PRINTING United 2025: Time to Think About Your Business

Headwinds ... Not

Let’s face it, there are some things that are just out of your control, including global conflicts, tariffs, recessions, inflation, etc. However, these are all short lived and your ability to navigate around these is what differentiates the leaders from the laggards. In fact, those who use these times to focus on their business future and growth opportunities usually benefit the most in the long run.

The upcoming PRINTING United Expo in Orlando, Oct. 22-24, 2025 is an important resource for exhibitors, but it’s are even more important for print and packaging service providers. As the industry transformation continues, there are so many questions and opportunities, driving the development of new and interesting technologies. For many service providers, understanding and researching these could lead you to the creation of new offerings and higher margins.

Where to Begin?

PRINTING United Expo will have more than 800 exhibitors distributed in about 950,000-sq.-ft. of commercial, packaging, textile and wide-format offerings, which to some may be daunting. Considering the scope and breadth of the print and packaging industry, it offers an ideal selection of what’s here, new and in the pipeline. Many think that an industry expo is just a place to see the new offerings from their favorite OEMs, and there will undoubtedly be a lot of that. It is also a place to explore what else is out there. In fact, the smaller booths that you may just "fly by" could surprise you and even offer you new directions in your business thinking. And while I can’t tell you everything that will be shown, I have attempted to give you a few starting points.

Wide-Format Printers

Continuing with the heritage of the PRINTING United Expo, there will be a lot of new sign and display printing and finishing solutions. The highlights of many of these are the increased size, performance and ease of use.

Canon (Booth 2642) will highlight the release and first public global showing of the Canon Colorado XL UV Gel which has an impressive print width of 11 feet. This showing is in addition to other Colorado and Arizona printers.

HP (Booth 4249) will be introducing new Latex printers, including the versatile HP Latex R530, and a new line of VLF Latex printers along with HP Production Hub which automate workflows from one digital platform.

The Fujifilm (Booth 3021) Aquafuze roll-fed Acuity model combines the benefits of LED-UV and water-based inkjet technology and the Acuity Aristo. The collaboration between Fujifilm and Barberan revolutionizing the future of wide-format single pass printing will be highlighted.

Agfa (Booth 3166) Jeti Tauro H3300 XUHS will be there with its very productive single or dual robot companion(s) to load and unload rigid and roll media for high-volume continuous operation with a broad range of substrates including corrugated and plastic. Also on display will be the Onset Panthera, Anapuma Ciervo H2500 and the Jeti Bronco H3300HS.

Konica Minolta (Booth 5200) will introduce a technology preview of the new AccurioWide 250HS wide-format hybrid printer.

Durst’s (Booth 3156) 2025 showcase is the introduction of the XT Concept and the ongoing evolution of the successful P5 platform by integrating expanded capabilities, higher productivity, and smarter automation. The P5 350 HS with D4 technology at this year’s show will be presented with this XT philosophy.

Commercial Presses

PRINTING United Expo touches on many different technologies to better support the different application specific focuses of print service providers. There will be a lot of (EP) toner, inkjet and hybrid models shown.

Heidelberg (Booth 5213) will be displaying its Digital Ecosystem including the Jetfire 50 in a book production line, the Versafire LP and the Stahlfolder TH 66 Fireline.

Ricoh's (Booth 5621) Pro VC80000 is an intelligent continuous-feed inkjet press, engineered to meet the rigorous demands of commercial, direct mail, and publishing markets.

Fujifilm (Booth 3021) will be showing off its Revoria SC285 with one-pass five-color, the high-speed PC1120 six-color, the EC2100 four-color and SC285 5 color digital press technology. This is in addition to Apeos multifunction printers.

Label Presses

Label production has been a part of the expo for a few years and there will be many opportunities to see, compare and research whether you are converter or thinking about extending your business offerings.

Ricoh's (Booth 5621) AccurioLabel 400 which offers CMYK and a new fifth station white dry-toner and the easy-to-operate AccurioLabel 230 digital will be shown.

SCREEN (Booth 3927) will have the Truepress LABEL 350UV SAI Series, with CMYK plus white, blue and orange inks for production on vinyl, polyester, film and BOPP complete with brushed, matte and clear finishes in its booth.

Domino (Booth 5076) will highlight the N410 features 5-color CMYK+W printing at up to 50 m/min, 600 dpi resolution, with the latest version of its AI-enabled Sunrise Digital Front End (DFE) workflow. The press uses energy-efficient UV LED curing and supports a wide range of label applications.

Embellishment

Digital embellishment solutions and use has exploded and will be all over the exhibition floor. The Taktiful Embellishment Technology Tour, will highlight trends and connect attendees with leading-edge technologies in foil, coating, texture, and specialty finishing through a sample gallery in the Taktiful booth.

Konica Minolta (Booth 5200) will be highlighting the AccurioShine 3600 with iFoil One option, the company’s newest inkjet spot UV printer in addition to the AccurioPress C14010S high-volume, toner-based production press with fifth color and white toner printing.

Skandacor (Booth 2421) will unveil World's First Ultra-Affordable Inkjet Embellishment Press, the FINISHpro 3D 1623

Duplo (Booth 3921) will be showing its line of embellishment solutions including the DuSense DDC-8000 B2 Raised Spot UV Coater, DuSense DDC-810 Pro Raised Spot UV Coater, DFL-700 Foil/Laminator DFL-500 Foil/Laminator and the new DFL-200.

Post Press

As the saying goes, it isn’t print unless it is finished. There will be a wide range of post press solutions on the floor to support the individual requirements of printers and converters.

Müller Martini (Booth 3234) will be presenting the North American debut of two innovations: the Antaro Digital perfect binder and Hunkeler’s GEN8 EVO roll-to-stack solution.

C.P. Bourg (Booth 5448) we will be showcasing our NEW BBM 40/60+ Booklet Maker. This new product will produce documents from two sheets up to 12 mm thick.

Tecnau (Booth 2621) will be highlighting finishing solutions including the Revolution 50 Stack 5251L with AutoSetup, the Stack 1212 with Kompac Phoenix 20 Coater and the Sitma e-Wrap packaging solution.

Kongsberg (Booth 2200) will show its Ultimate non-stop, high-volume cutter with full automation, along with the Motorized Roll Feeder perfect cutting of soft signage materials. They will also show the entry-level Kongsberg Entro and the MultiCam Apex3R Evo router for both signage and industrial jobs.

Textile and Apparel Printing

The Apparel Zone is the destination for Expo attendees to get hands-on experience with apparel decorating technology. By interacting with industry leaders on everything from DTF printing to embroidery and more, it’s a great way to start your booth explorations.

Kornit (Booth 5270) will be highlighting Screen Printing, DTG, and DTF solutions to the test with Screen vs. Digital Print Challenge using a side-by-side print comparison that lets you guess which method was used.

DGI Apparel (Booth 2285) was created to simplify procurement for custom apparel shops by consolidating supplier pricing and ordering in one place.

Software

There is a lot of discussion in the media about AI and automation in general. The big secret is that many of the OEMs that develop your HW and SW solutions have been implementing it for years. The big difference is that many are going beyond some of the incremental implementations and starting to develop more complete AI and automation solutions. You can expect to see a lot of AI signage around the exhibit hall, just make sure you ask what they are doing and importantly, what is the long game for each of them.

Durst (Booth 3156) Smart Factory empowers print providers to establish open, scalable, and fully integrated digital ecosystems tailored to its specific business needs. Durst will also highlight its Open Software Initiative. In a dedicated booth (2266), located just down the aisle, this new platform will give customers the freedom and flexibility to connect software and solutions with third-party platforms.

Hybrid Software (Booth 3610) will be highlighting PACKZ Max, the prepress editor that offers instant RIP previews. Designed for flexo plate creation, 1-bit TIFF output, and digital printing.

The Xitron (Booth 3610) K2 workflow solution drives virtually any new or existing CTP engine, also letting users integrate digital and wide-format output streams. Specifically designed as a replacement for aging Kodak Prinergy, Fujifilm XMF, and Agfa Apogee installations.

Hybrid Software will be showing its CLOUDFLOW Colorspace: The 2025 EDP and Pinnacle Award winning software ensures consistent, precise color reproduction across diverse substrates and printing technologies. Its BrandZ team will also be available to meet with brand owners, retailers, and CPG companies to explore how its updated Artflow and iC3D software can streamline packaging and artwork processes.

Fiery (Booth 935) will be introducing JobFlow Pro, a new and very innovative workflow platform that has been developed from the ground up. It is powered by large language models (LLM), and currently supports Open AI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude with support for Google Gemini and others coming soon.

Enfocus (Booth 2004) will be showing its latest updates of Pitstop and Switch along with many new and innovative third party extensions (APPs) for specific automation functionality.

GelatoConnect (Booth 5058) will be there with its end-to‐end operating system for digital print facilities that unifies all stages of production workflow including order intake, procurement, inventory, printing, packaging, and logistics—under a single platform.

Print and packaging technologies and processes are changing to support the shifting market demands. Much of this is moving service providers to rethink its current methods and offerings. PRINTING United Expo offers the ideal environment to explore new opportunities.

Of course the other important feature of a large industry expo is the ability to see friends and interact and share with others who are probably feeling many of the same things you are. These discussions can lead you to new and creative possibilities and opportunities as well.