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Lessons in Las Vegas

I’d just gotten out of school and had been working at my first trade magazine job for a few months when management decided to send me to a conference in Las Vegas. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. Not only was the city unlike any I’d ever experienced, the trade show also opened my eyes to how big and vibrant the industry was that I covered. For months I’d been writing about the industry from behind a desk. In Las Vegas, I met people who put a human face to the issues I wrote about. These were owners and employees of the most progressive, cutting-edge companies in the industry. I gained more insight from them about the industry’s future in those few days than I had in all the early months of work. However, the real lessons I learned came the following year, when I went back to Las Vegas to attend the same conference. There was no better way for me to observe firsthand what had changed during the year.

I’ve been to Las Vegas half a dozen times since then. The city is not so overwhelming any more, but I still feel the same sense of excitement whenever I attend a trade show. This month’s issue of Print Solutions is dedicated to the premier trade show in our industry segment—the Print Solutions Conference & Expo. This annual event, which takes place in October, will be in Las Vegas for the first time since 2003. Its education sessions, show exhibitors and networking opportunities directly address the needs and challenges of our supply chain. And like all good trade shows, its attendees comprise the best and brightest of the industry, including Vanguard Direct President and incoming DMIA President Bob O’Connell, the subject of a profile starting on page 10. For a summary of the show schedule, highlights and exhibitors, start on page 46.

Andy Brown
Managing Editor
abrown@PSDA.org