I’ve just arrived in Las Vegas for PMA 2007, to find the news that Focus on Imaging, Europe’s largest annual photography show, has got even bigger this year with record numbers of visitors. More than 32,000 visited the UK-based show during its 4 days, an increase of 3700 over the 2006 total. The show, which took place at the NEC between February 25th and 28th, featured well over 200 individual exhibitors. You can read my Focus 2007 Report to remind yourself of what happened.

Focus on Imaging Press Release

Focus visitor total hits new record high - again

RECORD NUMBERS of people visited Focus on Imaging 2007. Early indications suggest that more than 32,000 photographers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors and others registered for Europe’s biggest annual photographic and imaging exhibition, an increase of 3700 over the 2006 total, itself a record.

The 2007 total is also up by more than 50percent compared with 2001 when the number of Focus visitors passed 20,000 for the first time and continues the trend of annual increases which stretches back to the early days of the show almost 20 years ago.

Show organiser Mary Walker is naturally delighted with the 2007 total.

“The number of pre-registrations and the huge increase in the numbers of visits to our website suggested the show would be a big hit again this year,” she said. “We were quietly confident that we would break through the 30,000 barrier this year but we didn’t expect to do it so spectacularly.”

Also delighted by the number of visitors was Simon Galley of Ilford Photo whose new inkjet range, launched at the show, attracted interest which “exceeded our expectations.”

“We also had more students, the lifeblood of the monochrome business, than ever – 200 on the Wednesday alone. Focus is a unique exhibition as far as we are concerned. There is nowhere else we can meet so many customers in one place and talk to them about what they want,” he said, adding, “If you don’t do that, how can you make the right products?”

The show, which took place at the NEC between February 25th and 28th, featured well over 200 individual exhibitors, representing both the major, international names in the industry and a rich cross section of the new seedbed companies which increasingly see Focus as crucial to their growth.

DIYFraming’s Duncan MacDonald, for instance, had not only brought more stock than last year, when he had sold out early, he had extra stock on his stand for another exhibition he was attending after Focus. Most of that extra stock went, too, he said.

Alan Ashman from wide format printer specialists Atech sold every piece of equipment on the stand while Focus newcomers Pictronic and IT3D both spoke about the level of interest shown in their products.

“We created something of a storm with our illuminated picture frames and couldn’t sell them fast enought,” said Pictronic’s Andrew Woffenden, while Ron Cooper, who was at Focus looking for a distributor for IT3D’s startling 3D imaging system, said that the “wow factor” had kicked in every time people had come on to the stand.

But it was Delkin President and CEO Martin Wood who flew in from California specially to be at Focus, who summed it up best, and in just three words, “wonderful show, fantastic.”

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