Naturally, this decision is a blow for Ipex. The findings of our own research - conducted by AMR International and to be published in the form of a white paper this month - indicate that there is still a real appetite from European PSPs to engage with multiple digital suppliers in the exhibition environment.

Our research shows unequivocally that international visitors still consider landmark industry events such as Ipex to be the most effective means of researching and evaluating new products and suppliers, and to be on a par with supplier sales visits for making purchasing decisions. Respondents also say that finding new suppliers is their second biggest challenge after technical problem solving.

Our research affirms that 42% of printer visitors attend Ipex to evaluate the newest ready-to-buy innovations. Exhibitions also score significantly higher than any other platform for peer to peer networking, with 30% of visitors saying they visit exhibitions for this purpose.

On this basis, we believe that an event such as Ipex has a significant role to play in the research, information gathering and buying process for printers, making it a vital sales, promotion and customer engagement platform for suppliers targeting these buyers. We are confident that initiatives such as the Global Print Summit and hosted International Delegation Programme will further enhance Ipex’s thought leadership position among the buyer community.

Unfortunately, Xerox’s decision has pre-empted the publication of this research, which is fundamental to how Informa is shaping Ipex for 2014 and beyond.

Based on this fresh market intelligence, Informa remains committed to delivering a successful, innovative event that meets the evolving business needs of the global print supply chain.

We will of course be sharing our research findings with all our stakeholders, and hope that these compelling insights may prompt some reconsideration.

About Ipex

Ipex is the largest English-speaking global technology event for print, publishing and media. Acquired by IIR Exhibitions (Now Informa Exhibitions) in 2006 from its previous owner, industry association Picon, The Informa Print Group also owns and organises North Print & Pack, Cross Media, Ipex India, Ipex World, Serigrafia Sign, and Ipex Digital Latin America.

Ipex 2010 took place from Tuesday 18th May to Tuesday 25th May 2010 at The NEC, Birmingham, UK. Total attendance figures reached nearly 95,000 over the duration of the show, with visitors from 135 countries.

About The Print & Media Group

Part of the Informa Group, The Print & Media Group has built up a large portfolio of events and is an internationally renowned organiser of exhibitions and conferences for the graphic arts sector, bringing together thousands of suppliers and buyers from around the world.

The Informa Print & Media Group is the organiser of Ipex, the world’s largest English-speaking exhibition for the printing industry, Ipex India in Mumbai, India, Ipex Digital Latin America, Brazil, and North Print & Pack, the largest general print and packaging event for the UK market. It is also the creator of online print community Ipex World.

About Informa

Informa Exhibitions UK is the UK based division of Informa Exhibitions, specialising in international Print, Nutraceutical, Maritime and Logistics trade exhibitions.

Informa Exhibitions organises over 100 business to business exhibitions annually via a global network of offices in UK, Brazil, UAE, India, Singapore, China and Australia.  Some of Informa Exhibitions’ leading brands include Ipex, Monaco Yacht Show, Vitafoods, Cityscape and Arab Health.

Informa plc, employing over 8,000 people across 150 cities worldwide, is the largest publicly-owned organiser of exhibitions, events and training in the world providing inspiring marketplaces and opportunities for knowledge to be shared.

Businesses, professionals and academics worldwide turn to Informa for unparalleled knowledge, up-to-the minute information and highly specialist skills and services. Our ability to deliver high quality knowledge and services through multiple channels, in dynamic and rapidly changing environments, makes our offer unique and extremely valuable to individuals and organisations.