Looking back at the 2018 SGIA Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center, we can’t help but recognize all the innovation and exciting launches the show had to offer to the 22,000-plus attendees of the show. The chatter in the LexJet booth focused on major trends like augmented reality, printable fabric and the launch of the HP Adhesive Vinyl and Laminate line.

“A lot of people were looking for fabric — and not just for dye-sub, but for latex and solvent, too,” says Nichole Danzig, LexJet sales representative. “I also had someone who owns a music company looking for an acoustic-rated printable fabric — and we happen to have the EnduraFab, which just received acoustic rating.”

Prior to the show, we partnered with Big Picture magazine to create a print ad that included augmented reality in its October edition. In our booth, we showed how our AR app can help print shops visualize equipment, such as printers and cutters, in their shops. Plus, they can use the app to display how certain signage will look in a space, and they could “look inside” our display walls to see how they were constructed.

“Several dozen people got to experience the AR app developed specifically for the show, and the response was overwhelmingly positive,” says Jason Nelson, who heads up augmented reality for LexJet’s parent company, S-One. “People were very enthusiastic about the potential of AR, the ease of using the experience we developed and the opportunities this technology could create for their company.”

We were thrilled to feature some great, cutting-edge products from our partners, including the award-winning, printable metal panels at ChromaLuxe and high-end wallcoverings at Vescom, and we ventured out to the creative booths by Kornit, Palram, Fredrix and HP.

“I was really blown away by the fabric selections and the quality, and how big the crowds seem to be around them, especially for apparel,” Danzig says.

SGIA was a great opportunity to continue discussions about LexJet’s focus on customer intimacy. “A lot of people responded well to the fact that we help them with every aspect of their business,” Danzig says. “We help them with market trends, consolidate inventory, keeping cost down — we’re not just selling them products.”

Fellow LexJet sales specialist Matt Bailey agreed: “I had one guy ask me the best way to sell dye-sub to his customers, in regards to the ChromaLuxe metal panels, which is a really great question,” he says. “You have to focus on the quality. Sure, you can get a UV print on metal, but the quality is not as good as dye-sub to metal. You have to think of it as a piece of art.”

We showcased two major launches from our partners at HP, including the competitively priced HP Adhesive Vinyl and Laminate line of products as well as the SGIA Product of the Year, Textiles-Canvas award-winning HP Recycled Satin Canvas.

“The price point was big with the vinyl,” Bailey says. “They couldn’t afford not to consider it. Those savings will really add up over the course of the year. If you’re buying by the pallet, you’re going to save a ton.”

If you missed SGIA, give us a call at 800-453-9538 to learn about all the top launches and product trends we featured.