Si è rivelato un successo il seminario organizzato dall’Associazione durante Promoshow, la fiera del promozionale svoltasi dal 3 al 4 aprile scorso. Al centro della discussione del seminario, costituito da una sessione di presentazioni e da una tavola rotonda, il mutamento dei modelli di business.

Fra i relatori del seminario c’era anche Peter Kiddell di Fespa, di cui riportiamo l’articolo post-evento (in inglese), che sarà pubblicato sia sul sito che sulla newsletter di Fespa.

 

Siotec organised a one day event at this show that consisted a morning of seminars and the afternoon a Workshop where issues were discussed that printers have to deal with in production on a daily basis.

The morning consisted of three items:

Enrico Barboglio introduced the association to the attendees and provided a comprehensive exposition of the state of the market and how print fitted into the digital age. Enrico also quizzed the audience of 30 who would be attending FESPA 2013, the majority affirmed that they would do so. Later in the morning the exhibition was discussed in greater detail.

Following the presentation by Enrico Peter Kiddell addressed the issue so vital to every printing process, that being the relationship between the ink and the substrate entitled “Understanding the Mechanisms of Adhesion and Pre-treatment of Substrates” this comprehensive dissertation brought light onto a complex subject and was much appreciated by the audience many of whom made use of the excellent translation service through headsets. The well managed conference facility was adjacent to the exhibition and visitors to the show joined in with the attentive audience. Peter Kiddell explained what was happening at the interface between the ink and substrate at a molecular and atomic level. He detailed the various adhesive forces and how they played their part in forming a successful bond. The methods used to alter the surface condition of substrates were also examined in detail and pointers were given to the most suitable method for given applications. The audience recognised issues that they had experienced in their production and were able to take away many useful tips to improve their processes.

After this presentation representatives of the industry formed a discussion panel moderated by Enrico. The panel was asked to identify the key elements of success for a business in the current economic situation. There were a series of key points in particular innovation, flexibility and working together and sharing expertise. There was real concern about the lack of understanding by customers of the need to plan production effectively and use the most suitable technique for the application. Often turn-round was required in one day and the customer was unable to state specifically the composition of the substrates to be printed. This was not the case when substrates were manufactured in Italy or Europe but those from the far-east came with no data sheets or any indication of constituents. The opinion of suppliers as well as printers were firmly expressed and it was obvious that those who managed their businesses effectively making use of the processes to suit their applications would ride through the challenging times. There was unanimous agreement in the effectiveness of belonging to a professional association as SIOTEC had become, sharing ideas and resources was truly invaluable.

After a very pleasant lunch (Parma is arguably the culinary capital of Italy) a group of printers gathered with Peter to form a workshop where a range of technical issues where discussed and resolved. Printers involved in printing plastics, paper and board, glass and textiles put their questions to Peter who was able to provide some insightful solutions to their queries. Joint conversations between printers further examined issues. It was agreed by all who attended this workshop how valuable it had been.

This was a very successful day overall Enrico, Valentina and the rest of the team from 4IT, who now manage SIOTEC, did a fine job at organising this event at relatively short notice. The attendees both members and non-members found the content both interesting and informative. FESPA and FESPA 2013 was to the fore with most of the attendees looking forward to visiting the show.