OUTPUT

Planning an event like Print Shop Live, which is taking place during FESPA Digital in Barcelona, is an interesting exercise. You'd think that, by now, most people would understand how a wide-format workflow functions. But no – judging from the response of people wanting to take a tour of Stand S10, there's still a large proportion of existing and potential users who want to find out more and have signed up to spend an hour with either me or Juan Diaz Diaz.

Print Shop Live is running for the duration of FESPA Digital, and follows on from the first event of its kind which was held in Orlando twelve months ago. The interest from Spain has been extremely high, hence the decision to run the tours in two languages. But, interestingly, there are companies from all over Europe who've booked to come along and, if the American experience was anything to go by, we'll have more wanting to join up on the day.

There's going to be a variety of workflow options being explained and demonstrated at Print Shop Live, along with a choice of printers. Amongst these I'll have the opportunity of running and working with the HP Designjet L26500 for the first time, driven by the Onyx RIP and outputting onto Ilford's BioMedia materials. And we'll be using an EskoArtwork Kongsberg table for contour cutting.

What I've found particularly encouraging is the number of students who want to come and find out more about wide-format printing. This category of visitor was high back at Wide Format Print Shop Live at FESPA Americas last year but it's been surpassed this time round in terms of interest. Barcelona is a great place for the design fraternity, of course, and if just a fraction of those involved make it to Print Shop Live and, indeed, spend some time at FESPA Digital, it'll give us all the opportunity to show what can be done with today's digital print.

Print Shop Live provides a great opportunity for sign-makers, offset and screen-printers and other businesses who might still be considering entering the wide-format marketplace. Adding a tour to the overall FESPA experience should help to show people how the pieces of the digital jigsaw join together so that file handling, colour management, printing and finishing become a finished job. And this should surely give tomorrow's users of digital creativity some great opportunities and ideas for the future.