- A record breaking of 377 exhibitors showed off their latest technology and products, up 9% over last year
- 17 exhibitors were amongst the "Top 100 Printing Firms" listed by mainland magazine Printing Manager
- An all-time high of 11,397 buyers from 109 countries and regions attended the Fair, up 5% over past year
- Two theme zones, Digital Printing & Office Automation Equipment Pavilion and Integrated Pre-press Service Square were set up to promote creative printing and packaging services and skills
- A series of seminars providing information about the latest market trends and developments
A Leading Regional Trade Fair for the Printing and Packaging Industries
Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair 2008 was held during 28 April – 1 May 2008 at AsiaWorld-Expo against a promising performance of the printing and packaging materials industry. In 2007, Hong Kong's exports of printed matters totalled US$2.4 billion (HK$19.2 billion), an increase of 10% over previous year. Packaging material exports were valued at US$3.2 billion (HK$25.3 billion) in 2007, with the Chinese mainland, the United States and Japan the major markets. Export to other regions also performed well: exports to the European Union and to ASEAN countries increased by 11% respectively, compared with 2006.
Hong Kong has an unrivalled edge in serving as a sourcing and marketing platform for the printing and packaging industry. It, together with the United States, Germany and Japan are known as the "four printing centres" of the world. A large number of local and international newspapers, journals, periodicals and textbooks are printed in Hong Kong. Under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, all goods made in Hong Kong, including printed matter, can enjoy duty-free access to the mainland from 1 January 2006. This good news further spices up the market in Hong Kong.
Record-breaking Exhibitor and Visitor Participation
Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair 2008 has expanded in size since its debut in 2006. A record-breaking of 377 exhibitors participated, equivalent to a 9% growth over 2007 and a staggering 26% increase over 2006. Amongst them, 17 were amongst the "Top 100 Printing Firms" listed by mainland magazine Printing Manager. Altogether, they presented a wide array of quality printing and packaging exhibits, including printing services, packaging services, printing consumables, packaging materials & accessories, printing & packaging equipment & systems, pre-press services, graphic arts & design services, finishing & coverting services, multimedia technologies & services, inkjet printing & signage production services, equipment & accessories, equipment repair & maintenance services and consultancy & training services.
Visitor attendance was equally enthusiastic - a total of 11,397 visitors from 109 countries were recorded, up 5% from last year. A majority of them were consumables & materials suppliers, machinery suppliers, manufacturers, printers & printing firms, print buyers and printing services providers & suppliers.
Among the 11,397 visitors, 5,301 were from Hong Kong and 6,096 were from overseas. Topping the list of overseas countries in visitor number was the Chinese mainland, followed by the United States, Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Thailand and Malaysia. In addition, 55 buying missions were organised, bringing in more than 1,440 select buyers from around the world. Some of the well-known printing and packaging companies were Standard Publishing House (Australia), Langenscheidt (Germany), Grafe Und Unzer Verlag GmbH (Germany), Winkowski Sp. Z.o.o. (Poland) and ROSMAN Publishing (Russia) and Hallmark (United States).
To make sourcing easy for visitors, six product and service zones were featured. They were Printing Consumables and Packaging Materials, Equipment and Machinery, Printing and Packaging Services, Packaging Services, Printing Services and Trade Service. Two theme zones were also set up to promote creative printing and packaging services and skills:
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Integrated Pre-press Service Square – showcased a wide range of services such as copy writing, translation, advertising & promotion design, graphic and packaging design as well as colour separation; and |
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Digital Printing & Office Automation Equipment Pavilion – displayed equipment that caters the needs of flexible, small-quantity and high-quality printing. |
Exhibitors from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Zhejiang also set up group pavilions, showing the capabilities of mainland printing firms to overseas buyers.
On-site Events
The Fair was not only a sourcing platform, but also an information hub providing the latest trends, industry knowledge and market intelligence to both exhibitors and buyers in different formats.
During the four-day exhibition, five seminars were held, including:
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"How to Reach Predictable & Consistent Color in Printing?"; |
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"Global Vision on Future Trend of Printing Industry"; |
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"Work together, Win-win cooperation, Shanghai Printing Industry's Current Situation and Development Trend"; |
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"How Chinese Printing Enterprises Go Abroad"; and |
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"Market Potential of Green Publishing". |
In addition to seminars, there were various open forum sessions, each devoted to the promotion of a different product and service and provided participants with a good chance to exchange ideas and views of the industry.
Looking Forward
Following the success of the 2008 event, Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair 2009 is set to further expand and to continue to serve as an important sourcing venue for printing and packaging merchandises and services in Asia. Do not miss this great show and mark your diary today. The Fair will be held again during 27 and 30 April 2009 at AsiaWorld-Expo, with the Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Fair held concurrently.
For further information, please visit the official website of the Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair at: http://hkprintpackfair.com
Or contact:
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
Exhibitions Department
Unit 13, Expo Galleria
Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre
1 Expo Drive
Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 1830 668
Fax: +852 2824 0026
E-mail: exhibitions@tdc.org.hk
