The evening before the tradeshow, Roland DGA kicked things off with its namesake Premiere Event to celebrate the launch of the company’s new TrueVIS lineup of resin, UV and eco-solvent printers. Authorized dealers, members of the press and Roland staff joined for the lively cocktail reception and presentation, including hors d’oeuvres and DJ entertainment.

Epson reconstructed its booth concept for Seventy 5 café. The pop-up coffee shop kept attendees caffeinated and inspired, showcasing the company’s applications on surf boards, menus, mugs, t-shirts and more.

Eric Holm, color management specialist at Epson, demonstrated the manufacturer’s SD-10 Spectrophotometer, a compact device that measures colors accurately, consistently and quickly. The portable tool’s embedded battery allows signmakers to take measurements anywhere, while Bluetooth wireless connectivity and integration with a cloud-based mobile app helps streamline workflow.

Gemini, a second-gen family-owned wholesale manufacturer headquartered in Minnesota, showed off two new finishing processes at ISA this year: UV Colorlast, an exterior-grade option for multicolor logos, and Alternative Oxidized Finish, which creates the look of oxidized metal without using chemicals.

Women in Signs winner Sharon Toji of H Toji and Co. (Lakewood, CA) — also known as ‘The ADA Sign Lady’ — answered questions about ADA signage and accessibility from ISA Expo attendees in the Signs of the Times and Big Picture booth on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Toji is shown here with ST Editor-in-Chief Mark Kissling and Managing Editor Christina Green.

Adding a collaborative robot – that is, one that can work safely alongside people – to this Zund cutting system streamlines printing workflows by reducing the manual labor required to sort and stack material. According to booth representatives, metadata from the job file is all the robot needs to differentiate between different orders.

During the first afternoon of the show, ST honored the winners of the 2023 Women in Signs awards with a celebratory cocktail reception. Sponsored by Watchfire Signs and Zund America, and hosted in partnership with ISA, the third-annual program recognized five exceptional women professionals who have excelled in ownership/management, design, fabrication, installation, sales or marketing.

Shown are 2023 winners Elizabeth Arenella Toynes, partner, Studio Dzo (Austin, TX); Kelsey Dalton McClellan, owner, Heart and Bone Signs (Chicago); Maggie Harlow, owner, Signarama Downtown (Louisville, KY); Indu Sanka, CEO, Red Elephant (Lewisville, TX); and Sharon Toji, owner, H Toji and Co., (Lakewood, CA).

The Women in Signs awards ceremony was hosted by ST Editor-in-Chief Mark Kissling and Managing Editor Christina Green with a special introduction by ISA President and CEO Lori Anderson.

Following successful demonstrations at PRINTING United Expo in October 2022, Matt Richart and the team from Digital EFX Wraps (Louisville, KY) returned to Las Vegas with live Ford Bronco wrap demos in the Roland DGA booth using the manufacturer’s TrueVIS printer/cutter.

Attendees discuss the Roll-X multipurpose applicator with a representative from Glantz, a distributor of sign and graphics supplies. Designed to fill all the roles of any shop work table, these systems offer ergonomic features such as adjustable heights that aid in applying vinyl graphics to substrates.

Women in Signs award winner Kelsey Dalton McClellan and Andrew McClellan of Heart & Bone Signs (Chicago) again hand painted a mural on site with a call to attend next year’s expo in Orlando, FL. The duo painted the billboard at the show’s entrance using Ronan One Stroke lettering enamel during the first two days of the event, allowing spectators to see their artistic techniques in action.

Trotec showed off its Vision camera-assisted design and position offering, which the company released at ISA 2022 and is fully integrated with its Ruby Laser software. The camera is set into the laser lid, allowing it to deliver a live image of the full work surface to Ruby software. This eliminates the need to position graphics manually using a laser pointer, save the position in the software, measure materials and objects, or use graphics software with a printer driver.

3M gave booth visitors a chance to “test their might” against print wrap film IJ280.

Engineered for conformability and lifting resistance, the film is intended for applications involving deep recesses and compound curves.

In the evening, the Signs of the Times and Big Picture teams enjoyed laughs, drinks and delicious eats at Rivea, a French and Italian influenced dining experience on the 64th floor of the Delano Las Vegas. Pictured (left to right) are ST and BP Sales Executive Lou Arneberg, ST Managing Editor Christina Green, BP Editor-in-Chief Adrienne Palmer, BP Managing Editor Matt Danford, ST Editor-in-Chief Mark Kissling, and ST and BP Assistant Sales Executive Kate Arneberg.

Cosmo Kramer’s luxurious wallpaper backdrop, “Gold Floral,” was printed on Dreamscape’s Gold Flash media with Canon’s newly released Colorado M-Series using FLXfinish+ mode, which allows for mixed matte and gloss in one print. “I’m out there, Jerry. And I’m loving every minute of it!”

The show abounded with opportunity for installers and others to show off what they could do. At Arlon’s booth, the challenge involved attempting to wrap a cone in less than one minute – an exercise that simultaneously exposed the wrapper and the audience to the advantages of the company’s DPF 8000 Ultra Tack film for low-energy surfaces and textured substrates.

Showcased for the first time at ISA though not yet available, Mutoh’s Xpertjet-1462UF offers a mid-sized UV-LED flatbed option for sign producers. According to company representatives, a combination of accurate ink layering and relatively rigid UV ink make the machine particularly useful for ADA-compliant braille and other texturing applications.

Prior to the show’s opening on Thursday, Big Picture Editor-in-Chief Adrienne Palmer and Signs of the Times Managing Editor Christina Green connected with industry leaders and discussed success strategies for underrepresented genders at ISA’s Women Leading the Industry event, led by ISA President and CEO Lori Anderson.

Following the release of its first wide-format printer a few years ago, Konica Minolta continues its commitment to this space with the AccurioWide 250. With a 2.5m bed, the hybrid UV LED machine offers a larger option for those interested on printing a wide range of media for indoor and outdoor applications.

RollsRoller’s flatbed applicators are designed to reduce labor involved in mounting, laminating, and pre-masking applications. Available in various sizes and entirely replacing the cutting table, these systems offer an alternative to traditional processes that require multiple people and painstaking effort to ensure defect-free results.

Presented by ISA and The Wrap Institute, this year’s Wrap Experience interactive booth area featured the Never Stop Learning Wrap Contest, the Wrap Experience Lounge sponsored by Avery Dennison, new product demos, and expert-led panels on how to increase revenue in your business. That’s a wrap!