The Inkjet Conference (TheIJC) once again attracted 400 international attendees representing key inkjet technology providers and an increasing number of those curious about engineering and chemistry behind digital printing for industrial applications. Gathered at Swissôtel Düsseldorf, conference delegates were offered 52 technical presentations, excellent networking opportunities at 66 tabletops and a number of novelties such as free workshops, the event app and voting for the Best Speaker Award. Organized by ESMA for the third time, TheIJC opened on the 5th of October 2016 with a post-review of the latest drupa show, presented by its director, Sabine Geldermann. Organized on yearly basis, TheIJC remains a magnet for new companies who enter the digital field with their expertise. In 2016, the tabletop area accommodated 17 companies which decided to exhibit for the first time. Out of 131 companies which sent their delegates to the conference, 53 did it for the first time and on the individual level, 151 delegates were newcomers. One of them was Thomas Young from Polywatt who commented: “I have been enjoying my exposure to the world of inkjet printing”. Mark Hinder from Konica Minolta evaluated TheIJC as “An excellent mix of education and networking. It was well planned and I look forward to next year. As a newbie to this event, I can say it was one of the best I have ever attended.” Besides the quality of presentations, all attendees praised the networking opportunities. The tabletops in the networking arena were kept busy and business meetings extended far beyond the coffee and lunch breaks, culminating during the seated networking dinner in the evening of the first conference day. “I haven’t ever had so many questions from so many different people and I ran out of business cards!”, exclaimed Dr Steve Hoath from University of Cambridge. “We had a very good response”, added Jim Taylor from Inca Digital, “In terms of generating useful contacts it was on par with being at drupa.” Wolfgang Hey from Print-Concept summarised: “Conference like TheIJC will not replace big shows but will become increasingly important. The investment in participation has more value than having bigger booths at less important shows.” The Inkjet Conference will return to Swissôtel Düsseldorf/Neuss on 24-25 October 2017.

More information: http://www.theijc.com