The successful Graphics, Print & Sign expo was held from 5-7 October at Emperors Palace Convention Centre. The event was not only considered even more successful than the Sign Africa Gauteng expo held in April, but lauded for its organisation, quality visitors and products that reflected industry trends. The event was sponsored by Platinum sponsors Roland and Stixo Signage Supplies.
Visitors were inspired by the wide format digital printing, T-shirt printing, finishing, point of sale displays, signage, banners, flags, vehicle graphics, LED’s, laser engraving and other solutions.
‘I was very happy with the show – we had a good amount of leads that we targeted and achieved. We had some good sales and we expect to get a great result from the show,’ said Steve Harcourt-Wood, Rexx Screen and Digital Supplies.
‘It went very well, better than what we expected. We were quite surprised at the quality of leads we received, the quality of customers, and we actually managed to meet a lot of new customers that we didn’t even know about, so I would say it was a very successful small show,’ said Illze Bester, Kolok Graphic Supplies.
‘It was very good, I’m extremely impressed, and the feedback from the clients has been wonderful. The administration of everything was great as well,’ said Greg Whatmore from Curv Signage Supplies.
‘The show has been good. I find that I have a lot more quality leads versus just big numbers. There was a lot of interest in our new systems, I guarantee we’re going to sell at least two or three systems, so it was definitely worth my while. Congratulations on getting the show done in tough times. We were happy to be out and chat to clients again and see some new and old faces,’ said Josh Carstens, MIPS Technologies.
‘It was outstanding – we will be back next time,’ said Graham Roy, Graficomp.
‘The show has been fascinating and very interesting. We met a lot of new clients, and we’re also discovering that a lot of the clients are trending more towards not just environmentally friendly printing solutions but also media, and fabric has definitely played a very, very big role. I do feel that its now lift off time for South African fabric. This show has demonstrated that it will be the future,’ said Darryl Braithwaite, Midcomp.
‘I’m very impressed. Normally on the last day the buyers come in so there were a lot of enquiries that we got and I’m very excited going forward with our product, and hopefully we will get some extra sales out of this after the expo,’ said Eric Phillpot, 3D Fusion.
‘The quality of visitors was pretty good and there was a lot of interest. I think we got our name out quite a lot. There were a lot of new customers – people that didn’t even have Pantone books – and a lot of people learnt that they need the Pantone books. A lot of people that bought from us before have come back, so it was successful for us. A lot of feet came through,’ said Matthew Kear, Pantone Africa.
‘It went very well, we just launched three new machines, the response was overwhelming, especially on the dye sublimation machine and the UV machine, its the second show we’ve done this year,’ said Bernard Truter, Graphix Supply World.
‘It was fantastic to be at the expo and see a lot of our printers and suppliers. The sentiment is that everyone is glad to be out and interacting again,’ said Jermaine Naicker, Printing SA Durban Chamber.
‘It was a fantastic expo for Printing SA and we were able to celebrate our 110th anniversary at the networking and exhibitor function. It was great to see people coming out again and we are looking forward to hosting more events,’ said Abisha Katerere, Printing SA.
‘It was our first expo together with Transparent Financial Services, we will definitely be back. It is an amazing platform to meet the people who employ those who we represent. It was a great experience and we hope that the relationships we have started here translate into membership on our side and create a better environment in the industry,’ said Khwezi Makhathini from SATU.
‘We were delighted to be invited to the expo, having made new contacts, signed up some new members and met with existing members,’ said Lorna Mashale, Transparent Financial Services.
‘A good amount of customers came through from different areas and segments. We have solid leads to work with from customers we want to work with. A lot of people are innovating and looking for new ideas,’ said Iain McMurry from Maizey Plastics.
‘The expo was very good, it was very busy for the three days. We got some good leads and will see how it pans out afterwards,’ said Charl Ferreira from JG Electronics.
‘We definitely had a really good show, it was much busier than we thought it would be. The potential that we had from the visitors was amazing,’ said Nardus Mouton, Gencotech.
‘We found it very professional. It was amazing to see the amount of foot traffic and the controls around the Covid protocols. The location, the venue, the staffing – everything was five star. We were very happy to be part and parcel of this show,’ said Nesh Chetty, Falcon SA.
‘We saw repeat customers and new customers starting out in new businesses looking at our products,’ said Afsana Ismail, Allrich.
Stand awards
Judges visited each stand at the expo and judged the stands according to criteria based on design, staff friendliness and professionalism.
Best small stand winner (shell scheme)
First: Uprint Digital Direct.
Runner-up: Pantone.
Best medium stand winner (shell scheme)
First: Rexx Screen and Digital Supplies, Fellowes Beswick and Riso.
Runner-up: Trotec Laser South Africa.
Best large stand winner (shell scheme): Falcon SA.
Best small stand winner (custom)
First: Robotech 3D.
Runner-up: SA Argus.
Best medium stand winner (custom stand)
First: Roland Speedwrap.
Runner-up: Curv Signage Systems.
Best large stand winner (custom)
First: Allrich Trading.
Runner-up: Roland DG.
Runner-up: Chemosol.
Runner-up: Stixo Signage Supplies.
Most innovative product: Kyocera Document Solutions.
Most sustainable product: 3D Fusion.
Joey Lee Erasmus from Wrap My Ride was the overall winner of each day of the Speedwrap Challenge.
GRAPHICS, PRINT & SIGN
Organised by Practical Publishing
+27 11 568 1894
gps@practicalpublishing.co.za
www.graphicsprintsign.com
