Associations, manufacturers, journalists, printers, brand owners: on last 6 July, the printing industry gathered in Stresa for the Print4All Conference 2023. A fundamental event for professional discussions and refresher courses, but also a symbolic kick-off to the long journey leading up to Print4All 2025.

Opening the long day of work was a three-part presentation of the new edition of the fair.

Daniele Barbui, Acimga President, Antonio Maiorano, Argi President, and Paolo Pizzocaro, Fiera Milano, Exhibition Director Print4All jointly mentioned how sharing and listening are at the heart of the fair project, conceived as a concrete response to the needs of a market revolutionised by both convergence and hybridisation, which, now more than ever, requires system responses, alliances, synergies.

2025 will be a sort of ideal destination point, but also a starting point for placing the printing market at the centre, reaffirming the role it deserves and providing concrete instruments to navigate through the change taking place.

And precisely the key words of this change will be the pillars of the event: Convergence, Experience and Networking.

The Convergence between the various printing applications, technologies and new techniques, but also between synergic sectors and professionals in the supply chain; the Experience that comes from the interaction with product innovation and themed focuses, and finally the Networking, because the fair is a time for business, but also for meeting and discussion about present and future of the market among professionals, to whom we want to offer an opportunity to approach a sector that is “hungry” for new recruits.

The intense day of work saw leading figures from the national and international scene take turns on stage, reaffirming the centrality of printing, without denying the difficulties it is called upon to face.

Increases in the cost of paper, labour and raw materials have brought the market to its lowest point, but this now means that there is a great potential to relaunch. And, as always, the people who will emerge will be those who know how to learn from the difficulties, become aware that certain elements - the cost of raw materials, digitisation, automation - cannot be ignored, but, above all, will know how to offer the customer added value. Printing is no longer enough, added value must be created, the business model must be changed, and the 2025 trade fair may be the occasion to make these ideas burst forth and transform them into concrete proposals for operators, against the background of a premium market, strongly appreciated abroad, such as the Italian one.

The latest figures show positive performance in 2022 and a very positive first quarter of 2023 in terms of turnover, thanks mainly to exports. This is a source of pride for Made in Italy and a motivation to continue promoting technologies internationally, as Print4All aims to do.

The Print4All Conference also gave voice to several brands and entities operating in the retail market through two roundtables in which the viewpoint of an important player in the packaging and printed communication supply chain, that of print service buyers, emerged.

The first roundtable focused on the role of packaging as one of the preferred gateways for brands to convey content, with an increasing focus on communication power, but also on the sustainability of materials and processes. The second roundtable focused on the importance of visual tools in the new distribution scenario. From a clear and immediate display of products to increase visibility, to a real dramatisation of in-store activities to capture the attention of even the most distracted consumer.

Finally, the second part of the day focused on a key issue for the supply chain - sustainability - through the much-debated proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste. A measure that, as it is currently formulated, could heavily penalise the supply chain, since the European measure, by focusing excessively on the end-of-life of packaging, runs the risk of not placing due importance on packaging in its capacity to preserve food in order to curb food waste, for example, but also of jeopardising the virtuous Italian paper and cardboard recycling circuit.

There was an emotional and impactful moment that closed the event, which allowed everyone to remember that great ideas often come from those who, despite appearing crazy to the rest of the world, believe in their project, because they see a future that others cannot imagine.

Nico Acampora, an expert in social planning and founder of PizzAut, the first pizzeria run by young people with autism spectrum disorders, recounted how a project that is now a model of social inclusion in Italy was conceived. Father of an autistic son, he managed to turn a difficult challenge into a positive resource. His story and that of the young people working with him conveyed an important message: when you have expertise in your field, intuition becomes the basis for progress and achieving goals. His story confirms that intuitions should be listened to and not trampled on.