Nearly 1,400 people attended DMIA's Print Solutions Conference & Expo, held Oct. 15-17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. The show, which included 360 exhibit booths, is the document industry's most comprehensive showcase of products, services and education.
Colin Davies is a seasoned veteran in the document management industry, runs a $30 million distributorship and was DMIA's President's Award winner in 1998. So when he attended DMIA's Print Solutions Conference & Expo--his 31st consecutive annual event--what did he expect to learn?
"The more I know, the more I know that I don't know," said Davies, CEO of West Midlands, U.K.-based etrinsic plc (formerly FORMS UK plc). "It was a fantastic show--certainly one of the best in the last 15 years."
Printing professionals nationwide agreed. The Print Solutions Conference & Expo, held Oct. 15-17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., was the industry's most comprehensive showcase of products, services and education this year. It drew nearly 1,400 attendees and featured 360 exhibit booths.
Show Floor for New Ideas
One booth in particular--FormStore® Incorporated's--impressed Davies. The Fenton, Mo., manufacturer showcased its LaserWell Plus® product and organized a joint effort with Kennesaw, Ga.-based Heidelberg USA Inc. and Stamford, Conn.-based Xerox Corp. to offer show-floor educational sessions about digital imaging's future. "[LaserWell Plus] is something we'll be discussing when we get home," Davies said.
Mark Trumper (left), DMIA's immediate past president and CEO of Maverick Label, a Edmonds, Wash.-based manufacturer and distributor of short run labels, opens the expo with J. Buster Weinzierl, CDC, DMIA's 2001-02 vice president and president of Belknap Business Forms Inc., a manufacturer based in Mayfield, N.Y.
Left: Standing with Trumper, Gail O'Roke, CDC, CEO of Hayward, Calif.-based distributorship The Independent Business Group, takes the helm as DMIA's new president. Above: In her speech, O'Roke challenges attendees to increase their communication and collaboration with fellow association members.
Lisa Gonzales (left), vice president of sales and marketing, and Laurie Taylor, vice president of manufacturing, from manufacturer International Label Mfg. Inc., Terre Haute, Ind., talk to Bill English, CFC, president and CEO of distributorship Superior Business Solutions, Portage, Mich., about International Label's custom label solutions.
Kari Mueller, sales manager of manufacturer Special Service Partners, Neenah, Wis., congratulates Barry Klass, president of distributorship Data Management Corp., Butler, Wis. Klass won Special Service Partners' drawing for a 2003 100th Anniversary Edition Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster.
Eric Gschmeidler, a sales representative at distributorship Graffiti Graphics, Romeo, Mich., tries his hand at the cash-grab money machine in DMIA's booth. Participants had 30 seconds to grab cash and "DMIA dollars," which could be used to pay membership fees or purchase products from DMIA's Bookstore.
Gary A. Held (left), president and owner of XpandoMedia Inc., a manufacturer in Amherst, N.Y., explains the benefits of the Card Folder, a patented concept for packaging product information, quick-reference guides, maps, manuals, timetables and other materials.
On the expo show floor, personnel from manufacturers CFC Print Solutions, Peachtree City, Ga., and Datagraphic Inc., Roswell, Ga., mark the official debut of combined company Printegra. The firms chose the name Printegra to represent its focus on printing, technology and integrity. From left: Nic Greco, vice president of ebusiness; Al Havens, national sales manager; John Staniforth, executive vice president and COO; Mike Robertson, account development specialist; Casey Campbell, president and CEO; Bob Saunders, vice president of sales and marketing; and Dick Wiegand, vice president of business development.
Distributors learn about promotional product sales opportunities from manufacturer Jayline International Corp., Linden, N.J.
Ross Barker, president and CEO of software supplier Forms Management Data Systems, Reno, Nev., tells Greg Gill and Paul Lepore of Performance Press Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., about Quantum Net, the company's
e-commerce system. The system allows end users to run usage reports, request proofs, place orders, select shipping destinations and more via distributors' web sites.
Tom Loudis came to the Print Solutions Conference & Expo to find new suppliers for Paragon Business Forms, his 5-year-old distributorship in Salina, Kan. The company offers mostly traditional forms, but Loudis, its CEO, plans to grow the firm's promotional products sales. He visited the booths of the Advertising Specialty Institute, Promotional Products Association International and SAGE--Quick Technologies Inc. to learn how they could help his business. By the show's end, Loudis partnered with SAGE--Quick Technologies and said he was looking forward to using its online services to help clients search for and purchase promotional products online.
The show floor was filled with new, money-making products and services distributors could sell to their customers. Manufacturers and suppliers displayed the latest in commercial printing, promotional products, online services, computer supplies, forms, software, bar coded products and more.
Several exhibitors launched new products and capabilities. Falls Cities Printing, a manufacturer in New Albany, Ind., that specializes in MICR documents for the financial industry, explained the benefits of its new
e-commerce workflow solution, Kronos Select. NPC--National Printing Converters, a manufacturer in Brazil, Ind., introduced its ability to combine labels with print-on-demand technology. Dayton, Ohio-based Wilmer, Fort Scott, Kan.-based Ward/Kraft Inc., DeSoto, Texas-based Ennis Business Forms Inc., Englewood, Colo.-based PrintXcelSM and St. Louis-based The Flesh Company showcased offerings at The New Products Theater, a new feature at the expo this year. (For a complete list of exhibitors or attendees, visit www.DMIA.org and click on "Exhibitions and Meetings.")
Rich Stienstra, president of BRIDGE® Information Systems, a 22-year-old distributorship in Arlington Heights, Ill., attended the event after taking a 5-year sabbatical from DMIA's annual conventions. "I didn't come the last few years because I didn't think manufacturers were going to be showing new things, he said. "DMIA did a great job of getting the word out this year [about new products and services being featured at the show]. We've lost so many products, but we're adding so many new things." At the show, Stienstra looked for e-commerce and data processing solutions. "I'm more enthused about the industry now than I had been," he said. "I missed being here. It's critical to come to the show."
The event was the "best convention [DMIA has] put together in many years," said Ron Pollock, marketing development manager of Wisco Envelope, a manufacturer based in Tullahoma, Tenn. He said Wisco's booth traffic was at its highest level in 17 years. The company's record of leads indicated approximately one-third more customers and prospects than it normally receives at the show, Pollock said.
