OnDemand Expo W2P Highlights

I was half expecting this show to be poorly attended due to the current economic climate; that notion was quickly dispelled when extra seats had to be brought in for the keynote addresses at 8.30am. Some 500 delegates packed the room to listen to Charlie Pesko of Qestex/InfoTrends, followed by Mary Lee Schneider of RR Donnelly.
Pesko's message of the day was that the digital print has reached it's tipping point (no surprises there) and to capitalise, printers need to 'do the right thing' and 'do the thing right'. This refers to moving both upstream and downstream in terms of services (W2P and fulfilment) and being ultra efficient. Schneider surprised the audience with the fact that RR Donnelly has over 1,000 digital printing units across 60 production plants and suggested that to survive and thrive, a web portal is absolutely essential.
On the show floor, it was sometimes difficult to get to talk to representatives and demos had to be scheduled. It would appear I was the only British visitor on the day, at least the only one talking to the W2P vendors. I know times are tough but it's been a great opportunity to learn and it's a shame that more Brits have not made the trip. The next time all the major W2P vendors will be together in one place will be GraphExpo (Chicago) in September. In the UK, the next opportunity won't be until Ipex in May 2010. Of course, you can do demos online but sometimes, especially with a subject as mission critical as W2P, there's no substitute for seeing the whites of the CEO's eyes. More to follow.
www.w2p.co.uk