#Deming20 and IPEX Japan in East London

 It happens that there will be a meeting in London about Edwards Deming during IPEX in late March. More details later. I am thinking of going to this but keeping in touch with IPEX through checking the odd tweet during the day.

If the guess in previous post about how IPEX may turn out is more or less valid, one question is why the companies from Japan stay on the same project for longer than some others. Maybe companies from the USA would be right to move out of print if that is what they are doing. Maybe the Japanese companies are run by engineering rather than finance and this will ruin them. Maybe a stand at IPEX is a waste of money anyway and they should all concentrate on better tweeting.

#Deming20 had limited use as a tag for discussing Deming 20 years after his death. My take is that his chronology is quite complex. I don't think his views stayed exactly the same during his life. There was more he learnt in Japan than is often recognised. More on this later, this post is just to make a connection.

IPEX Japan in East London

 This post is mostly speculation, based on an impression so far. It may not matter what happens at a trade show or how much space is booked. ( see previous post on lessons from COMDEX )

But during the last century when hard copy was a large part of communication it was often the case that trends identified at IPEX or drupa were apparent in production within a year or two.

Background - fairly recently drupa considered changing frequency. A print equipment show is expensive to arrange, so every four years in one place has seemed to make sense so far. drupa has a lot of support from litho suppliers in Germany so they can be fairly confidant of a global audience. IPEX has been under pressure to change as some suppliers have decided not to exhibit in 2014. There have been three Cross Media events in Islington so far, presenting print in a context of digital media. In Dusseldorf there was a digi:media event linked to the innovation park - dip - but this was cancelled in 2013 . My guess is that something like digi:media will be a major feature at the next drupa. But timing is difficult to assess.

(If you have got bored in Las Vegas already and expect some development before Barcelona you should realise that the print industry is on another timeline)

Digital printing is getting stronger relative to litho but this is just at the time Kodak, HP and Xerox decide not to exhibit. In the USA it seems to be widely assumed that print is over. Maybe they have other concerns or are convinced that their customers will follow them online. They could be right in this.

The booked stands (booths) that I know about include Epson, Konica Minolta, Screen and FujiFilm. So there will presumably be news on B2 colour, arguably a challenge for litho. Also Komori have some space, booked at a fairly late stage. They are working with Konica Minolta on volume digital printing. Also my guess is that Benny Landa will not stay away indefinitely so he might appear somewhere near Komori.

There will also be a Cross Media event for some of the days but IPEX is mostly about what used to be called heavy metal. It appears so far that digital will be well represented. I realise there are many other suppliers but it looks as if those with digital equipment and a presence at IPEX are mostly from Japan.

This blog post will be revised when a floor plan is available, during the event, and later in the year. Depends a lot on how IPEX is reported.

Previously

http://hellospiders.com/will789gb/hello-spiders-print-shows-somewhere-this-year

july 2011

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http://hellospiders.com/blog/2013/10/29/more-on-ipex-no-show-from-xerox-kodak-at-cmshow13

october 2013

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3D Printing, Chocolate, Hewlett Packard

Through @TEDxExeter I discover there is a way to create 3D chocolate from a company in Exeter - Chocedge .

Apparently they can do any shape required and the machine costs only a few thousands of pounds.

So why am I waiting on news from Las Vegas? Things are happening right here in Devon.

Meanwhile it is possible that Hewlett Packard will join in with 3D printing later in the year. Forbes reports that this is under consideration or could be. They have the reserves to buy some existing companies and could benefit from a growth product.

Is there still time for them to book a space at IPEX? 3D will be added to the print mix. So far this looks like a smallish space but things change. It seems more the case though that IPEX could be reported for what is not there at least as much as what is. But then this could be true for any other show. You need the online flow as well even if it is a bit of a muddle.

At CES cars so why not devices at Boat Show?

I have started to find more info about CES. Not much that seems new. But cars are being equipped with all kinds of devices. Found this from Engadget .

Seems to be about parking and entertainment. Not much about driving the car on a road but I'm not sure Google are there. Maybe more announcements later.

The Engadget preview also suggests that some news will wait on the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Only a month or so but if this turns out to be true it could be that the centre of mobile interest has moved outside the USA.

This guide from Active Captain shows how a phone can be used on a boat. There must be more available by now. And possibly more integration with other systems. There is a boat show at ExCel this week in London. Can't find any news so far.

But it may be an event to identify more ways of finding ExCel , especially by water. There are several walks that seem to get stuck or else it turns out that the distance is further than expected. A boat trip to ExCel from various points along the Thames could be very welcome.

The Engadget article also mentions Photokina as a camera show to compare with CES. This reminded me that drupa has to be considered at the time of IPEX. There may be a two year gap but somehow there is always an overlap.

I wonder if Heidelberg would sponsor a boat with trips on the Thames? Maybe it could come over from the Rhine when the sea is a bit more calm. They won't have a stand but a river trip is still a way to meet people.

This blog may be going all over the place but it will be coherent later this year.

Martha Reeves intro on Wild Show

This is intro to "I Can't Wait Till Summer Comes" by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Chosen for the title but sounds ok. Could be a basis for a better video. Maybe in time for April tour. Could still be cold and wet by then. Need to find a suitable beach or some stock video from somewhere.