The 2026 'Smart Printing · Boundless · Symbiosis' International Wide Printing Forum Grandly Opens
With the vast spring breeze, wisdom gathers in Shanghai. On March 5, 2026, on the grand opening of the 2026 APPPEXPO Shanghai International Wide-format Printing Exhibition, the "Intelligent Printing · Boundless · Symbiosis" International Wide-format Printing Forum, hosted by the Shanghai Digital Printing Industry Association and co-organized by Shanghai Modern International Exhibition Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Xingray Exhibition Services Co., Ltd., was grandly held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). The forum was presided over by Gu Kai, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Digital Printing Industry Association.
This forum, serving as the 'core intellectual engine' of the Shanghai International Wide-Format Printing Expo, brought together senior executives, technical experts, and industry practitioners from leading domestic and international wide-format printing companies. It aimed to empower industry upgrades through the collision of ideas and explore new development paths through cross-sector collaboration, injecting new momentum into the high-quality development of the global wide-format printing industry. The audience was enthusiastic, the atmosphere was lively, and seats were hard to come by, attracting top industry leaders, senior association experts, and faculty and students from colleges and universities to attend.
Shen Jun, president of the Shanghai Digital Printing Industry Association, said in his speech that this International Printing Forum carries the important mission of industry development, which is not only the "ideological highland" of the exhibition, but also the "empowerment center" of the industry. The forum adheres to the positioning of "high specifications, full chain and forward-looking", realizes the resonance of the "hard display" of the exhibition and the "soft wisdom" of the forum, and truly practices the concept of "promoting theory with exhibition and leading exhibition with theory". The guest lineup of this forum is luxurious, covering leading enterprises in many fields such as Ricoh, Di Pi Ink, Siwei Culture, Yimo Graphics, Ruishi Chuangzhan, Alibaba International and other leading enterprises, covering key segments of the whole industry chain such as intelligent printing solutions, green functional materials, and IP cross-border integration.
Ms. Jiang Yan, the organizer of the Shanghai International Advertising & Sign Expo, introduced that after 33 years of meticulous development, APPPEXPO Shanghai International Advertising & Sign Expo has become a 'weathervane' and 'barometer' for the global advertising, signage, printing, and packaging industries. This year's exhibition, themed 'Connect · Create · Transform,' integrates seven sub-exhibition resources, bringing together 1,300 high-quality enterprises from home and abroad, creating a 150,000㎡ full-industry-chain display platform, showcasing diversified products such as printing, cutting, materials, and signage. On the first day alone, it attracted buyers and visiting groups from around the world, with a lively business negotiation atmosphere, fully demonstrating the strong appeal of the international exhibition and the vitality of the industry.
Yu Shiming, General Manager of Shanghai Xingeley Exhibition Services Co., Ltd., emphasized in his speech that the successful hosting of this forum cannot be achieved without the strong cooperation of three parties. The Shanghai Digital Printing Industry Association, Shanghai Modern International Exhibition Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Xingeley Exhibition Services Co., Ltd. have integrated their respective advantages to achieve a perfect combination of 'professional guidance, platform empowerment, and efficient execution,' aiming to make this forum the 'first forum' within the industry's 'top exhibition,' presenting the global printing community with an intellectual feast that combines height, depth, and breadth.
During the keynote speech session, the guests closely focused on the core theme of 'Smart Printing · Boundless · Symbiosis,' directly addressing industry transformation pain points and sharing cutting-edge practical experiences.
Shao Guangming, Product Solutions and Customer Director of the Production Printing Division at Ricoh (China) Investment Co., Ltd., explained in detail around "Ricoh Smart Printing Solutions, Helping the Printing Industry Achieve High-Quality Development" how intelligent technology empowers production to improve quality and efficiency, providing practical guidance for the digital transformation of the industry. With solid technical accumulation, Ricoh's smart printing solutions can adapt to various office and production scenarios, significantly improving efficiency and reducing costs.
Wang Junwei, an Asia-Pacific digital technology expert at DiBi Ink (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., shared a presentation titled 'Beyond Green: How Functional UV Digital Inks Are Reshaping Future Manufacturing,' discussing breakthroughs of UV digital inks in environmental protection and functional innovation. He highlighted that UV inkjet inks have advantages such as low energy consumption, pollution-free properties, and compatibility with various substrates, providing new pathways for green development in the industry.
Luo Xianfeng, Chairman of Shanghai Siwei Cultural Media Co., Ltd., shared a presentation titled 'Breaking Across from Printing to IP - Siwei Cultural Original IP "Shizai"' based on the practical case of the original IP "Shizai," showcasing the new value of cross-industry integration between printing and cultural IP. The "Shizai" series of cultural and creative products has become a successful example of combining cultural dissemination with commercial monetization.
Mr. Yan Tianhong, General Manager of Shanghai Yimo Graphic Design and Production Co., Ltd., combined the company's business and personalized collaborations in Shanghai and Malaysia to share "From Printing to Intelligent Manufacturing: The New Ecology of the Advertising Industry under Borderless Integration." With borderless integration and intelligent manufacturing upgrades, the advertising and printing industry is ushering in a brand-new ecology.
Luo Xirong, Chairman of Shanghai Ruishi Chuangzhan Printing Co., Ltd., believes that supply chain collaboration and intelligent manufacturing ecosystems are key supports for a company's core competitiveness. In his sharing of the company's Dubai project, during the themed presentation "Ruishi Intelligent Manufacturing-Supply Chain Product Ecosystem," he pointed out that under the trend of global interconnectedness, the Ruishi intelligent manufacturing supply chain ecosystem will break geographical limitations, strengthen international cooperation and resource integration, build an efficient global multi-location network, and achieve seamless connection of multinational operations.
Zhang Ling, Head of OKKI Business Operations for Alibaba International's East China Region, focused on the branding and globalization of independent foreign trade websites. She emphasized, using industry cases, that for packaging and printing foreign trade enterprises, it is important to position the website according to product characteristics and target markets, and to flexibly adapt the website structure to build an online information display center that enhances inquiry conversion. Enterprises going global need to adhere to long-term thinking and coordinate online and offline efforts to achieve sustainable development.
At present, the wide-format printing industry is at a critical stage of digital-intelligent transformation, green development, and cross-industry integration, with new elements such as artificial intelligence, big data, and green materials profoundly reshaping the industrial ecosystem. The timing of this forum is just right; it serves not only as a 'summit of ideas' for the industry to review the past and assess the present, but also as an 'action mobilization' to plan for the future and embark on a new journey together, becoming a beautiful highlight at the 2026 APPPEXPO Shanghai International Wide-Format Printing Exhibition.
We look forward to taking this forum as a starting point, colliding ideas through communication, achieving mutual benefits through cooperation, jointly building a new ecosystem for the wide-format printing industry with borderless symbiosis, and promoting the global wide-format printing industry towards a more brilliant future.
