Despite torrential rain on the first day, printers and mailing house execs made the trip to Regents Park in Sydney’s southern suburbs last week for a new style of industry event.
The Neopost Open Day, also held two weeks before in the company's offices and showrooms in Melbourne, proved industry professionals will turn up when good information is on the cards. Combining a graphics and mailing technology showcase along with an equipment Open House, the Neopost events are designed to address contemporary industry concerns about technology, training and market trends.
More than 50 companies came to the Sydney event over two days – even more to the Melbourne event – where they were able to inspect the latest in mailing kit, Duplo finishing and HP wide format in the refreshed showroom environment. A strong line-up of expert seminar speakers throughout the day competed for attendees’ attention.
Jeremy Brew, application specialist, sign & display, HP, was one speaker who had no difficulty in attracting and keeping his audience. The knowledgeable industry veteran gave a detailed explanation of the technology as well as the market opportunities behind the new inkjet wall art. With a growth rate in Australia of over 40%, per annum, latex wall decorations are covering everything from hospital waiting rooms, to childrens’ bedrooms and shopping malls. According to Brew, the aqueous, non-odour, printed substrate sells for anywhere up to $2.30 per m2 generating 60% to 70% margins. It is perhaps the fastest growing market in the graphic arts.
Next door, visitors were invited for the first showing of the latest HP engine, the DesignJet Z5600, the brand’s most affordable 44-inch and 24-inch high-impact graphics printer. Craig Hardman, HP’s large format design graphic manager for the region, was in attendance and pleased to partner with Neopost in launching the new engines.
Other experts bringing their expertise to the event included Neopost’s own Symon Cook, who presented on the print and digital landscape trends and industry outlook while Victoria Fratin from Two Sides proved popular with her talk on maximising customer engagement through the power of print.
Peter Hine was knowledgeable on colour management, introducing visitors to a little known side of Neopost’s activities, while Diane Costa and Andrew Le Marchant held forth on Google search and credit strategies respectively.
All in all, the Neopost events proved the value in providing useful information for industry professionals and not simply promoting sales opportunities. Phya Leong, marketing manager said the change in format has proven to boost attendance and improve results. "Neopost will continue aligning with leading industry experts and thought leaders to help support the growth of the graphics industry and the Neopost customer network," she said.
- Craig Hardman, HP, launched the new DesignJet Z5600 at the Neoppost event in Sydney.
