Dscoop Asia 2018 oversubscribed

Held in Seoul, South Korea, almost 1000 visitors took part in Dscoop Asia 2018.

The 2018 edition of Dscoop Asia was attended by a host of print business owners, marketers, industry specialists from over 30 countries all across Asia Pacific, Japan, and Europe. Over three days, users were engaged in sessions that aim to provide tools and inspiration to help grow businesses of HP graphics arts users.

The bulk of attendees were from Korea, though delegates from China were amongst the highest from those overseas. The event also included customer site visits in Korea such as Interpro, Sam-Young, Betterway Systems, Taesung and KSI. HP reported that the site visits were fully booked.

“You will see the Dscoop spirit is alive and well here. Korea is a very advanced market that some Dscoop will be able to see. So Dscoop for Korea has been an incredible success, we’ve been oversubscribed – more people wanted to join us than we could accommodate,” said Mike Boyle, vice president and general manager for HP APJ’s graphics solutions business. Boyle is also on the board of Dscoop Asia.

Dscoop is an annual HP user group event that facilitates education and networking opportunities for Indigo users. This year, HP’s Latex and 3D printing divisions had a presence as well.

“Graphics is an important part of the HP story and you’ll be amazed with the things you see today. Graphics is growing and continues to grow,” added Boyle.

HP also launched two new series of wide format machinery - the HP DesignJet Z and the Latex R2000. The products were launched concurrently worldwide at FESPA 2018 as well.

“The launch was done in Seoul, South Korea, the home of Dscoop in 2018. Korea is very important because there’s a very vibrant graphics market with some open print service providers who are sharing their business with international guests,” said Boyle.

Unlike previous editions of Dscoop, machinery was noticeably missing. This was to place the focus on business models, and not on specifics of technology.

The opening keynote was led by Magnus Lindkvist, a ‘trendspotting futurologist’. His keynote aimed to inspire as he highlighted the importance of changing, innovating and creating.

“We are competing, but we are more importantly creating. It’s all about creating, and Dscoop is at the heart of that. Dscoop is the opportunity for customers to not be afraid of competition, but instead to create this community to share, collaborate and create together,” said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager for HP Indigo.

On display at Dscoop were the winners of the 11th edition of the HP Digital Print Excellence Awards 2018. The competition celebrates the accomplishments and innovations of HP users across Asia Pacific and Japan. 64 winners across 19 commercial and industrial categories were selected, including five Grand Winners and an Overall Creative Winner.