Darin Painter, Dscoop’s Storyteller, shares his takeaways after attending the inaugural Americas Print Show, APS. The event featured three days of industry education, breakout rooms for seminars and association meetings, nationally renowned speakers, and 80+ exhibitors who were eager to talk one-on-one with decision makers in the print industry.
1. The Dscoop community was well represented, as printers capitalized on the opportunity to learn and connect, and partners like printIQ and locr educated attendees and explained their capabilities. Darin talked shop with several Dscoopers on the show floor and in conference rooms before and after education sessions.
Recent Dscoop event speakers and sources were also in full force, including sales motivator and coach Kelly Mallozzi, sales coach and prolific author Bill Farquharson and print evangelist/speaker/author Deborah Corn of Print Media Centr.
It was awesome to talk with Dscoopers! Which brings us to the next take-away…
2. Nothing beats face-to-face networking. Hearing about industry trends and opportunities is important for growth, and making social media connections is powerful for sales, but nothing can replace getting together in-person to share ideas, strategies and stories with each other. Attendees represented commercial printers, screen and garment producers, large-format and sign printers, software firms, binderies and industry suppliers. There was plenty of opportunity for networking at America’s Print Show, APS.
“I believe that there is a sense of freedom that comes from building deep relationships,” wrote Mark Potter, President and CEO of Conduit Inc., in this blog post published just before the event began. “That is why we need to not only endeavor to communicate more, but also to communicate better.”
What is more inspiring and effective than hearing the questions, headaches, triumphs and opinions of others as you gain ways to grow professionally and personally? Which brings us to the next take-away…
3. Girls Who Print is a movement with awesome momentum. It’s the world’s largest online network of women in the print industry, with more than 9,000 global members spanning all segments and career paths. Held on the event’s second day, the Girls Who Print Panel Discussion & Luncheon was packed with people, just as this session was at Edge Rockies.
Everyone involved with Girls Who Print deserves congratulations for shining a spotlight on the need for diversity and inclusion in the print industry, and power women bring to their companies and their clients. Which brings us to the next take-away…
4. The mark of an event’s success is what happens after attendees go home. The education lineup at America’s Print Show, APS, was its best asset. Attendees left Columbus with practical ways to improve their companies, their teams and themselves. Event organizers should be applauded for landing this list of speakers. They discussed technologies, marketing, sales, cybersecurity, environmental matters, and current supply-chain and employment issues. Which brings us to the next take-away…
5. The most prevalent conversation topics were how to find people, and how to get paper. Both topics – employee hiring/retention problems and supply-chain issues and – continue to be huge roadblocks for print companies around the world.
