The International Printing Machinery and Allied Trades Exhibition (IPEX) was the longest running

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

and

graphic art A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,trade show A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

in the English-speaking world. The trade show was held every four years except for the final show, which was held after three years. IPEX was an international event, serving both the UK and the international print industry. In 1963 the exhibit

Printing and the Mind of Man ''Printing and the Mind of Man'' is a book first published in 1967 and based on an exhibition in 1963. ''PMM'', as it is usually abbreviated, is regarded as a standard bibliographical reference, and offers a survey of the impact of printed book ...

held in connection with IPEX "foreshadowed the impending impact of electronics and presaged the demise of prepress mechanics and craft practices." Writer,

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

, a collector of rare books on technology, was a major contributor to the exhibition.Fleming, James. (2023). "Printing and the Mind of Man." ''

The Book Collector ''The Book Collector'' is a London-based journal that deals with all aspects of the book. It is published quarterly and exists in both paper and digital form. It prints independent opinions on subjects ranging from typography to national heritag ...

'' 72 no.4 (winter): 619-623. IPEX 2017 took place at the NEC, Birmingham, UK, on 31 October - 3 November 2017. In 2018 the organisers announced that the 2017 exhibition had been the last. Ipex was thought to be the world's longest running trade expo, with its first outing in 1880. The show had seen decades of success when it switched to Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre in 1980, from its previous Earls Court home, attracting almost 100,000 visitors in the following years. It alternated every two years with mega print trade show drupa, and successfully attracted print business owners from around the world, from Europe - as they could fly to the airport located right next door - and the Commonwealth countries in particular. It was the launch pad for many new technologies, notably digital printing, with both Indigo and Xeikon launching onto the world at the 1993 show, and shocking the industry in doing so. Both companies went on to achieve huge success, albeit on the back of several ownership changes in the volatile early years, when their technology was largely decried by print businesses. The demise of Ipex came thanks to an ill-fated decision to switch the location for the 2014 show from the NEC, with its ultra-easy air, rail and road access, and very pleasant surrounds in Shakespeare country, to a somewhat inaccessible location in east London, the Excel Centre, with its tortuous road and rail links. Major exhibitor Heidelberg decided to pull out, causing a tsunami of other exhibitors to immediately rush out of the door, effectively killing the show, and with it a slice of the UK print trade.

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* * Organisers Typography Trade fairs in the United Kingdom Quadrennial events {{trade-stub

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