Issue 001 → Section 06

Events.

Trade show and event calendar: September 2026 → 2028. Bold entries are must-attends for textile printing and POD.

Events — data table
DatesEventLocationWhy it matters
Sep 23–25, 2026PRINTING United ExpoLas VegasNo. 1 in the US; Apparel Zone, POD zone, “PRINTING AI” program; ~650 exhibitors
Oct 21–23, 2026Impressions Expo DallasDallasApparel decoration: screen, embroidery, DTF/DTG live
Oct 28–29, 2026Viscom ItaliaMilanVisual communication + textile finishing
Jan 12–14, 2027PSICologne (new venue)Europe's largest promotional products show
Jan 21–23, 2027Impressions Expo Long BeachLong BeachThe largest regional deco-apparel event in the US
Jan 26–28, 2027RemaDays WarsawNadarzyn near WarsawCEE's largest advertising/print/promo show — mandatory for the Polish market
Feb 2–4, 2027C!Print LyonLyonThe French personalization market; 14,000+ visitors
Not announcedPrintwear & Promotion LIVE!NEC BirminghamThe UK's only show strictly for garment decoration; the last edition ran Feb 22–24, 2026 and no 2027 date is up
Mar 3–5, 2027TecStyle Visions / EXPO 4.0StuttgartEurope's leading textile decoration show (biennial)
Mar 18–20, 2027Impressions Expo Atlantic CityAtlantic CityUS East Coast, deco-apparel
Apr 6–9, 2027FESPA Global Print Expo + Textile + ESE + WrapFestMunichEurope's flagship specialty print week, with a dedicated Textile zone
Apr 27–29, 2027FESPA Middle EastDubaiThe growing MENA market
Sep 14–16, 2027PRINTING United Expo 2027Las VegasThe next edition of the American giant
Sep 16–22, 2027ITMA 2027HanoverThe world's largest textile machinery show (4-year cycle) — industrial digital printing on fabrics
Oct 2027 (exp.)Viscom Italia 2027Milan
May 9–17, 2028drupa 2028DüsseldorfThe global print mega-show — plan far ahead

Every date in this table was opened on Aug 24, 2026 on a page that prints it, and the link goes to that page. Four rows link to trade press rather than to the organiser: FESPA Mexico via Texintel, FESPA Munich 2027 via Print Monthly because fespa.com turns bots away, ITMA via Messe Hannover because itma.com publishes its dates only behind a page that 404s to us, and PRINTING United 2026 via PRINTING United Alliance. One edition is still unannounced: Printwear & Promotion LIVE! last ran Feb 22–24, 2026, and its site carries no 2027 date, so the row says so rather than guessing a month. Aggregators disagree with organisers more often than you would expect — tradefairdates.com puts TecStyle Visions in February 2027, Messe Stuttgart’s own page says 03–05 March. Trust the organiser.

What the latest editions delivered

FESPA 2026 · Barcelona Textile zone debut, Atlas MATRIX premiere

May 19–22, 550+ exhibitors, 14,000+ visitors, under the banner “The Place for Experts”. The first dedicated Textile zone (Kornit, Brother, ROQ, STAHLS’); commercial availability of Atlas MATRIX; headline themes: sustainability, personalization, automation/AI.

Sources: ME Printer · Print Monthly

PRINTING United 2025 · Orlando Record: 30,000+ registrations, 838 exhibitors

Decoration premieres: ROQ Impress (automated DTF application, ~500 pcs/h), Melco Summit (on-demand embroidery), UV-DTF from Mimaki. The survey figures ASI carried alongside the show are not show-floor counts: 65.7% of decorators offer DTF, from the State of the Decorated Apparel Industry report, and 53.7% run POD in-house with 74.3% expecting POD sales to grow, from the Apparelist and Alliance survey.

Sources: PRINTING United · ASI

FESPA Print Census The industry's mirror: automation still rare

The 2025 Census (774 companies, 89 countries): 75% of print businesses have <50 employees, ~50% have zero automation, ~40% don’t use AI, 92% say sustainability matters — but only 40% treat it strategically. Recruitment for the 2026 Census is underway (new additions: web-to-print, skills gaps, price pressure).

Source: WhatTheyThink