Today could well prove to be a historic day in the advent of 3d printing for our industry. Two of the biggest, most influential and innovative companies in this field have agreed a merger which gives them a joint value of $1.4billion. Wow! The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012.

Last night (21.3.12) the first episode of the 8th series of The Apprentice aired on BBC one to approximately 7million people in the prime 9pm slot. For those of you who have not seen it before or are unaware of this popular UK show; The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £250,000 investment into a company of their choice as an apprentice/business partner to the British business millionaire magnate Lord Sugar.

FESPA has launched the fifth edition of the FESPA Wrap Cup Masters Series, the live vehicle wrapping competition running throughout FESPA Digital 2012 (Barcelona, 21-24 February). Over the course of the four-day event up to 48 vehicle wrappers will battle through several rounds to be crowned the FESPA Wrap Cup Masters European champion 2012.

The FESPA Wrap Cup Masters Series comprises eight events over three years. Launched at FESPA 2010 in Munich the Wrap Cup had pit stops at FESPA Americas, FESPA Mexico and at FESPA Digital 2011 in Hamburg. Following FESPA Digital 2012 in Barcelona, the Wrap Cup's Grand Finale will take place at FESPA 2013 in London, where contenders will go head to head against regional winners to be awarded the ultimate title of FESPA Global Wrap Cup Masters Champion.

Designed to encourage, recognise and promote excellence in the global vehicle wrapping community, the FESPA Wrap Cup Masters Series is a chance for wrapping professionals to be involved in a live competition and gain global recognition for their expertise. Within each competition, a collection of prestigious cars will act as a blank canvas for vinyl mastery. Contenders will be judged on quality and speed using the most advanced materials and techniques, with the goal of impressing a panel of experienced judges.

Skill will be rewarded with valuable prizes which include printers, software, wrap tools, consumables, vinyl vouchers, discounts and much more provided by the sponsors of Wrap Cup, HP, Seat, Leister ISee2, Avery, Roland, MR Clipart, Rigidisc, Rotutech, Knifeless Tech Systems and Eurosystems.

The Wrap Cup 2012 winner will also receive an all expenses paid trip to the FESPA Wrap Cup Masters Final Event at FESPA 2013 (25-29 June, London).

The panel of judges will operate a scoring system designed to place high priority on excellence and precision. Contenders will be given an assigned time to complete their work; wrappers who manage to deliver the best quality car wrap within the deadline will advance to the next round. Through progressive stages, winners will culminate in a daily final and then go on to compete in the Grand Finale on the last day of the show.

FESPA's Head of Events & New Media, Duncan MacOwan comments, "The FESPA Wrap Cup Masters Series is as much fun to watch as it is to take part in and it has proved to be a very successful event that engages both contenders and visitors - the competition is fierce! Although vehicle decoration is quite an established application in the wide format arena, the skill and creativity it demands still generates enormous interest within the print community. PSPs can sometimes underestimate how accurately this work needs to be performed to meet high quality specifications without compromising on turnaround times."

Any company or individual with some experience of vehicle wrapping can enter a representative. To sign up, please download the application form here. A registration fee of €250.00 is payable but all participants are guaranteed to take home a prize package worth at least €1500.00 even if they do not survive the first round.

If you would like to have your business associated with this event please contact Duncan MacOwan for more information on the opportunities available at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For the FESPA Wrap Rally II, the team will be visiting two different perspectives from the 3d printing cycle. Esteemed professor Neil Hopkinson is the first. Neil is Professor of Manufacturing and Engineering at the University of Sheffield and his research on 3d printing using the inkjet process is really making waves in the manufacturing and printing industries alike. Never before has it been possible to print 3d objects with real practicality for everyday life using inkjet.....

Read more...

See other news and information on the rally at www.fespawraprally.com

The latest FESPA Economy Survey has revealed that 70% of respondents are looking to diversify their business to improve business growth. The top areas in which print service providers (PSPs) plan to develop into are interiors (17.4%), label printing (16.67%) and signage (15.53%).

 


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Over 94% of leading printers cited event was of positive value to their business

FESPA's leadership event, the Global Summit took place on 17th and 18th November at the Dolce Sitges Hotel near Barcelona and was attended by a total of 152 delegates.

Designed to encourage printers to explore the wider opportunities, to diversify their business and ultimately to grow their bottom line, 94.5% of delegates said that the information and insights presented at the event will help them to add real value to their organisation.

The International Content Summit 2011 was an event based in the heart of the bustling City of London and was billed with the theme of content and convergence.

Content marketing is nothing new, it can be defined as an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases.

Basically stuff that brands, companies and marketers create to get clients or customers attention.

So what was FESPA doing at this event and moreover what has it got to do with print and print companies?

Role: Business Development Manager
Tel: +44 1737 445040
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