News & guides
Industry news, buying guides and honest analysis for printing businesses in Southeast Asia.
Trade show calendar 2027 →
LOUPE Southeast Asia 2027 (9–11 June, IMPACT Bangkok): a visitor guide for label and packaging buyers
Plan your LOUPE Southeast Asia 2027 visit: dates, IMPACT venue, travel tips and supplier questions for equipment and packaging buyers from Vietnam.
GPPE + LCBE 2027 (2–5 June, NICE PIK2): a visitor guide for printing and packaging buyers
Plan a visit to GPPE + LCBE 2027 at NICE, PIK2: dates, travel tips and supplier questions for equipment and packaging buyers from Vietnam.
ProPak Philippines 2027 (24–26 February, Metro Manila): a visitor guide for equipment and packaging buyers
Confirmed dates and venue, what to see, travel tips and a supplier checklist for ProPak Philippines 2027, plus how PrinterLady helps visitors source equipment and packaging for Vietnam.
Print Tech & Signage Expo 2027 (24–27 March, IMPACT Bangkok): a visitor guide for print shops, sign makers and packaging printers
Dates, halls, opening hours, who should go and how to plan a trip to Thailand’s printing and signage show at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, plus how we help Vietnamese visitors compare what they see and get a landed-cost quote.
Bangkok Ad & Sign + Pack & Label Expo 2026 (5–8 November, IMPACT): a visitor guide for sign shops and packaging buyers
Dates, venue, who should go and how to plan a trip to Bangkok’s sign, label and packaging print shows at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, plus how we help Vietnamese visitors turn what they see into a landed-cost quote.
VietnamPrintPack 2027 (22–25 September, SECC, HCMC): a visitor guide for print shops and packaging buyers
Southern Vietnam’s biggest printing and packaging show: dates, venue, opening hours, who should go, what to ask on the stands, and how we help visitors turn brochures into landed-cost quotes.
HanoiPrintPack 2027 (30 June–3 July, VEC, Hanoi): a visitor guide for print shops and packaging buyers
Northern Vietnam’s printing and packaging machinery show: dates, venue, opening hours, who should go, what to ask on the stands, and how we help visitors turn brochures into landed-cost quotes.
ProPak Vietnam 2027 (10–12 March, SECC, HCMC): a visitor guide for print shops and packaging buyers
Dates, venue, who should go and how to plan your visit to Vietnam’s largest processing and packaging exhibition, plus how we help visitors turn booth conversations into landed-cost quotes.
AI in the print shop: real today vs hype
Every vendor slide now says AI, but a shop owner only cares what ships today and saves hours this quarter. A sober tour of what is real — quoting, scheduling, predictive maintenance, preflight, colour — what is still marketing, and how a small Southeast Asian shop adopts without a data team.
Print-on-demand books: the end of inventory
Publishers are replacing 20,000-copy offset runs and warehouse risk with 200-copy digital runs reprinted on demand, while BookTok turns backlist titles into overnight bestsellers. Here is what POD book work actually demands from a pressroom, and why Southeast Asia is well placed to win it.
Green printing wins tenders: the ESG proof buyers now demand
Multinational brands and government buyers now score print suppliers on sustainability, and the scoring is documentation-driven: energy data, FSC chain of custody, waste rates and deinkability. This is what the scorecard actually asks for, how press choice affects it, and an honest view of cost versus contract wins.
From brochures to boxes: moving into packaging and labels
Commercial print volumes keep shrinking while packaging keeps growing, and roughly four in ten commercial printers are already adding label or packaging capability. Here are the realistic entry paths, what changes on the shop floor, and why Vietnam's packaging boom makes the timing right.
Lights-out printing: automation for shops that can't hire
Skilled press operators are retiring faster than the trade can replace them, and automation has quietly become the only realistic way for a small shop to grow. Here is what automation actually replaces, and where a five-person shop should start.
Vietnam's digital printing market in 2026: growth, buyers and where the money is going
Commercial printing in Vietnam is growing 12-14% a year and packaging is on a ~9.6% CAGR through 2031. Here is who is buying digital presses, what they are buying, and why VietnamPrintPack keeps getting bigger.