Graphispag 2022 will accelerate the reactivation of the graphics and visual communication industry

Graphispag 2022, the flagship trade fair in the Iberian market for the graphics and visual communication industry, is preparing to contribute to accelerating the sector’s recovery by facilitating the gathering of companies and professionals required to enable them to pool techniques, knowledge, experiences and practical solutions. The fair, which will take place from 24 to 27 May to coincide with Hispack, will showcase the latest trends in graphic technology, media, materials, inks, finishes and innovative tools for everyone who prints and communicates.

This year, the fair, organised by Fira de Barcelona in partnership with Graphispack Association, will seek to provide answers for the major challenges currently facing the sector, including sustainability, digitisation and the automation of production and commercial processes. It will therefore present a cross-cutting commercial offer that integrates all the printing systems, including the traditional and burgeoning digital ones, as well as the most advanced (functional, 3D and printed-electronics) systems with applications in industrial sectors.

Xavier Armengou, the chairman of the Graphispag organising committee, is convinced of the role the fair will play when it comes to effectively revitalising the printing market: “It’s exciting to come together again as a sector to put such a difficult period behind us. It’s time to capitalise on the platform provided by this event to promote the activity of our companies, to learn more about technology, innovation and other ways of working that generate graphic products with high added value for multiple sectors, to pool experiences and knowledge and to decide what we want our industry to look like in a shared way”.

More synergies with packaging

In particular, in this, its sixteenth year, Graphispag will increase synergies with the world of packaging and labels, one of the fastest growing graphic specialities. In this regard, being held on the same dates and at the same venue as Hispack, the leading trade fair for packaging, processes and logistics, will lead to a significant increase in its convening power in this segment and boost the material supply sector, which is common to the two events.

The brands, manufacturers and printers of packaging, wrapping and labels will find new graphic applications for their activity at Graphispag, ranging from digital printing for short runs and packaging personalisation to new designs, shapes and finishes to stand out on the shelves, packaging prototyping, the incorporation of printed sensors to achieve smart packaging and anti-counterfeiting systems, among many others.

At the same time, Graphispag will showcase specific graphic solutions for the publishing world, design, advertising and large format, commercial and promotional printing, retail, decoration, interior design and industrial printing (textiles, cars, ceramics and furniture), among many other sectors. To this effect, Graphispag 2021 will focus on printers, key players in the value chain of the graphic product, given that, “due to their knowledge, experience and know-how, they’re the ones who can best meet the needs of the final demand, incorporating the latest innovation within the sector”, stated Armengou.

Personalisation, new media, more sustainable materials and inks and the latest printing and finishing technologies will feature at the event. The results of their use and application will be displayed in a large central area where graphic products aimed at these purchasing sectors will be exhibited. The samples, produced by graphic services companies proposed by the exhibitors, will serve to showcase the versatility and the creative, functional and communicative potential offered by printing, particularly in the sectors where the reactivation is most noticeable, such as textiles, commercial printing, outdoor and promotional advertising and events.

In this regard, the director of Graphispag, Josep Alcaraz, stressed: “our aim is to facilitate business, knowledge and innovation transfer in the graphics and visual communication sector, focusing on the agents who print, including graphic services companies, the industrial sectors and end customers”.

Similarly, Graphispag will become an important sectoral forum for the graphics and visual communication industry. The event’s schedule of talks and seminars will be highly geared towards enabling printers to update their knowledge of aspects related to business development, productivity management, digitisation and the “premiumisation” of graphic products. There will also be specific talks on packaging printing shared with Hispack, as well as others for professionals from sectors that purchase printing products such as advertising and marketing, design, photography, interior design and fashion.

A sectoral benchmark for demand sectors

Graphispag attracted 22,500 visitors to the last fair held in 2019. By sectors, 33% of the visitors carried out their activity in the area of graphic services, 15% in the world of design and communication and 37% in industrial sectors, manufacturing and distribution, while brands and final users accounted for 6%. The remaining percentage corresponded to other collectives (training, entities and associations, consultancy, the press, etc.)

A study of the visitors’ data reveals that 61% of the 100 largest Spanish graphic arts companies visit Graphispag. It’s also worth highlighting that 53% of the leading labelling companies, 37% of the flexible packaging firms, 34% of the general packaging companies, 21% of the cardboard packaging firms and 18% of the plastic packaging companies attend the fair. As for other sectors, Graphispag attracts leading companies (from among the top 100) in the retail, publishing and fashion sectors.

Barcelona, 2nd November 2021

Images available (2019) here

Maria Dolors Herranz
Tel. 93 233 2541
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com