The aisles were packed, our booths were packed and there was a lot of excitement about heat printing in the air at the recent Atlantic City Imprinted Sportswear Show.
Some things have changed since my first ISS Show in Atlantic City in 1978 and somethings haven’t. Back in 1978, the conditions at the Deauville Hotel in Atlantic City were less than ideal. In fact Bill Windsor of ISS had shirts printed up that said “I Survived the Deauville” that’s how bad it was. But from a business standpoint, the booth was just as crowded back in 1978 as it was this weekend. It was just me and my wife Mary (I proposed to her at that show, another wonderful memory) working the booth. It was just a 10 x 20 booth but we barely saw each other since there were always so many customers in between. Thermo-FILM was the big draw at our booth back then. Today, 34 years later, the big draw was the unveiling of our new Hotronix Air Fusion, and there were plenty of people who just wanted to learn more about heat printing in general. It seems there is a new genre or category of entreprenuers at shows these days. We’ve met with them at the ISS Shows in Long Beach and Orlando and in shows in Germany, England and the FESPA in Spain. I haven’t figured out what to call them yet, but they are very business-savvy, they know what they want and they understand the benefits of on-demand personaliztion unlike any generation of heat printers I have ever seen. Many are women and many have existing businesses. It is great to see the excitement and it’s a blessing to be part of this ever-thriving industry. If anyone else has memories from the 1978 shows or other early ISS shows, please share your comments.
The Deauville no longer exists, it was imploded sometime in the 80's but it was an iconic Atlantic City beach hotel that was originally built in 1962.