The INg Conference Showed How Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Meetings in the Printing Industry
After what seemed like an eternity of Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls, being face-to-face (F2F) with friends and colleagues and even competitors had a special meaning to the participants at the Imaging Network Group (INg) 30th annual conference. This year brought over 100 people together for the unique sharing of ideas and strategic thinking that members and vendor-partners say sets INg apart from all other trade associations in the world of print. A testament to INg’s longevity is some members and many companies have been there since the first meeting; several vendors have supported the organization in all three of its decades.
The INg conference illustrated that demand for face-to-face events in the printing industry is back.
The venue this year was the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado, and brought a sea of change in the way the annual conference worked. Live face time — not the Apple version — ran several hours each day as INg members, all of whom are C-level executives and business owners, delved into a host of topics relevant to the pandemic, general business practices, how members’ businesses had evolved over the past year, and which new approaches have been incorporated into day-to-day operations. This meeting included small group discussions which were limited to about six participants who shifted to other topics at each changeover, based on the interests of each member. Vendor partners joined in each discussion, bringing not only technical expertise, but sharing what they had seen at other companies during this pandemic that altered business life as we once knew it.
INg’s version of “Speed Dating”, in which INg members and vendor partners could meet F2F worked the same way, with tight time limits and an ever-changing mix of C-level execs and business owners taking time to ask questions of the vendors and discuss challenges among colleagues. Talking across the table definitely beat across an internet connection!
INg members and vendor partners alike were positive about the extra face time and the added interaction it provided. As good as we have all become with Zoom, Teams and similar tools, there is still nothing better than real F2F communication and the kind of process improvement dialog that comes from sitting next to a person with a vastly different perspective on almost every topic that comes up.
The INg conference was the first major live-and-in-person printing industry event to take place after months of COVID-19 turmoil. With all attendees fully vaccinated it was also fully mask-free. Obviously, this is the true value of being face-to-face.
“INg has always been the prime forum for sharing ideas and ways to make our businesses work as well as possible,” said Fred Van Alstyne, INg’s President. “We all wanted this conference to be even better than it has been in the past. And being able to once again meet in-person, it exceeded all expectations.”
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of Printing Impressions.
