News

This coming October, Viscom-Sign España 2008 – the most varied offer for the digital printing equipment industry and other visual communication markets – will once again assemble for three days in Madrid. Even though the show is four months away, there are already 170 stands reserved, meaning more than 10,300 net  m2 in the Ifema pavilions 12 and 14. Among the extensive and highly interesting  seminar, conference and graphic exhibition programmes, offerings such as the Meeting & Select programme, the Trade Marketing Forum, the Letra and Anuaria Awards as well as the Chapas, History and Transition and Structural Display shows will once again be noteworthy.

From 16 to 18 October 2008, the Viscom-Sign España show will once again be the meeting point for the whole digital printing equipment industry and other visual communication markets. The 21st assembly of this specialised meeting will be located in the new pavilions, 12 and 14, of the Madrid Trade Fair Institution (Ifema) venue - modern exhibition spaces equipped with the latest innovations. The number of companies to have confirmed their presence in this show’s assembly is already up to 170, reserving a total of 10,320.25 m2 up to this point. During this edition Reed Exhibitions Iberia, the event’s organising company, hopes to reach in the region of 250 exhibitors that will take up a net surface area of approximately 14,000 m2 (25,000 m2 if measured as gross).

To aid the visit to this show, it will continue to be distributed between three clearly determined exhibition areas, aiming to facilitate the contact between the show’s distinctive offer and specialized demand, consequently requiring the constant innovation of products and services. The designated Viscom-Sign Area is the category that will take up the most space, assembling companies working in large-scale digital printing, digital textile printing and signage systems, outdoor advertising and signs, to name just a few of their activities. Currently, there are 127 exhibitors who have reserved 8,645.5 m2.

Additionally, even though the show’s opening is still four months away, Viscom-Sign España 2008 will again boast the Visual Communication at Point-of-Sale Area (CVPV), accommodating 30 companies within 1,046 square metres. Finally, The Design & Innovation Area, which brings together graphic design companies as well as diverse exhibitions, boasts 13 stands within 628.75 m2. To promote the influx of visitors to these areas (their presence in the pavilions will be clearly signalled) the show’s organisers are developing strategic communication activities aimed at the different professional collectives.

The APTDF project

In this edition the APTDF project (the Promotional Area for Technology, Design and Training) also gets underway and was started in order to promote the exchange of knowledge and information between the three fundamental pillars in the visual communication industry’s value chain: technology, as an economic engine of innovation and development, design, as an essential additional value for companies and society, and training, as a guarantee of professionalism and business in the future.

The APTDF project aims to be an industry cluster made up of different complementary, multi-disciplinary institutions, which will contribute to a 360-degree global vision in the world of the visual communication markets. In Viscom-Sign España 2008 the following entities will be present in the space dedicated to APTDF (located in stand C 101 of pavilion 14) BCD (Barcelona Design Centre), Barcelona, CEDIR (Integral Design Centre), La Rioja, the Escola Massana, Barcelona, the Tajamar Graphic and Technological Institute, Madrid and Miguel de Cervantes European University, Valladolid.

Specialised activities

It is hoped that the number of visits from industry professionals will reach 16,000 over the course of Viscom-Sign España 2008. Therefore, to achieve this figure, in addition to the wide range of products on display the visitor is also offered an extensive associated programme of training and exhibiting activities. Apart from the large business opportunities put forward by the exhibiting companies, the visitor can also become familiar with the latest trends in visual communication. Over three days the show will offer an extensive programme of seminars, conferences and graphic exhibitions of great interest to industry specialists.

Among the most anticipated activities in every edition of Viscom-Sign España is Meeting & Select (which marks its seventh edition in 2008), a professional conference that will once again bring together an interesting panel of speakers; this year there will be prominent figures from national and international design. Furthermore, the Trade Marketing Forum will hold its third meeting within the show’s framework and will again offer the possibility of listening to some of the field’s top specialists.

The offer of associated activities will not end there. Among the limitless programmed offerings, professionals attending the next Viscom-Sign España edition will be able to choose from specialised activities organised by Aserluz (The Spanish Association of Lighted Signage and Industry Companies), AER (the Spanish Reprographic Association), workshops that will get the CIT (Graphic Arts Technology Centre) underway as well as seminars from the Adobe company.

Design development

By taking advantage of the privileged framework offered by Viscom-Sign España 2008, the ninth edition of the of the Letra Awards – the National Visual Communication Awards, a  benchmark in the world of Spanish graphic design for creativity in signage and signs - will be held. Additionally, the official ceremony of the thirteenth edition of the Anuaria Awards will take place, where creators of the best designs in the whole of Spain will be honoured.

Furthermore, the winning work from some of the most prestigious international competitions of graphic creativity will be looked at over the 3 days of Viscom-Sign España 2008, such as the Laus08 Awards, from the ADG-FAD association, and the Palmarés El Sol from the Ibero-American Advertising Festival. The Structural Display exhibition space - with designs that attract attention due to aesthetic originality and technical innovation and the Chapas exhibition space will both be equally enticing. History and Transition, a show with nearly a thousand parts originating from the archives of Juan Mirat and Publichap, one of the pioneering manufacturing companies in this type of medium.

With a thematic and chronological focus, Chapas. History and Transition is a journey through more than three decades of Spanish history, looking at the development of design, techniques, tastes, brands, and ideologies lived through over the years. It deals with a look back at the aesthetics and sociology of Spanish history, looking at how modest economic means have been able to prevail as a medium to transmit all kinds of messages, whether solemn, in protest, recreational or completely insignificant.

Prestigious recognition

The necessary arrangements having been made with the government of the Community of Madrid, Viscom-Sign España has been declared one of the community’s official trade shows, giving an idea of the importance of the event. This prestigious public recognition from the authorities responsible for monitoring trade show activity in this autonomous community is supplemented by that which the professionals themselves grant by attending a trade show which, with each edition, has successfully positioned itself as an undisputed benchmark for the sector.

With a total of 14,513 registered visitors, at its last edition, Sign España 2007 provided a showcase for new products presented by 241 direct exhibitors – from 13 different countries – in a net area of 11,865 m2 (22,800 m2 gross) at Ifema’s Pavilion 10. In addition to being able to take advantage of the many business opportunities offered by the previous edition of the digital printing and graphic design industry event, visitors could choose from amongst a wide range of activities which allowed them to discover the latest trends in visual communication.

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Reed Exhibitions, the organisers

Reed Exhibitions Iberia is the subsidiary for Spain and Portugal of Reed Exhibitions, the leading trade fair organiser in the world, with over 2,600 employees and offices in 39 countries worldwide. In 2007, Reed Exhibitions brought together more than 6 million industry professionals at more than 500 conferences, trade fairs and exhibitions – covering 47 industrial sectors – which the group holds in 38 countries throughout the world. Reed Exhibitions is the leading private organiser of exhibitions in the Iberian Peninsula, where it has business agreements with Fira Barcelona (through the joint venture Alimentaria Exhibitions) and Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL). Other venues where the company usually holds its trade exhibitions are the Institución Ferial de Madrid (Ifema) and Feria Valencia.

In Spain, Reed Exhibitions Iberia organises exhibitions in Madrid and Barcelona, such as Alimentaria Barcelona (food and beverages), BTA (food technology) and Barcelona Degusta (all about eating), Expo Reclam (advertising and promotional gifts), Hygienalia (industrial hygiene), Infosecurity Iberia / Storage Expo / Documation Spain (data security systems, electronic storage solutions and document management), IT Partners Iberia (the Distribution Business Club), Medpi Iberia (the Multimedia and Telephony Business Club), Sports Unlimited Valencia (sport facilities and equipment) and Viscom-Sign España (visual communication and graphic design).

With regard to Portugal, Reed Exhibitions Iberia organises the exhibitions Alimentaria Lisboa (food and beverages) and Horexpo (hotel, catering and vending). Furthermore, Alimentaria Exhibitions co-organises Alimentaria México and Alimentaria Mercosur (in Argentine Republic).

For further information, please ask,
Josep-Tomas San Agustin
Communication & Press Manager
Reed Exhibitions Iberia
Diputacion, 119
08015 – Barcelona
(Spain)
 
T : +34 (93) 452.07.22
F : +34 (93) 451.66.37
e : HTUjtsanagustin@reediberia.comUTH