Top of the Spandex iceberg

Jul 14, 2025 | Features

Following the success of its premiere event in March, Spandex once again brought all of its products under one roof, only this time at its HQ in Bristol. All 10 brands that showcased at the Glasgow summit came out once again along with four new ones, all to represent their products and meet with customers. The summit is pushed as the place to go to get to grips with the Spandex range so with that, assistant editor Benjamin Austin was invited to Bristol to find out more.

Vinyl on display

Arlon Stand

Arlon Stand

What took up the majority of the show space was stands promoting the many graphics, films, and vinyl brands available from Spandex.

From Arlon to 3M, Avery Dennison to Spandex’s own range, Image Perfect, there was a vast selection of products to learn about. There were the aforementioned products but other brands on display were: Stek, Orafol, KPMF, Berger Textiles, and CoverStyl.

Visitors could speak with the brand ambassadors and sales representatives about any product and get the chance to try some of them out.

Live demonstrations were taking place throughout the day with professional wrappers exampling their company’s products and Spandex’s very own application specialist, Jason Davidson, was also on hand to show attendees the perks of some of the products.

Tom Hogarth, Business development director at Spandex was at the summit representing Image Perfect. He said: “You can find a vinyl to do anything these days buts what’s more important is having a product that’s versatile.

“It’s about sticking to multiple things instead of multiple products sticking to one thing. Helping customers pick out a product for all not just one.”

Wide-format zone

Roland's TrueVis XP-640

Roland’s TrueVis XP-640

A large part of the floorplan was dedicated to Spandex’s catalogue of large-format printing equipment it supplies.

The room was filled mostly by Roland and Epson who brought a series of machines to highlight including the recently released Epson SC-9100 and the Rolan TrueVis XP-640.

Epson had brought one other machine in the R5000L while Roland filled the majority of space with another four machines: These were the MG-300, AP-640, VG3-640, XG-640.

Technicians were on hand to talk about the machines with customers and all were running for demonstrations.

Tom Hogarth, business development director, Spandex UK

Tom Hogarth, business development director, Spandex UK

“Face to face interaction is crucial… I don’t think there is a substitute for being there and having the conversation.

That’s why I’m here to talk to our customers and more importantly listen to them.

“Our road map is created by our customers; they tell us what they want and we steer it from that we call it the voice for the customer.”

Tom Hogarth, Business development director, Spandex UK

Cutters, Laminators and software

In the corner of the vinyls room were examples of laminators available through Spandex.

Roll-X laminating table

Roll-X laminating table

Vivid Laminations attended with the Easymount Hybrid while the Roll-X multipurpose applicator was also on display.

It was the smallest demonstration area of the day but experts and representatives were still on hand to answer any questions about the products and show how they work.

In the threshold between the refreshments room and the wide-format area was a stand for RIP software provider ONYX.

Spandex is a reseller for the company and it was in attendance to promote its latest version of graphic software, ONYX 24.

A pc was on hand to allow attendees to give it a go and see how the product works.

Company Partners

FESPA UK

FESPA UK

In the main entrance way were more stand but not for products but for partners.

Space was taken up by FESPA UK wanting to talk to people about its sustainability waste academy.

FESPA UK associate, Jon Hutton, was on stand to discuss the work the group does as well as give key note speeches on sustainability.

Sticking on the topic of sustainability CarbonQuota made an appearance across the event to discuss its software helping companies manage and assess their carbon footprint.

By taking the production line from product purchase to creation then distribution it collates all the data into one easily read location and explains areas in which each company can improve.

Improving companies like Spandex also is the final partner, Maverrick. The company trains Spandex employees on the benefits of a greater social media presence and helps push sales on those platforms.

Ethan Tanner, marketing manager at Spandex

Ethan Tanner, marketing manager at Spandex

“We had a fantastic turnout and the energy across both days was exactly what we’d hoped for. It was great to showcase such a wide range of products and technologies all in one space, and to have meaningful, one-on-one conversations with customers about what they’re working on and how we can support them.

“The feedback from attendees has been hugely positive, and we’re already looking forward to the next stop on the Summit tour – Leeds.”

Ethan Tanner, UK marketing manager, Spandex UK

In the main entrance was the Britain’s first ever Gerber Graphix 3 bought and introduced to the UK by Spandex in 1983. It was the world’s first ever vinyl cutting computer, replacing paintbrushes and kick-starting the sign making revolution