BIGGEST-EVER LABELEXPO SET FOR SEPT
The world’s biggest label printing show, Labelexpo, will open its doors in just two months' time, with the Brussels show set to be the biggest in its history, there are 600 exhibitors on the expo floor.
Labelexpo will take place between 11-14 September at the Brussels Expo, its final outing there before a move to Barcelona in 2025. Visitors are promised a show rich in technology, opportunity and education, all aimed to help drive their businesses forward.
In adiditon to its labels focus this year's show will almost certainly expand on the packaging element that was evident in the 2019 expo, where attendees saw equipment that coud produce both.
This will be the first Labelexpo show in Europe since 2019. Along with demonstrations of the latest printing and converting equipment will be masterclasses and special events focused on automation and flexible packaging.
Tickets to the show cost €95, with an early registration rate of €75 until 25 August. Some 600 exhibitors have already signed up, with more to come, and will take all the space in nine halls at the Brussels expo centre. Always popular with the ANZ label printing fraternity, this year’s Labelexpo will be, says the organiser, “a technological showcase of epic proportions.”
New equipment to be seen at Labelexpo Europe includes the world premieres of the HP Indigo V12 and 200K presses, the Xeikon CX500t Titon toner press, the Screen Truepress PAC520P water-based packaging press, and the Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 400.
Mark Andy will launch its new flexo press, the PRO Series, for cost-effective self-adhesive label production, while Nilpeter is showcasing what t claims is the next generation of printing innovation, with its FA-26 and FA-17, for short-run flexible packaging and labels.
Names new to Australia and New Zealand will be on show, such as Etirama, will have its ervo-driven SPS3 press, which has a 350mm web width, and can be equipped with up to 10 colours, and includes options such as cold foil, delam/relam, lamination, sheeter and turn bar for reverse printing. Smilarly, Dilli will have its digital inkjet Picasso, which can print on maximum print width of 330mm, at maximum speed of 50 metres a minute
Jade Grace, portfolio director of Labelexpo Global Series, said, “We are delighted to be running Labelexpo Europe again, and can promise visitors an extraordinary show across nine halls.
“We will see an explosion of cutting-edge technology launched at the show, everything from pre-press to materials, digital and conventional print, and converting technology.
“Add to this a world-leading series of educational events, and our focus on automation and flexible packaging for label converters, and you have an unmissable Labelexpo experience.”
The last Labelexpo in Brussels took place pre-Covid, four years ago, and the show was notable for the crossover between label printing and packaging, with many new technologies at the show able to produce both, opening new worlds of opportunities to print businesses.
This time around, that theme will continue, but even more so, along with a proliferation of software solutions, many of them cloud-based.
Andy Thomas-Emans, strategic director at Labelexpo Global Series, added, “We are already seeing key technology themes emerging at Labelexpo Europe 2023. Diversification across labels and flexible packaging technologies, digital embellishment, workflow and machine automation, real-time data collection over the Cloud and sustainability across multiple fronts, from LED-UV to more new materials and adhesives choices. This will be a landmark show for the future direction of our industry.”
The organiser says the nine halls “will be alive” with machinery and product launches from industry giants, including Bobst, Canon, Epson, HP, Gallus, Kurz, Nilpeter, Mark Andy, Omet, Screen and Xeikon. It says this will be a showcase of innovation “on a seriously grand scale.”
Printers attending the show can expect special features, master classes, and chances to network with leading voices. Discussions will focus on the latest trends, with the industry sharing ideas and insights with the people shaping the future of label and package printing.
The event is currently free of all Covid restrictions, as is Belgium.