It wasn't a newspaper show, but a multimillion-dollar order disclosed by News Corp Australia this week was still a big talking point at PrintEx15.
The domestic print trade event at Sydney's Olympic Park closed its three-day run this afternoon.
Organisers say more than 6000 people visited the show, seven per cent of whom came from overseas including New Zealand.
It was WRH Global Australia - the new name for the former Ferag Australia business - reporting the News order (see our Monday story) which provides for the installation of six mailroom packaging lines, two each for its Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne print sites to replace ageing equipment there.
Among other newspaper segment players present at the show were the local subsidiaries of web press makers manroland Australia and KBA Australasia, and CTP and prepress systems vendors Agfa Graphics and Kodak, the latter sharing space with distributor Seaga.
Digital newspaper printing vendors represented included Canon Océ, HP, Screen Australia and of course Kodak - which supplies both inkjet web and inkjet imprinting equipment - although no newspaper-capable digital equipment was on display.
Nor was there an offset press in sight, a segment in which sheetfed press giant Heidelberg was conspicuous by its absence. Instead it was large format digital printing equipment - masses of it - which dominated the two domes of Sydney Showground PrintEx occupied with the Visual Impact sign industry show.
That said, the focus on conventional print was positive, with Brian Rock of The Newspaper Works among those talking up newspaper print (see story).
Offset Alpine, Fairfax and Blue Star among NPA winners
Gala climax to the PrintEx week was tonight's Media Super National Print Awards - at Waterview in Bicentennial Park - at which IPMG member Offset Alpine again showed its strength and versatility. The company's triple-gold medal tally was the highest of the night, awarded not just for heatset web-offset printing, but also for leaflets and multi-piece productions.
Their gold winners were an RM Williams catalogue, a brochure for Viking River Cruises, and a multi-piece campaign for fashion swimwear brand Seafolly, with an edition of Vogue Living winning silver and one of Marie Claire taking bronze.
In the coldset categories, two Fairfax Media print sites were honoured. The Great War supplement for The Examiner won silver for Fairfax Media Launceston and an edition of real estate supplement Domain took bronze for the group's Murray Bridge print centre.
Three Blue Star sites won one gold and six silver medals between them.
Malcolm Buckner of Queensland's Buckner Group was named the inaugural Media Super Industry Legend. Entertainment was provided by singer Wendy Matthews and event band the Skylarks.
Pictured: On the WRH Global stand, Ian Martin and Daniel Faesser show a five-element glued newspaper panorama produced using Planatol equipment