Once seen from the west as a local exhibition, Igas has been given a major makeover to give it much greater relevance to non-Japanese speaking visitors. Australian visitors will find a very warm welcome awaits them from September 21-27 in Tokyo.
Although most major Japanese printing and graphic arts technology suppliers (and many of the smaller, more niche players) are well represented in Australia, a visit to Igas in Japan is an opportunity to see and talk with representatives of most of them under one roof, on their own turf.
Whilst the other great shows in print, drupa and Ipex are marked in the diaries of Australian printing company managers months, sometimes years in advance, there has been a reticence on the part of some to plan travel to Igas.
Those who did go to Igas in the 1980s or 1990s often did so with tours organised by the local representatives of Japanese manufacturers, and a good time was had by all. But those were the days of almost prohibitively high costs in Japan and an exchange rate which penalised those with cheap Aussie dollars to spend.
But the landscape is very different for Australians planning a visit to Japan today. After 10 years of deflation, and with AUD 1 equal to JPY 106 when this issue went to press, prices for many everyday things will seem cheap for Aussies in Tokyo for Igas.
And getting there from most major airports in Australia has never been easier, with a host of direct flight or potential stopover options available online or via travel agents.
For example, a quick search of bezurk.com as this issue went to press turned up an airfare of just A$1416 from Sydney to Tokyo via Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines.
And with booking of accommodation being made ever easier, and often cheaper, over the internet, inexpensive hotels, once very hard to find in Tokyo and other great Japanese cities, are abundant. In which other of the world's great cities could you, for example, expect to be able to book directly with a hotel property online, staying in one of Tokyo's trendiest suburbs for the equivalent of just A$80 a night. In this case, the hotel was less than one month old, and was well equipped including a flatscreen TV with free high speed internet connection (either BYO or use theirs).
Japan remains one of the safest countries, and Tokyo, one of the world's safest cities for travellers, young or old, male or female. Whilst certainly not everybody speaks English, one can have a lot of fun trying with passers-by, shop assistants, and so on. But at Igas this year, the organisers are assuring one and all that English, along with Chinese and Korean will be widely spoken by standholders and their staff, in addition to Japanese of course.
Igas stands for International Graphic Arts Show, and the Japanese are working hard to make the event live up to its name. They've even created a sister event which is meant to be for the locals, and named it Jgas (for Japan Graphic Arts Show) where visitors and standholders alike can speak all the Japanese they want.
The Igas brand has a very powerful pedigree. It is owned and organised not by an exhibition company, but by the industry it serves - its stakeholders are represented by the Japan Graphic Arts Suppliers Committee (JGASC).
JGASC, in turn, represents many of the biggest brands supplied to the printing industry worldwide. Advanced and innovative printing and graphic arts technology from Japan can be found in many of the most successful printing companies in Australia as elsewhere.
Igas is supported by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), The Japan Federation of Printing Industries (JFPI), Japan Corrugated Case Association (JCCA), and the Japan Paper-box & Corrugated-box Industry Association.
Thus, it's stakeholders and exhibitors are keen to talk from the Igas platform both to commercial printers as well as package printers and converters.
The show this year starts on a Friday, September 21 and continues through the weekend, ending the following Thursday (September 28). Intending visitors should be aware that the Monday during Igas is a public holiday in Japan, celebrating the autumnal equinox. So intending visitors should plan to be at the Tokyo Big Sight venue for Igas all day, as there won't be opportunities to stroll into the expensive shops on the Ginza nor to shop for electronics in Akihabara Denki Gai (the famous Akihabara Electric Town just a few metro stops from the centre of Tokyo).
Opening hours at Igas are sensible, from 10am to 5pm each day except the last, Thursday the 27th, when the show shuts early at 4pm.
A seven-day ticket bought onsite costs ¥2000 (less than A$19), or a one day ticket is ¥1000 (around A$9.50), though pre-registration is possible via the Igas website www.igas-tokyo.jp from this month with a seven-day ticket available for just ¥1000 (around $9.50).
Tickets will be barcoded to make multiple access to the show faster than in previous years.
The venue for Igas 2007, is Tokyo Big Sight, a spectacular complex on the Tokyo horizon, just beside Tokyo Bay. It is well served both by taxis and the excellent and inexpensive Tokyo metro (see basic route map below).
Special events
In addition to feasting on the exhibits at Igas, organisers are hosting the following special events:
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International Print Media Symposium focusing on the emerging markets presented by leading universities and research institutions across Asia;
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Display of advanced technology by Japanese universities and research institutions;
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Virtual Reality Theatre with the latest digital printing technology by Toppan Printing;
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Exhibition of real artifacts and materials of historic value offered by Mizuno Printing Museum;
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Lecture on "Banknotes of the World" by Takashi Uemura, Advisory Curator of the Japanese Printing Bureau's Banknote and Postage Stamp Museum.
For the information about Igas, go to www.i-grafix.com/igas
Invitation |
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The Future of the Print Media - Reliability & Progress Igas 2007 will be held for seven days from September 21 to 27, 2007 at the Tokyo Big Sight, under the theme “The Future of the Print Media – Reliability & Progress”. As you may recall, the theme of Igas 2003 was “Towards the Future of the Print Media”. Yet the rapid technological progress of the industry has already brought us to the stage of what we were referring to as ‘the future’ four years ago. Therefore, bearing in mind the direction and position of Igas 2003, we believe that we now need to even take a step further. The available net exhibition area of 43,000sq m has been reserved, and 450 companies/organisations are to exhibit. We expect the total number of visitors to reach 120,000, with visitors from overseas to reach 20,000 from 60 countries. We intend to welcome visitors by providing them with the latest technology and information, an international conference, and enriched exhibition contents. In addition to the state-of-the-art machines to be exhibited, we will host an international symposium. The emerging markets, where considerable progress is expected, are currently the source of much scrutiny. A symposium on this topic will be held with speeches by representatives of universities and research institutions. We will also set up a Technical Zone. Such as zone was well received at Igas 2003 and will be up-scaled for Igas 2007. The zone is a fantastic chance for research bodies and the business sector to find common ground about their latest needs. A VR system using digitisation technology will be shown with the support of Toppan Printing. A JDF Pavilion will also join us, as well. We are looking forward to seeing you at Igas 2007, the world’s biggest graphic arts show during 2007, where we will be able to meet and talk with all of you again.
Yoshiharu Komori |
