Charlie Taublieb teaching screen printing techniques.

Occupying a full hall at Messe Munich alongside four FESPA halls of digital and screen printing exhibitors, FESPA Fabric 2010 attracted 10,772 visitors, more than 50% of the total attendance at the FESPA 2010 show.  Visitors to FESPA Fabric came from 113 countries, with the highest contingent coming from Germany (40.7%), reflecting the host nation’s dominance in the overall visitor profile for the show.  The FESPA Fabric hall also attracted substantial visitor groups from across Europe, as well as Turkey, the USA, and the emerging BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

FESPA Fabric visitors enjoyed a range of tailored satellite features, including the show-stopping FESPA Fabric Live!fashion show, the first of its kind at a FESPA event. Charlie’s Corner, hosted by garment guru Charlie Taublieb, invited delegates to hand-on tutorials on screen printing techniques and special effects.  Fresener’s Fabric offered access to Scott Fresener’s hand-picked line-up of sector experts covering a range of topics pertinent to garment and textile print professionals and their customers.

FESPA Sales and Marketing Director Marcus Timson comments: “Garment printing and decoration has always been very much at home at FESPA and it’s one of the most enduring and creative contemporary examples of a commercial screen printing application. By creating and branding the stand-alone FESPA Fabric event, FESPA’s aim was to give this specific ‘community within our community’ a show space of its own, with a distinctive character, and features that would address the commercial needs and concerns of these businesses.  That objective has been met, and we hope that FESPA Fabric will continue to establish itself as a ‘must-attend’ event for this sector.”

Studio Reya won four awards for fabric printing at the FESPA Awards including Special Effects – Printed on T-shirts and other garments.

Feedback from exhibitors and visitors to FESPA Fabric has been positive, with many exhibitors indicating an interest in exhibiting at the next European FESPA Fabric event, which will run alongside FESPA Digital 2011 in Hamburg, from 24 to 26 May 2011.

Yael Cooper, marcom manager for FESPA Fabric exhibitor and sponsor Kornit Digital commented mid-show:  “We’ve seen some very interesting visitors and potential buyers, mainly from Europe, but also those from the Asia Pacific region and South America. As well as generating sales – which are looking positive – the show is a great way for us to make an impression, and further establish ourselves.”

Screen ink supplier Lancer Group’s VP of sales, Mark Dorrington, commented: “We’ve been exhibiting at FESPA events for over fifteen years and this is definitely our best one yet. We’ve been selling non-stop everyday and have been seeing the exact type of customers that we are looking to get in front of – the buyers from big-name labels, large corporations and fashion houses. We are seeing the world here and have sold roughly a container of our latest ink product to every continent.”