Sun Chemical Screen’s 10-year partnership with Lüscher AG, a printing equipment company, will break new ground at FESPA 2007 with the launch Over 100 exhibitors to participate; Newsroom of the future and 400-year history of printing to be on display 

Chennai, August 29, 2007 - For the first time, Chennai will host IfraExpo India 2007, an international exhibition on trends and practices in the printing and publishing industry. The three-day event, the first ever IfraExpo to be held outside Europe, is being organised by Ifra India and co-sponsored by the Indian Newspaper Society. It will be held from September 4 to 6 at the Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam.

More than 100 leading suppliers to the newspaper and media industry have confirmed participation at the Expo so far. This is more than triple the number usually recorded at Ifra India's annual conference-cum-exhibition.

Running concurrently with IfraExpo 2007 will be IfraIndia 2007, the 15th Annual Conference. About 600 delegates are expected to participate. At the Conference, a galaxy of speakers from India and abroad will share their experiences at the Technical and Publishers' forums. Kjell Aamot, President & CEO, Schibsted, Norway, will deliver the keynote address that will focus on publishing houses as content providers to consumers and advertisers.

Reiner Mittelbach, Chief Executive Officer, Ifra, Germany, and Aamot will inaugurate IfraExpo 2007.

"IfraExpo India will provide Indians the experience of visiting a world-class expo right here in Chennai. For more than 14 years, Ifra has followed the development of newspaper business in our country and it is only natural that it has chosen India as the first destination for organising an exclusive exhibition on newspaper printing and publishing," says R.V. Rajan, Managing Director, Ifra India.

This year at the Expo, the world's leading suppliers to the newspaper publishing industry such as Adobe, Agfa, Atex, Baldwin, Cerutti S.p.a.,  COMYAN GmbH, dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH), EidosMedia S.p.a., Ferag AG, Fuji Photo Film, Goss International, Kodak, MAN Roland, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Muller Martini, Nippon Color, QuadTech, Inc., Siemens Information Systems - PPI, TKS, Tolerans AB, and WoodWing Europe BV are taking part.

There will be a large Indian presence as well, including names such as 4Cplus, CADD Centre, J. Mahabeer & Co., Manugraph, Pressline India, Pressmart Media, Satyam Computer, TechNova Imaging Systems, The Printers House, and Universal Print Systems.

More than 3,000 people are likely to visit the Expo, the biggest event for the publishing industry in this part of the world. Visitors to the Expo can see first-hand offerings from suppliers of press and pre-press equipment; CtP, imaging, editorial workflow and mailroom solutions; content management, advertising, and workflow management systems; and the latest in IT,” Magdoom Mohamed, Executive Director, Ifra India, points out.

Ifra Expo India 2007 will be open to visitors from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm on September 4, from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on September 5, and from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on September 6. Entry is free for printers, publishers, production executives from newspapers and advertising agencies, software domain specialists, and students and faculty members from printing institutes.  Such visitors, however, will have to produce their business cards or proof of identity.

The Expo will also have a Solution Park, a professional knowledge-sharing platform where speakers will highlight the latest products, processes, solutions and market trends in the publishing and media industry. Entry to the Solutions Park will be free, and open to delegates and visitors.

Added attractions include the demonstration of Ifra Newsplex, the multimedia newsroom of the future, and an exhibition on the 400-year history of printing. The exhibition will display pictures and play video, tracking the progress of newspaper printing technology from the letterpress to the e-newspaper. Visitors to the Expo will receive a handout on the subject, a collector's item.

The Newsplex team will provide advice and support for developing and implementing media-integrated newsroom strategies, as well as advice on journalistic skill development for analogue and digital media.

Spot registration facility is available for attending both the Expo and the Conference.  For registration fee and other details log on to www.ifra.com/ifraindia2007 .

For other details, please contact Magdoom Mohamed, Executive Director, Ifra India Pvt. Ltd., 54 K B Dasan Rd, SIET Administrative Building, 3rd Floor, Chennai 600 018, India (4211 2893 or 9940168620; Fax +91.44.2435 9744; infoindia@ifra.com ; www.ifraexpo.com/india ; www.ifra.com/india ).

KEYWORDS: Ifra, newspaper, newsroom, media, chennai, expo