US print trade show war ramps up

The US print trade show war is ramping up up, as the Speciality Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) buys major trade media publisher Napco Media, giving the new entity greater reach, and furthering its plans to take over the trade show market.

SGIA is this year launching a new print trade show, Printing United, in direct competition with the established Print and Graph Expo shows, which are owned by APTech, and which have been struggling in recent years.

The Print expo used to be on the same scale as Ipex and Igas, and was held every four years on a cycle with the other two that climaxed in drupa. Changing times though mean that Ipex is dust, while Print has scaled back considerably. This year's event will take place over just three days.

SGIA will use Napco's half dozen print titles to promote Printing United, which is slated for Dallas in October, and succeeds the SGIA Expo, which has been held in Las Vegas for many years. It takes place just three weeks after Print in Chicago.

Print trade titles under the Napco banner include Printing Impressions, Packaging Impressions, PromoMarketing, In-Plant Impressions, TotalRetail, Target Marketing and Wide-Format Impression.

The SGIA was the Sign and Graphics Industry Association, but changed its name three years ago to Speciality Graphics Imaging, with the aim of giving it a much broader reach to include commercial print. The acquisition of Napco and its print trade titles gives it unfettered access to the commercial print world.

Napco will continue to operate as a stand alone business, with all staff retained.