Deepening Collaborative Innovation in Regional Industrial Chains, This Grand Printing Industry Event Will Be Held in Shanghai.

On November 11, reporters learned from the Shanghai Printing Industry Association that in order to deepen collaborative innovation in regional industrial chains and promote the sustainable development of the printing industry, the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Joint Conference of Printing Associations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze Printing Forum will be held in Shanghai from November 13 to 14, with the 2025 Haipai Paper Printing Arts Exhibition also debuting to the public.

Shen Jianyi, president of the Shanghai Printing Industry Association, stated that the theme of this meeting is "Collaborative Innovation, Empowering the Green and Intelligent Integration Development of the Printing Industry." The aim is to guide the role of the cooperative exchange mechanism of the joint conference of printing associations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and to shape new quality productivity in the industry. The meeting will jointly discuss and plan collaborative action plans, implementation paths, and experiences with interim results. More than 150 representatives from printing associations in ten provinces and cities along the Yangtze River, key printing enterprises, award-winning companies in digital printing competitions, signatories of the Printing Culture Alliance, and printing industry experts and scholars will attend.

The 2nd Annual Meeting of the Joint Conference of Printing Associations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze Printing Forum will be held in Shanghai from November 13 to 14. Photo courtesy of the organizer.

A Grand Event for the Printing Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

From east to west, the Yangtze River Economic Belt spans nine provinces and two cities: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang in the east; Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan in the central region; and Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan in the west, covering approximately 2.05 million square kilometers. Currently, printing enterprises in the eleven provinces and cities along the Yangtze River exceed 50,000, employing more than 1 million people, with a total industrial output value exceeding 700 billion yuan, accounting for half of China's printing industry, demonstrating its significant position. As the host city, Shanghai, located at the Yangtze River estuary, is not only a core engine for promoting high-quality development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt but also one of the largest comprehensive industrial cities in China. Its printing industry has shown strong development capability. At present, Shanghai has more than 2,200 printing enterprises employing over 89,000 people, with main products covering book and periodical printing, paper packaging printing, plastic flexible packaging printing, and more. Currently, the four most commonly used fonts in the printing industry and computer documents (Kai, Song, Fangsong, Hei) were all created in Shanghai.

According to Shen Jianyi, this joint conference is co-hosted by the printing associations of ten provinces and cities including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Yunnan, with the Shanghai Printing Industry Association as the specific organizer. On the day of the meeting, the awarding ceremony for the first Yangtze Digital Printing Competition will be held. After expert evaluation and final review by the organizing committee, a total of 92 works were awarded, including 1 grand prize, 2 best single awards, 17 first prizes, 32 second prizes, 33 third prizes, and 7 excellence awards. The Yangtze River Economic Belt Printing Culture Alliance will also be established at the meeting, with the first batch of 38 outstanding printing enterprises and institutions from 10 provinces and cities. Alliance members will jointly sign the "Yangtze River Economic Belt Printing Culture Alliance Joint Declaration" and explore new paths for high-quality development of the printing industry. Their cultural and creative works will also be displayed during the meeting.

The 2025 Shanghai-Style Paper Printing Art Exhibition will be open to the public from November 12 to December 12 at the Shanghai Printing Typeface Exhibition Hall, No. 60, Lane 1209, Xinzha Road.

The Shanghai-Style Paper Printing Art Exhibition Opens Tomorrow

As one of the key events of the conference, the 2025 Shanghai-Style Paper Printing Art Exhibition, hosted by the Shanghai Printing Industry Association, organized by Shanghai Printing (Group) Co., Ltd., and co-organized by the Shanghai Digital Printing Industry Association, will be open to the public from November 12 to December 12 at the Shanghai Printing Typeface Exhibition Hall, No. 60, Lane 1209, Xinzha Road.

On November 11, a reporter from The Paper visited the exhibition setup site and noted that this exhibition, themed "Paper Bears Witness to the Passing Days, Cherish Youth," aims to showcase the new possibilities of paper as a carrier of cultural heritage in a contemporary context, as well as the unique essence and charm of Shanghai-style printing art culture. All exhibited works come from Shanghai, not only demonstrating exquisite craftsmanship but also representing the culmination of creativity and design.

Exhibits at the 2025 Shanghai Paper Art Print Exhibition.

Among them, Paper View Culture & Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. showcased the "Astronomical Map" Dragon Scale Edition, with the dragon's mouth featuring the "Suzhou Stone Carved Astronomical Map," the oldest known accurate full-sky stone-carved star map in the world, created by Huang Shang of the Southern Song Dynasty and engraved by Wang Zhiyuan in 1247. The work has a star map on the top and text on the bottom. The inner page, "The Five Planets and Twenty-Eight Mansions," was painted by Ding Guanpeng of the Qing Dynasty, depicting the personified or animal-headed illustrations of the five planets and the twenty-eight constellations. The exhibition also features an Eiffel Tower made of corrugated paper through spray printing, available for visitors to take photos and check in.

The 'Astronomical Map' Dragon Scale Collector's Edition.

The most eye-catching exhibit is undoubtedly '12×12×12×12,' a set of creative and exquisitely printed 12 Zodiac miniature notebooks that combine 12 different fonts, 12 types of paper, and 12 printing techniques in one collection. For example, the notebook for the Year of the Pig uses UV coating technology on its cover to create a 'pigskin' effect, and the side features irregular white and brown stripes, producing a visual effect reminiscent of 'pork belly'; the Year of the Dragon notebook allows you to pull the dragon character on the cover to reveal a paper-cut dragon; pushing the Year of the Dog notebook cover reveals adorable dog paw prints; the Year of the Rooster notebook draws inspiration from 'chicken feather letters' for its binding design… The entire collection utilizes advanced digital printing enhancement techniques, not only selecting special paper and combining it with exquisite craftsmanship but also elevating each piece to the level of art.

"12×12×12×12" is a set of creative, beautifully printed notebooks featuring the 12 zodiac animals.