Timeline
The World Print Congress, also known as the World Print & Communications Forum, is an international organisation consisting of print associations across the globe. It has convened at least every four years since 1978 in locations including Singapore, Beijing, San Francisco, New Delhi and Rio de Janeiro.
Singapore
Following the initiative by the Australian Federation to unite the printers worldwide, Singapore was chosen to host the first World Print Congress under the theme “New horizons: Printing for tomorrow’s market”. Attracting over 400 delegates from 30 countries the congress was generally acclaimed as a great success after a week of talks with more than 20 speakers and lively discussions
San Francisco
Crossing the Pacific, the second edition of the World Print Congress was convened in San Francisco hosted by the Printing Industries of America under the theme “Challenges and Opportunities for Solutions”. Nearly 400 print organisations from 22 countries were represented in the discussions addressing the future challenges of printing companies and industry.
Hong Kong
From West back to East, the Hong Kong Printers Association was proud to host the third World Print Congress in 1985. With the slogan “Plan for your future towards the 21st century. It is nearer than you think!” the Congress envisaged the future challenges pinpointing the preparations required from the printing industry in order to meet the meet.
Rio de Janeiro
New Delhi
The fifth Word Print Congress was held in New Delhi addressing the Digitalisation of information and the globalisation of economy.
Adelaide
Acclaimed as a “founding father” behind the Congresses, the Australian Federation had eventually to wait for 21 years for the occasion to host printers worldwide in the sixth World Printers Congress in Adelaide. Following the theme “Meeting the New Millennium” the Congress focused to provide businesses with guidance and tools into a technology-driven future.
Beijing
Opening up the new century of Congresses, the seventh World Print Congress was held in Beijing under the theme “The Challenges Facing the Printing Industry in the 21st Century in a Knowledge-Driven Society”. The topics focused on the impacts of knowledge economy on the traditional economy, the issues ranging from new trends for printing technology and the global printing market to new demands on management for the printing industry in 21st Century. Around 3000 participants from 5 continents and 25 countries were present.
Cape Town
Following the merger of the leading print Congresses, the 8th World Print & Communication Congress brought the printers together in South Africa to discuss “The World of Print Profiting today and tomorrow”. The Congress covered a broad field of topics ranging from technology and ethics to advertisement and environmental issues.
Seoul
To celebrate the ‘Year of Print’, a large Congress took place in Seoul, South Korea, in September 2016. The Congress was organised by the Korean Printers Association for approx. 500 representatives of the printing industry from 30 different countries/regions and dealt with global printing trends, the state and prospects of the printing industry (for example in Korea, China and Europe), the evolution of sheetfed printing technology (offset and digital), the training of highly skilled personnel and new trends towards digitalisation.
Shanghai
Graphical industry representatives and WPCF members met in 2018 in Shanghai, China. Organisations participating alongside Intergraf also attended the largest printing show in 2018 ‘All in Print China’. WPCF members North America, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, India and Europe were present to share details about their respective industries.
London
16 members of the WPCF met in London at the end of May for their annual board meeting and to attend Intergraf’s Print Matters for the Future conference. The meeting was attended by Europe, Australia, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and North America. Potential new members from Indonesia and Nepal also joined this year’s meeting. Economic information about the global sector was exchanged between participants, as well as the distribution of the 2019 WPCF Economic Report.
Mumbai
At a congress of the WPCF in Mumbai, India, delegates attended from India, China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, South Africa, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. This year’s meeting welcomed Nepal and South Africa as new members.
Bangkok
At the occasion of the Pack Print International in Bangkok Thailand, a WPCF Conference was co-organised by Drupa and WPCF with the support of the Thai Printing Association. It was a great occasion for WPCF to meet with further Asian printing associations such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia to name just a few and exchange on the situation of our industry.