Last month, thousands of visitors attended the UK’s only exhibition dedicated to garment decoration to discover and explore new equipment, garments and services. Taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 26-28 February, Printwear & Promotion LIVE! 2023 saw visitor numbers return to pre-pandemic levels. More than 5,000 attended across the three days (2023: 5,167 in total, 2022: 4,489 in total) to seek inspiration and expand their businesses.

Commenting is event director, Tony Gardner. “We were delighted with the visitor turnout this year, with a 15% increase on the April 2022 show. The feedback received from exhibitors and visitors confirms both the vibrancy of the market and the importance and need for the show to be an annual event for the industry.”

An atmosphere of positivity surrounded the show this year as the event returned to its February date. The upbeat vibe was also reflected in the hundreds of positive social media posts across the three days.

Commenting is regular visitor Frank Dunn of Sew Stitch Designs. “I mainly came to meet up with people and to see if there’s anything new in the embroidery field. We’ve been coming for the last five years and treat it as a little mini break. I would 100% recommend the exhibition, everything you could want to run a garment decoration business is here. You need more than a day to visit.”

 

 

The 2023 exhibition also played host to several exclusive launches and industry firsts.

On the Xpres stand, visitors were able to see Mimaki’s first direct to film printer, the TxF150-75. This was the printer’s first showing anywhere in Europe, with news of its launch announced just four days before the opening of the exhibition.

Over on the MHM Direct GB stand, two brand new machines from Brother were being demonstrated. A prototype of Brother’s first standalone direct to film printer and a Hexa version of the GTX600, which includes added orange and green inks to produce vivid prints.

Also seen for the first time anywhere in Europe was DuPont’s new Artistri P1600 DTF inks. These inks were put to the test printing non-stop throughout the three days on Resolute DTF’s R-Jet PRO DTF V4 system.

 

 

With the garment decoration industry thriving in a post-pandemic world, feedback from exhibitors was also optimistic. 

Rob Smith, director of Wilcom Europe, says; “Printwear & Promotion LIVE! has certainly returned in full force in 2023. It was great to see the industry bouncing back from three hard years and starting to invest in innovations, better quality, and greater efficiency. The Wilcom team is proud to play a part in that.”

Tim Roberts, sales director at Chadwick Teamwear, adds; “We received more enquiries and sample orders than any other event we have previously exhibited at. Printwear & Promotion LIVE! continues to surprise me with the number of new contacts we make year after year.”

Printwear & Promotion LIVE! 2024 is provisionally scheduled to take place from Sunday 18 February to Tuesday 20 February. For further information, please click here.