While the recent 2016 Visual Communications (Viscom) international trade fair drew fewer exhibitors and attendees than the previous edition, non-European visitors were disproportionately well-represented, suggesting the show is gaining visibility around the world.
Established as an advertising technology and textile finishing trade show 30 years ago, Viscom has expanded over time to encompass many types of signmaking, digital printing, retail decor (example pictured, below, left), digital signage (pictured, below, right) and packaging. The 2016 fair, which took place from November 2 to 4 in Frankfurt, Germany, drew visitors from 71 nations, ranging from the U.S. to South Africa to Japan.
Non-Europeans comprised a nearly 10 per cent share of the total group of visitors, in fact, which was unexpected just a few months after the Drupa print media fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, a larger-scale event that only takes place every four years.
“Be it large-format digital printing, textile banners or printed packaging, Viscom unites the world of brand communication under one roof,” says Petra Lassahn, the show’s director. “Technical innovations are in the foreground here.”
“Viscom particularly stands out with its technical innovations,” agrees Ignace Van Goethem, managing director for Geneva Ad Display Systems. “This year, machinery in the laser-cutting and textile-printing segments ranked first for me.”
“We had many ad agencies, shop fitters, decorators and designers visiting our stand,” says Sylvana Albayrak of Procédés Chénel in France, who cited the show’s growing focus on interior design. “Some of these visitors approached us with very concrete projects and we are now planning designs for their stores.”
