at Booth 1381.

Sign & Digital UK, 27-29 March 2012, Birmingham UK

I enjoyed attending in 2010, but sent FLAAR editor Silvia Herrera to take notes for 2011. For 2012, since FESPA is so close in front, and since ISA is the week before, it will be a tough decision whether to attend Sign & Digital UK, or not.
Indoprint 2012, Jakarta International Expo in Indonesia, April 11-14, 2012

I have always wanted to visit Indonesia, so if any local distributor, manufacturer, or an exhibitor from another country who has a booth at this expo wishes me to attend, I would be glad to go to Jakarta.

DRUPA 2012, 3-16 May

DRUPA is primarily an offset printing and office copier printing expo which has added some wide-format inkjet.

There are three problems with DRUPA:

1st, the last expo (2008; it is held only every four years) had the wide-format splattered around in completely unrelated halls. So you had to hike for kilometers.  Many exhibitors and attendees complained about this inadequate organization.

2nd: the hotels in Düsseldorf gouge you 24 hours a day with excessive hotel rates. Plus, there are not enough hotels to handle all the attendees and exhibitors anyway, so you are stuck staying AN HOUR AWAY (and still paying too much for your hotel room).

3rd; the expo is too long: the cost to an exhibitor for 14 days hotel, meals (not to mention the time lost from their home office) is a serious issue. Eight days would be better, and even that would be a stretch. 14 days might have been okay a decade ago, but Heidelberg no longer rules the universe, and if offset press manufacturers want 14 days, have them pay! (and have the wide-format halls reduced to six days, in the middle of the 14-day stint for offset and copiers).

FLAAR wishes success to all expo organizations and venues. This is why we speak out. Our point is to insure that DRUPA is a success, because several manufacturers and most distributors suggest it is considered an obsolete albatross. Several trade shows have thanked us for our constructive critique.

The one advantage of DRUPA being every four years, however, is that most major companies strive to make their latest new hot technology advances available at DRUPA.

So we are looking forward to publishing our DRUPA 2012 exhibitor list.

Ceramitec 2012, May 20-25 2012, Munich

The ceramic tile printing industry has been booming for the last several years. Durst had lots of success since they were clever enough to get into the industry early. Now several Chinese companies are rushing in.

Over the last several years the FLAAR Reports have covered printing on pre-fired tiles (with UV-cured printers). But now the world is moving towards more industrial in-line printers, printing on the tiles before they are fired.

Of course the main market for the long run is still printing custom designs on tiles after they have been fired (since the architect or designer, or building owner) will not have time to decide far enough in advance to print the tiles at the tile factory!

But FLAAR has a background in architecture and I am keen to cover this new trend in inkjet printing.

This expo is held every four years; this time it is in Munich. Understandably most ceramic printing expos are in Italy, as this is still a world center for decorating tiles.

The 14th China (Guangzhou) International Building Decoration Fair, 8-11 July 2012


Since this is the week before the giant Shanghai expo I might be tempted to visit the Guangzhou event for one day. But since all the major manufacturers will be at the Shanghai venue, I am not convinced there will be much action in Guangzhou so close to the APPPEXPO dates.

APPPEXPO Shanghai, 11-14 July 2012

The full name is Shanghai International Print, Pack, Paper Expo. Their branding is as convoluted as Viscom. But the Shanghai expo is the size of all four Viscom events put together, plus APPPEXPO has an entire additional set of expo halls for LED and LCD advertising products.

I go to APPPEXPO Shanghai 2012 primarily for their exhibitor list of wide-format inkjet printers, inks, and substrates. But you also have an entire hall of CO2 laser cutters plus Chinese-made flattop XY cutters.

Since there are two major Chinese printer expos in mid-February, the key question is, “which Chinese printer trade show should a distributor or printshop owner or manufacturer attend?

FLAAR provides consulting, before, during, and after each Chinese printer expo. And our first session with the client is to explain the pros and cons, differences, benefits and downsides of which Chinese expo you should attend.

Serigrafia Sign 2012, São Paulo, Brazil, 18-21 July 2012

Why in the world would FLAAR attend a screen-printing expo!

If you read our report on 2011, you will see why.

The official name of the expo is actually SERIGRAFIA - SIGN - FUTURE TÊXTIL, and now it is owned by IPEX (so the previous suitor no longer has a relationship).

We never even considered attending an expo in Brazil, especially not one focused on screen-printing! But a client provided hotel and expenses so we now have experience in the Brazil wide-format inkjet printing industry.

Sign Africa Expo 2012, Johannesburg, 22-24 August 2012.

 This sign, Display & Digital Graphics Expo is great. I enjoy seeing friends in each of the distributors and manufacturer’s booths here. Joburg downtown is easy to navigate since the main hotels are within easy walking distance of the hotel. And I finally learned how to navigate the airport-to-downtown shuttle train.

I will definitely attend Sign Africa Expo in 2012. The organizers Dyelan Copeland and Charnia Yapp are hospitalable and I feel at home here every year.

Sign & Printing Fair Jordan, Amman, Sept 17-20, 2012

I have always wanted to visit Jordan, and if there were any meetings or consultations that can be arranged for these September dates, I would enjoy attending.

Photokina 2012, 18-23 September, Cologne

If you are a photographer, Photokina is the Mecca of photo expos. Yes, it is different than in the past (no more gigantic Sinar booth any more). Not many wide-format printer booths any more (other than HP, Canon, and Epson).

I have attended every Photokina expo starting, if my memory still functions, circa 1998. I look forward to seeing the Photokina 2012 exhibitor list.

We appreciate the organizers of Photokina in communicating with us (since for our www.digital-photography.org we have lots of readers, especially at pro-sumer and pro levels). In response to the outreach of the German expo organizers we are providing suggestions for how to improve (so that more people attend!).

Reklama Moscow, 25 - 28 September 2012

Again this year Reklama Moscow, 25 - 28 September, is the same days as other expos (namely Viscom Paris). So this means flying to Paris first, one or two days there; then flying at night to Moscow, for two or three days there.

Landing in Moscow at night is a challenge to get to your hotel: no more train shuttle service. Airport hotels are about $500 a night !

So why in the world would any non-CIS or non-Baltic states person want to attend a Russian printer expo?  If you Subscribe to our TRENDs on Russia, you will learn why we go every year to Moscow (and it’s not for the nightlife; I am too cheap to pay for that kind of expense!).

Viscom Paris 2012, September 25 – 27, 2012

The nice lady in the Press Room of Viscom Paris is really hospitable. I will admit it does make a difference when there is a welcome mat at a printer expo.

Slight downside is being far far from the historical center of Paris. Benefit of being near the airport, however, is that you don’t get stuck on the convoluted Paris metro system (a mish-mash of many competing systems: Milano and German cities are much better organized for visitors). And you save lots of Euros in cab fare by staying near the airport.

For 2012 I hope at least to find a hotel that is more conveniently located.

Last year actually three new printers were launched here: printers never before seen elsewhere! So I look forward to writing about the success of the exhibitor list for Viscom Paris 2012.

Viscom Visual Communication Italia, 4 - 6 October 2012

I prefer to call it Viscom Milano. This expo has confusing names (though the one in Spain is even more disjunctive). Why is one expo “Viscom Paris” and the other is “Viscom Spain” even though it is in Madrid every year ? ?

Why is this not Viscom Milano? Why is it called Visual Communication Italy (why not Italy if Spain is not España !

Irrespective, Viscom Visual Communication Italia is still a good expo at international level, even though it shrank dramatically in 2010 and even more in 2011. We hope that even with this being a DRUPA Year, that Viscom Visual Communication Italia in Milano will do okay. We will be looking at the exhibitor list 2012 but will enjoy attending no matter what. Milano is a great city to visit; hotels are reasonably priced (if you know which ones to select).

Getting around the city by Metro is easy.  Local people are friendly and hospitable, and I enjoy meeting all the Italian distributors and printshop owners and managers at the expo.

GraphExpo 2012, Chicago, Oct 7-10, 2012

FLAAR used to have a booth at GraphExpo. FLAAR used to present lectures at GraphExpo.

But the organizers kept changing things; they dropped the inkjet focus, so FLAAR withdrew. Downside is that our thousands of readers now hear about SGIA, ISA, Graphics of the Americas, FESPA, but not much about GraphExpo any more.

I did attend for a day in 2011, and would be tempted to consider attending again in 2012, but have not yet made a decision (since GraphExpo is primarily the remains of offset, digital narrow-format presses (that replace many aspects of offset), and office copiers.

It would be great if GraphExpo could co-locate with SGIA. This would create the largest and most successful printer expo in North America.

In the meantime, four days is still too long, especially in a DRUPA Year and especially in the middle of a recession. Three days is fine. SGIA used to be four days, and intelligently switched to three days.

SGIA Expo, Specialty Printing & Imaging Technology, Oct 18-20, 2012

FLAAR fully supports all American (and all international expos). We gladly recommend that distributors and manufacturers exhibit at SGIA and that printshop owners, managers, and printer operators (and students and faculty) visit SGIA in 2012.  Indeed we wish that expo organizers in America could have the same student attendance rates as Viscom Milano in Italy and Photokina in Germany.

In 2010 we had a booth at SGIA and the organizers were very helpful in upgrading it to double-size when we agreed to swith booth location. They also kindly provided a table and chair (sorry, but we are not a commercial oriented corporation; I guess I can blame this on having attended Harvard in the 1960’s when the philosophy was to find a goal in life and work hard to achieve it). My goal is to provide helpful knowledge of the technology of wide-format inkjet (printers, inks, RIP software, cutters, coaters, laminators) to better allow people to communicate via graphics and displays.

This interest in providing assistance through the FLAAR Reports comes from my background as a professor and my background of working in museums for decades.
My interest in outdoor signage stems from the years I have worked at archaeological parks in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru: I realized how much better these parks (and museums) could transmit their archaeological discoveries if they had better digital imaging and digital printing.

As a professor my students told me how much they had learned and how this benefited them in their careers. So I decided to transmit knowledge of wide-format inkjet printing to the entire world: and now, a decade later, we have over a million readers, and growing (even in the recession). In a recession people are more careful at doing their homework before they decide which hardware or software.

Viscom Spain 2012, Madrid, Oct. 18 - 20, 2012

Viscom Spain is late this year (two weeks after Viscom Italia).

Since this expo collapsed about three years ago, I have not been inspired to attend, but we do send a representative from FLAAR, as we like to cover the entire world.

Since FESPA is in Barcelona this year, and since this is a DRUPA Year, it will be tough for Viscom Spain to expect much attendance. We hope that Viscom Spain recuperates for 2013 so I can start attending again. I always enjoy visiting Spain.

It is unfortunate that Viscom never built a recognizeable brand name.  FESPA is known around the world, but Viscom is too fragmented. Each country made up their own name, and the names changed every few years.

This is not good branding.

Are you VISCOM SIGN or Viscom.  It would help if you spell the name of the expo in a consistent way. Again, FESPA is pretty good.

Their web sites are even more of a mess. Inconsistent, inconsistent, inconsistent (from one country to another).

I would love to help Viscom improve their branding (and their attendence). We at FLAAR really wish trade shows could attract more exhibitors and more attendees. But unless they improve their organization, these expos, sadly, will continue to shrink.

Viscom Frankfurt  2012 (Viscom Germany), 25 - 27 October 2012

Viscom Frankfurt is later in the year than it was last year.

Why is it not Viscom “Germany,” since it is in a different city every other year?  Why is Viscom Paris not Viscom France?

Why is everything so inconsistent! No wonder FESPA is successful and growing, at least FESPA has good branding.

Since I speak Deutsch I always enjoy visiting Germany, but Frankfurt is not as fun as Koeln or Berlin. Even Hamburg, much to my surprise, was an enjoyable city.

Nonetheless, I am looking forward to attending Viscom Germany in Frankfurt. Obviously, since DRUPA is in Germany in May, attendance may be down a bit, but it is essential to support all major printer expos, so FLAAR will be writing about the exhibitor list for Viscom Frankfurt 2012. I just wish the organizers were more realistic and improved their venues and expos with some innovation. But I will comment that VISCOM Germany tends to have a great exhibit of different signage substrates.

pdn PhotoPlus Expo 2012, New York, 27-29 October 2012

It is tough for pdn PhotoPlus Expo New York in a “Photokina Year.” Especially when Photokina is a month before.

Fortunately the economic recession will keep many Americans at home, plus New York is always a nice destination. For me the second snag is that PhotoPlus is the same week as Viscom Frankfurt.

Which expos has FLAAR stopped attending?

We no longer attend the giclee and fine art expo, ArtExpo. One organizer demanded that we provide a service that I felt was totally inappropriate for them to ask.

I rarely attend GraphExpo any more because they lost their focus on wide-format inkjet three years ago. But I hope they survive, and prosper, but retreating to the remnants of offset printing and office copiers is not the future.

I spent $3200 on an airplane ticket to attend FESPA Asia in Thailand, and got only as far as the Narita Tokyo airport.  All that the organizers showed on their web site (while thousands of people were stuck all over the world trying to get to a politically messed up Thailand) was PR releases on how great the expo in Bangkok was. Inadequate assistance was provided to suggest alternative airports, or to organize a shuttle from such an alternative airport. So I have never attended another Asia expo after that (expensive) experience.

As soon as the Asia expo is in a city that will attract a substantial international audience, I will be glad to write about this for our million+ readers. Singapore is too small a market to attract a major audience. I hope it went well, but that is too far to go for a small local expo.

I have enjoyed attending FESPA Mexico, but have not been encouraged to attend in 2011. Instead I concentrated on Sign Africa (where I write for their trade magazine all year long) and I concentrate on SGI in Dubai (and also I am consultant for this expo plus write for ME Printer in Dubai). But for 2012 I would consider returning to FESPA Mexico, though I will admit that the Brazil show was WOW, what an event.

But I love Mexico, naturally I speak Spanish (I have worked in Latin America for decades). And I like to visit Mexico to see all the new books about pre-Columbian archaeology and ancient art of the Olmec, Aztec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, Toltec, and Zapotec civilizations there. So I am tempted, but its tough when I am already on airplanes half a million kilometers a year. Fortunately Mexico City is a short and easy direct flight from my Latin American office in Guatemala.

I attended IPEX Middle East in 2010 and was just about to book my flight there for 2011, but never heard back from the organizer. It is tough for an expo to compete with the Dubai expos, but I would enjoy experiencing more of Abu Dhabi. My father’s company, HOK Architects, did the original airport there (and the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, plus Heathrow Terminal 5, Dallas Ft-Worth, St Louis airports, so often I fly from familiar family memories one to another when I travel).

In 2011 I attended a nice co-located expo in Australia, but it is confusing whether they will continue their May dates, since a 24-26 September date conflicts with TWO printer expos in Europe: Viscom Paris and Reklama Moscow. In 2011 two different clients in Australia combined to cover my airfare, housing and meals. This is how it is possible to reach more printer expos in far parts of the world. But for 2012 I can understand that a May date would conflict with DRUPA and hence would make no sense (since most international visitors will head for DRUPA).

For 2012 I hope to add more expos, especially in new parts of the world. Plus I hope to return to expos that I skipped in 2011, so that I can help inform our printshop owners, managers, plus all our readers who are distributors and manufacturers.

Contact Info

If you wish consulting services we will be glad to assist you. The standard rates are listed clearly in the consulting brochure. There are three options: trade shows in China, trade shows around the world, or normal consulting at your office or factory (or via Skype, e-mail and/or telephone).

With over one million readers a year of the FLAAR web sites and FLAAR Reports, we apologize that it is not realistic to answer general questions: for that please fill out the Survey-Inquiry Form so that we can arrange an appropriate specialist to answer your questions (though normally our FLAAR Reports will cover most of your questions).
We are not able to answer questions about where to sell your old printer (unless it is a grand format machine; we do have contacts for these).
We are not a repair service and sorry, are not able to guide you to a repair agency. These kinds of questions you can best ask at any printer expo.
Yes, we can provide training, but to clients who sign up for consulting.
Our telephone and e-mail is for printshop owners, managers, printer operators; for distributors, manufacturers; who wish to request Subscription and/or Consulting services. Even with 18+ people on staff we are so busy adding to your web site network, and writing reports (and doing all the research for that), that even with a 14-hour day we simply can’t handle things unless you request an appointment for a consulting session (which can be 30 minutes, an hour; or a retainer over a several week or month period). Increasingly distributors and manufacturers are asking for consulting retainers for 12-month periods. But we can also handle a 30 minute question-and-answer session (as long as it is reserved and covered in advance).
For students and professors we do our best, but to be realistic the most effective way is to fly Dr Hellmuth to your college or university for him to present lecture(s) or a block-seminar (a semester’s worth of presentations over an intense one or two weeks).

Seybold collapsed already several years ago.  In its prime it was larger than SGIA.

DPI was a wonderful expo ten years ago: it then folded.

There was another printer expo in Las Vegas: giant in its day. Not only did it loose traction it disappeared so thoroughly I can’t even remember it’s name any more!

PMA never learned to improve, and one by one major printer manufacturers pulled out. There was zero PMA expo in 2011 !  For 2012 they are co-locating with CES, but whether they survive after being too slow to wake up to the need to co-locate remains to be seen.

It is essential that the other printer expos in America do not have this fate.  But if expos don’t co-locate, and if rules and costs remain unrealistic and stifling, one by one the expos will fade away.

FLAAR is consultant to trade shows around the world, and we have plenty of experience. Our advantage is that being independent, we can more clearly see the pros and cons, ups and downs (that would be embarrassing for a show team member to bring up at a corporate meeting with their boss). As an outsider we can politely make comments and provide a reality check to expo management.

 

Most recently updated January 2, 2012
Previous updates: January 16, 2006. February 2, 2009.