David,

I think trade show attendees and exhibitors are really beginning to narrow down the diluted trade show market. If one is going to invest time and money in travel, there needs to be some substance.

To one attendee, substance may be educational opportunities, while to another, it may be new product or equipment introductions. In most industries, as in ours, this substance is typically centered around one annual show. The other shows are regional filler shows that will never become the "big-daddy" of shows.

You didn't mention anything about the education side of the show. Did you have an opportunity to attend any of the seminars? If so, how was attendence in the class(s)?

Thanks for the heads-up on the clear rulers. I accidently whacked mine off about a month ago when I was sheering some metal. I've been lost for the last 30 days without it. One almost has to become a contortionist to measure some things in the computerized mechanical engraver without one.

David,

I didn't attend the educational seminars. I only decided to attend a couple days before the show.

I did talk to a friend of mine, Linda Mendelsohn, who attended the "Planning a Business Exit Strategy" seminar. I don't know what the official title of the seminar was. Linda said she found the information useful and realized she has to seriously increase her annual gross, in order to make her business more attractive to a potential buyer.

Clarence Matney (Universal Woods - makers of Unisub products) was conducting a sublimation seminar, which was in progress when I arrived. Didn't peek in on that one.

I was mostly going to see engraving equipment and as I said, there wasn't a wide variety to see.

Looks like Las Vegas will remain "The Greatest Show on Earth" for our industry.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

Dave,
Thanks for the kind words and for the tooling order. I took the liberty to add our new QSeries 1824 engraver to the order, hope the CC charge goes thru. Haha

Just so you know, the ARA Board and its committees are always interested in input from folks just like the people on this forum. We are also interested in those wanting to get involved in these committes and as Directors.

What would you all think of a trade show that was a scheduled event, that has something available all the time, eg golf, scheduled attraction, trade show, education, banquet, etc. thus making it somewhat of an event/vacation/business/networking all in one.

Friday in Irvine was very low attendance. I conducted a seminar that had about 20-25. but were one of my best audiences I have ever had. I was less than 100%, but I fed off the group and it went very well.

Saturday, actually was a pretty good day, never heavy but a good flow all the way to the end.

David-

Fred's accessories sound interesting. Does he have a web site for these things? It's these kinds of jigs/tools and related goodies that are the hardest to get one's hands on.

Thanks for the show summary. I have found for many industries that the local shows are getting harder and harder to justify. They are a great way to network but for the vendors it's just too expensive given the return on investment. I have seen a trend away from the standard vendor fair setup to more networking / social / training formats with the vendor booths playing a much smaller part.

--Brett Halle

Fred,

You wrote "What would you all think of a trade show that was a scheduled event, that has something available all the time, eg golf, scheduled attraction, trade show, education, banquet, etc. thus making it somewhat of an event/vacation/business/networking all in one.

Isn't that what Vegas is suppose to be?

I for one would love to see the Vegas show moved to another warm weather site, such as San Diego, San Antonio, Phoenix, Orlando. You can rotate them year to year. Vegas is wearing thin for us.

Dave

Fred,

My take is, if the regional shows tend to offer a thumbnail sketch of available equipment, the exhibits themselves would be much less a draw than more intensive (hands-on?) training/educational classes.

In making that comment, I'm drawing on the experience of a Color Factory sublimation seminar "weekender" held in El Cajon a few years ago. People came from around this country as well as nearby countries.

The event was put together on short notice, but still managed to draw about 50 people. They were the lucky few. There was heavy emphasis on education, i.e. Photoshop, Corel, Color Management and Marketing Strategies. More about the process than specific equipment brands.

The weekend included a dinner and evening get-together.

In the years since, people who attended, are still talking about the event and yearning for the return of something similar.

What about Brett's question. Do you have a web site? I know you have a catalog.

Oh, and Fred. As soon as you design a machine to compete with the likes of the Newing-Hall TLC 350 and the Gravograph IS400 Volume (ultimate versatility), I'll consider handing over that CC :-)

All the best,

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

Brett,

http://www.q1engravers.com/

David-

Thank you!

Fred,

I would like to see the ARA focus on offereing two quality shows, as opposed to having a half dozen or so smaller shows and one "major" show. Please correct me if there is another ARA show that comes close to the numbers of the Las Vegas show.

Over time, I believe most attendees and suppliers will find the regional shows "thin" as some have mentioned in this thread.

Holding two quality shows 5 to 6 months apart will give suppliers two opportunities to make major product and service introductions. One show on the east coast in Orlando and the other in Las Vegas. These two venues are in the top five trade show draws in the country for a reason - they draw attendees, which in turn will draw exhibitors.

I think the regional efforts should be focused more on the educational opportunities without the distraction of a thinly attended trade show.

Like with many organizations, finances are often an obstacle. Not knowing how the various ARA regional trade shows are cash flowing, I may be blowing smoke with these ideas.

To David, Fred, David, Brett and ALL: Sharon and I also attended ARA Irvine. It was our first attendance at an ARA regional. We attended on Friday, closing our store in order to do it. How dumb is that?

Actually, it wasn't that dumb. We have been working many long days in a row and knew that we would cotinue the "marathon" through this next week. So, a day off to drive "down" (we're at 4,000') to Orange County was a thrill.

However, we were shocked when we walked into the exhibition hall (room) and saw that there were far more "exhibitor"s than attendees. And, although as the day wore on, there were more folks walking the aisles, it was really a ghost town for the most part.

But that did not stop us from talking with suppliers, etc. and looking for some specific items that clients were wanting for upcomiing events. We talked with our PDU rep at length and visited for quite a while with Jim & Esther from Coast Graphic Supply. Jim was very forthcoming with regard to what I consider to be a melt-down of the US dye-sub ink market. Bad things are coming (are here). I know this is an engraver's forum, but some of us offer full color products as part of what we do. This is not a good situation for us ink buyers.

One of the "suppliers" that we did NOT get to talk with was Fred, although we did make eye contact a few times. We just wanted to let him know how much we appreciate the Quality 1 beveler that we bought from him recently. A great machine that makes our life a little less frantic.

Unfortunately, each time we wandered by his booth, he was inevitably talking with someone. We even saw him later after the show at the reception, where we snuck in and mooched tacos and beer. But, again, he was surrounded by friends and associates. What a social butterfly! Second only to our "stunt"ed host.

In any event, we're glad we went. Would we go again next year? Maybe not. Or, at least, we would stay open on Friday and attend on Saturday.

Fred
While your adding a engraver to Stuntmans CC, just go ahead and
add one for all the rest of us too. He can handle it! :)
Joe
P.S. Please include all options.

"We just wanted to let him know how much we appreciate the Quality 1 beveler that we bought from him recently. A great machine that makes our life a little less frantic."
Is this where I should insert the "I told you So!"
Joe

Hello Everyone

David,
We should have talked more about getting together, I was at the IRvine show and would have loved to have met you. Perhaps at the Vegas show?
Being so new to the industry, and this being my first trade show, I thought it was great. Mostly for the education I received. I signed up for 5 seminars, and blew of the last one so I could walk the floor and meet some people.
The seminars I took were, "Making Customer Artwork Usable parts 1 & 2 by John McDaniels, Sales Techniques for the Awards Professional- Sam Varn and Guerilla Marketing-Roy Brewer. The one I skipped was "Laser Engraving techniques" Mike Fruciano. Like I said, I wanted to spend time on the floor.
The time and money was well spent for me and when I got home last night I mentioned it to my wife and she agreed. HOWEVER....
It is unlikely that I would attend a regional show again, for all of the reasons stated in previous posts in this thread, and for the fact that after awhile, all the "booths" began to blend together, but for a newbie, it was enlightening, educational and fun. What I really liked was the general attitude amongst the participants. Very positive and helpful. How refreshing.

Chuck Burke
Pacific LaZer Works

Chuck,

Even before reading your post, I was thinking for a person, such as yourself, who doesn't have the ARA Las Vegas "benchmark" as a comparison, the show would hold much more appeal.

I hadn't originally planned to go to the Irvine show or I would have put some effort in arranging a forum member get-together. Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet.

You can count on meeting many forum members in Las Vegas, where we're going to plan an official "pow wow." :-)

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

Fred, I haven't looked it up to see if you are an ARA Board Member or Committe Member, but felt I had to speak out on a comment you made. Every educational class I attended at Vegas Show in 2003 I marked, "I would like to receive more information on CEU's.....". I have never heard a word from anybody. To me that doesn't seem like ARA wants to hear from us. I keep attending educational seminars, but I have been disappointed in most. To many rely on the handouts as being 'the tool' (if that's the case just pass them out to all at the door), and don't go into enough thought out detail to qualify as 'educational'. I believe in the 'show us' don't 'tell us' process of education. (why do you think they say a picture is worth a thousand words) For the record I haven't attended Dave's seminar so he is excluded ..... for the time being ;).

Later postings, Dave talks about Color Factory's weekend. Yes, I attended, and yes that was a perfect example of what is expected when you attend an educational event.

Yes, I enjoy social gatherings to meet fellow members - but leave the music off so we can talk!

I'm for leaving Vegas or at least rotating it so the show is only there every 5 years or so. I'd like to see the event even bigger. Many of us have duel areas of speciality (i.e. sublimation, embroidery, etc.) or at least outsource to other areas. Why not bring it 'all' together for truely the best show around.

Zona
Zona's Engraved Creations

Dave,
I will look forward to meeting you and other forum members in Las Vegas.
If there is anything I can do to help put the "pow wow" together, I would be more than willing to help, so please do not hesitate to call on me.

Chuck
Pacific LaZer Works

Chuck,

Thank you for your offer of assistance. We'll see what kind of help we may need and keep your name in mind.

Thanks again,

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

Zona,

One of the challenges in presenting educational seminars is determining the level of experience of the attendees.

Let's say we were to set up a classroom where everyone had their own computer worksation. One class, for example, could be training in Corel Draw, which (as you know) is used for everything from sublimation to laser engraving to creating files for computerized engraving systems. That would be ideal. Wouldn't it?

Here's the problem.

Unless the attendees were pre-screened or tested, which could identify their level of expertise (or lack thereof) the class would be immensely helpful for some, while others would be demanding a refund.

The "Choosing Sublimation Equipment & Supplies" seminar I conducted in Las Vegas (ARA), earlier this year was a prime example of a crowd with mixed levels of experience. I tried to tailor it to be of interest for all experience levels. At the end of the seminar, attendees filled out an evaluation form. Opinions were all over the road. Too basic. Too advanced. Too much information. Not enough time for Q&A.

In my estimation, the educational seminars would have much more impact and value to the attendee, if we could just zero in on a person's level of experience. How do you do that? Is it possible or feasible?

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

David,
Interstesting discussion.
At the Irvine show, I had some of the same feelings. In general I felt the seminars I attended were great, however some of the more specific seminars were geared toward more experiences users....
My suggestion would be to have ARA offer some "basic beginner" type classes in the various studies such as corel, or sublimation....sort of x-101, then offer advanced classes, leaving it up to the attendee to determine which was appropriate.
For example, if there were a "Corel for Newbies" seminar, I would take that, but alas I needed to take a seminar that moved to fast and really was above my skill level. The important thing is that even though it was at times hard to keep up, I did learn something, and since MOST ARA seminars do not cost anything.....just take them, get what you can from them and use that to build for the next one....eventually you will no longer be a "newbie"...

I'm going to bed.

Chuck Burke
Pacific LaZer Works