Key Takeaways from Joe Carte
Joe Carte is a Strategic Accounts Executive at SPC based in the Detroit, MI area. He recently joined approximately 30,000 attendees from around the world at the most comprehensive event for the global printing industry. Held this year in Orlando, Florida, The PRINTNG United Expo showcases over a million square feet of the latest equipment, solutions and innovation in the industry.
Joe’s Two Cents
2025 marks my 25th year in the printing industry, but this was my first experience at the Printing United Expo! Over the years, I have attended a variety of conferences and trade shows, each bringing its own mix of excitement and dread:
What’s Exciting
- See “what’s new” in our industry as a whole as well as specific segments
- Learn something that I can take back to my clients and co-workers
- See long-time friends, customers, and suppliers that I may not get to see too often
- Attend the score of parties and events and rub shoulders with some truly incredible people
What I Dread
- The buildup of emails and calls that zing by through the day…wondering when I can get to that next break so that I can respond
- The early mornings and late-late nights that are inevitable
- The hot lights and aching feet, often a result of the parties, events, seeing friends, etc.
Unlike most of my previous conference experiences, I was simply here to learn. There were no customers to meet, no duties at an exhibit booth, and no hosted receptions. I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew either. I had very few expectations going into this, especially since I had not attended this particular show before.
A Few Key Takeaways
1. Massive Scale
This exhibit floor is enormous, and the booths are impressive! Interacting with the exhibitors and seeing the equipment and technology in action was a great experience. Although there may be larger venues out there, it felt reminiscent of an auto show from the ’90s. I thought the layout was well organized, and the app helped guide my path, even though I tend to enjoy wandering around. For you step counters, I hit 20,209 the first day!
It was great to be able to connect with some of our partners at their booth’s such as Canon, Midland Paper and Millcraft. It was perfect timing to recap with the Midland team, who had just been onsite with us at SPC for a Lunch & Learn the previous week around much of what I was seeing at the show!
2. Inkjet/Wide Format Wins the Day!
This is the reason I got on the plane to attend this expo! Every manufacturer you can think of is showcasing their flagship products and workhorses while also launching new offerings.
Advances in ink technology, speed, size, and media selections prove that print is definitely not dead! I mean, I knew that but whoa! Ink technology advancements, front-end tech, back-end automation, flexibility….it smacked me in the face!
For a press operator to load the media, be it rolls or sheets, and move onto other operations while the press performs with built-in controls for quality & consistency is truly incredible. It directly translates to driving out cost while increasing production capacity.
3. So Many Supporting Products
- Media suppliers
- Finishing lines
- Robotic packers
- Automated delivery lines
- Prepress front end
- Automation tools
Truly impressive! I enjoyed taking what I learned at the press manufacturers and then digging deeper with the guys who supply the media to get their views on my takeaways and help me realize the questions I didn’t ask. I am an easy sell so it was great to validate what I was taking away from my conversations.
4. Questions…& More Questions
Each Inkjet manufacturer I spent time with was time well spent. I found myself having to go back to ask more questions, better questions, poking holes, comparing and contrasting each provider I met with today. However, by learning about these options, I was able to identify the right questions to determine which equipment was not advanced enough for the products I look to produce or what equipment is overkill….and what ancillary add-ons we need to support it.
Conclusion: Totally Worth the Trip
I took a lot away from this experience and it was well worth 27 hours. I would love to stay another day but that is for the Ops Guys. It is not too often a Sales guy gets to go to this category of event and have a voice into a potential advancement at a company. Not so at SPC! We continue to grow but all of our voices are heard. Today I walked the floor with our President, Director of Fulfillment & Director of IT & Infrastructure. We all had a voice, we’re excited to bring these learnings back, ultimately to benefit our clients.
