PRINTING United moves to online format for 2020
COVID-19 has claimed another event victim. PRINTING United, originally scheduled to take place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 21-23, 2020, will now move to an online experience this fall due to constraints surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, according to organizer PRINTING United Alliance. The decision to terminate the in-person expo comes after extensive conversations, up-to-the-minute surveys, and projections that the team has been navigating since the onset of the pandemic. Details regarding the new online event experience are forthcoming.
PRINTING United said it has consulted with experts from the Georgia World Congress Center, the city of Atlanta, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security specializing in mass gatherings, and local authorities on guidance and recommendations on best practices as related to all aspects of the event. Past attendee and exhibitor feedback highly suggested a willingness for companies to travel and to participate in this year’s show up until very recently when the state of re-opening projections and trends in COVID-19 began to shift.
“The decision to cancel this event did not come easily and we have waited as long as possible before costs and logistical implications to our exhibitors and attendees became irreversible,” says Ford Bowers, President and CEO, PRINTING United Alliance. “Many factors are unfortunately out of our control, including travel restrictions and federal, state, and local governmental regulations, as well as the potential for another spike in COVID-19 occurrences. These factors, and the attendant uncertainties around them, have made it nearly impossible to responsibly hold the event.”
PRINTING United Alliance Chief Economist Andy Paparozzi says, according to the consensus of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, they expect the American economy to grow robustly in 2021 — by its fastest pace in nearly 40 years. That will give the printing industry a big boost, flipping the mindset from cost reduction and survival to capital investment and growth.
“We have been humbled by the volume of exhibitors and partners who have wholeheartedly expressed the desire and need for PRINTING United to take place in order for their businesses to continue the progression out of this disruption, especially after such a successful PRINTING United showcase in 2019,” says Mark J. Subers, President, PRINTING United. “While we realize this is not the same as our cornerstone of being together under one roof, we feel it is the most responsible and beneficial move for all our constituents at this time. We remain committed to bringing the industry an experience like nothing anyone has previously seen before.”