The Sign and Graphic Imaging Middle East (SGI) exhibition, one of the largest shows in the region dedicated to the printing industries, opened in Dubai on Monday.

Running for three days, the industry trade show will unveil the latest product innovations in the signage, digital imaging, and screen, digital and offset print sectors at Dubai Airport Expo.

Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, director general, Dubai Department of Information, inaugurated the event being supported by the Advertising Section of Dubai Municipality.

“SGI has always attracted a global gathering with many of the leading names from the print sector exhibiting at the show. We are expecting a lot of new to market products to be unveiled at the show this week as companies continue to expand in the Middle East,” said Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, chairman of International Expo-Consults (IEC), the event organisers.

This year will see exhibitors from across the GCC, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan, East Africa, Europe and the US taking part. The list includes some of the biggest names in the industry.

Global brands such as Agfa, Epson, HP and EFI will all be showcasing their products, while regional leaders - Dynagraph, Gandy Digital, Graphic International Centre (GIC), GSS, Giffin Graphics, Flex Europa and Colorbyte will also have a huge representation.

"We decided to exhibit as it is the most important annual trade show in the Middle East and Africa," said Emile Azar, Gandy Digital general manager ME and Africa.

"This expo will allow Gandy Digital to introduce the Pred8tor and be in touch with many customers from the Middle East and Africa to show Gandy’s loyalty to the digital market," Azar noted.

"The Middle East market has grown and we have been part of helping it develop into one of the major markets in the world spreading its professionalism and quality all over," he added.

“GIC had been a part of expo for more than 12 years. SGI is an excellent opportunity to get concentrated exposure in front of a targeted audience,” said David Shelly, marketing manager, GIC.

"GIC is sole distributor of a wide range of products that cater to large format print (LFP)  industry. Though Dubai is a gateway to a market of over a million people in the Middle East, a huge area still remains untapped opening opportunities for the LFP industry.

“Dynagraph is a newcomer to the LFP industry and our presence - independent from HP's stand - is to send out a statement to print service providers that they now have the choice of another HP partner in the Gulf region,” said Antoine El Kara, vice president, Dynagraph.

Industry education also plays a central role in the show, said a statement from IEC.

Dr Nicholas Hellmuth, founder, president and director of Flaar, US and the founder and author of several publications and websites on high-end scanning and LFP, will lead two seminar sessions on day two of the exhibition.

At 11am on January 25 he will conduct a seminar on ‘Green Inkjet Printing (Ink & Media) vs Greenwashing’ looking at the over-exaggerated claims of some products to be eco-friendly and tackling the issue of greenwashing in the print industry.

Later in the day, Dr Hellmuth will look at ‘After-Market Inks: How to Assess and Evaluate’ talking about the use of after-market inks in relation to wide-format inkjet products, it added.-TradeArabia News Service