Recapping SGIA 2010

The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) reports that the recent SGIA Expo in Las Vegas set a new association record for total registrants: 21,956 over its three-day run October 13-15.

The top five states represented at this year’s event were mostly west of the Mississippi, but not all: California (28 percent), Nevada (8 percent), Texas (5 percent), Illinois (4 percent), and Arizona (4 percent). And, nearly 18 percent of all attendees were internationally based.

The show had nearly 500 exhibitors taking up more than 184,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center, up 30,000 square feet from last year, the association reports.

“The annual SGIA Expo brings together all of the diverse sectors of the specialty imaging community,” says Michael Robertson, SGIA's president and CEO. “This year's extraordinary amount of attendees, exhibitors, buyers, and sellers at the show prove that the Expo is the community's premier marketplace.”

Honoring ‘Product of the Year’ winners
The association announced its 2010 Product of the Year awards, which recognizes digital equipment and supplies in the specialty imaging marketplace.

Entrants of the competition had to be SGIA member exhibitors, and products had to be currently available in the 2010 market. Each entry was judged based on its perceived value to the digital imaging community by a team of digital imaging professionals during the Expo in the Golden Image Gallery area of the show. Winners included (by product category; product followed by manufacturer/supplier):

• Digital Inks: LF200 UV Flexible Inks for Backlit/Display, Mimaki USA (mimakiusa.com)

• Media, Paper: TerraSkin XP, Xcel Products (xcelproducts.com)

• Media, Vinyl: Glow Mesh, Ultraflex Systems (ultraflexx.com)

• Media, Films: HydroSol Satin Textured LightBlock 230STL, Continental Grafix (continentalgrafix.com)

• Media, Textile:100% Post Consumer/Industrial Materials, Vapor Apparel/SourceSubstrates (sourcesubstrates.com)

• Media, Rigid: Eco-Finish Rigid Print Media, Panel Processing Inc. (panel.com)

• Media, Non-PVC (nonwoven): Terralon, Dreamscape (dreamscapewalls.com)

• Business or Other Workflow Software: Costview 2.0 (optimized for ipad), Caldera Graphics (caldera.com)

• Finishing – Laminates, Adhesives, Films, Coatings: Print Shield Anti-Graffiti Laminating Film, Neschen Americas (neschenamericas.com)

• Finishing – Equipment: Fotoba Dreamcut XLD-170D, Fotoba International (fotoba.com; exclusive US distributor is Colex, colex.com)

• Printers
o Poster Size-Solvent/Latex < 96: JV33-160, Mimaki USA
o Rigid Substrate UV <$200K MSRP: Arizona 550 GT, Océ Display Graphics Systems (oce.com)
o Rigid Substrate UV >$200K MSRP: Arizona 550 XT, Océ Display Graphics Systems
o Rigid White Ink UV <$200K MSRP: JFX-1615, Mimaki USA
o Flatbed – Rigid White Ink UV >$200K MSRP: Arizona 550 XT, Océ Display Graphics Systems
o Grand Format Roll-to-Roll-Solvent & Latex inks: JV33-260, Mimaki USA
o Grand Format Roll-to-Roll-UV-Cure ink: JFX-1631R, Mimaki USA
o Direct to Garment Inkjet Printers: Veloci-Jet XL, Equipment Zone Inc. (equipmentzone.com)

“The Product of the Year competition recognizes the top equipment and supplies currently on the market that are advancing the specialty imaging industry,” says Robertson. “Winners represent the best consumables and output devices that offer faster, higher quality output for the wide-format digital market.”

Going for the gold, and Parmele
SGIA also announced the winners of its 2010 Golden Image Award Competition. Entries were evaluated and judged during the Expo and winners were honored during the Expo's Thursday Night Dinner Party.

The competition recognizes the top works from nearly every sector of the specialty imaging industry. Hundreds of entries were evaluated by a team of imaging professionals, who awarded gold, silver, and bronze ribbons to the best prints. This year's highest honors were given to select winning entries, including:

* Best in Show – Graphic: Solutions Unlimited (entry title: ‘High Shine’);
* Best in Show – Garment: Tarun Print Tech (entry title: ‘Michael Jackson’); and
* People's Choice: Brilliant Graphics Group (entry title: ‘Eric Drury Sculpture’).

The complete list of Golden Image winners can be viewed on the SGIA website at: www.sgia.org/events/current_expo/sgia10/competitions/golden_image_winners.cfm.

“It's very important for us to take part in the competition, and we've been doing it for the last 15 years. It gives us the opportunity to showcase the quality of our work to current and future clients,” says Artem Nadirashvili, general manager of MidiGroup in Moscow, which took home = nine Golden Image Awards this year.

And SGIA announced the winner of the Howard A. Parmele Award: Michel Caza, owner of Michel Caza Erul in France and an industry veteran of more than 50 years, was selected for his extensive contribution to screen printing and the SGIA community.

“This year's Parmele Award honoree entered the screen printing industry in 1954 and started his first company in 1963,” said Joe Shondel, SGIA's immediate past chairman, who presented the award. “He is recognized as the European pioneer of UV inks for a wide range of graphic and industrial applications.”

In the zone
This year’s SGIA Expo also offered five sales-free interactive demonstration areas on the Expo floor — more than any previous show. The following Zones were a huge success and attracted numerous attendees interested in new market opportunities, the association reports:
• Digital Apparel Production Zone;
• DSA Digital Signage Zone;
• Industrial Application Zone;
• PDAA Graphics Application Zone; and
• Screen Printed Apparel Training Zone.

Finally, it’s not too early to begin thinking about next year’s SGIA Expo. The 2011 event will take place October 19-21 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. 

SGIA
www.sgia.org