Demand for services in printing, packaging, signage and graphics has risen sharply as companies' expenditure on advertisements in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries rose to 24 percent amounting to SR51.4 billion in 2010 as compared to the previous year. The Saudi printing market, poised for further growth in the Middle East's advertising sector, is currently worth around SR1.5 billion, said a high-ranking Riyadh Exhibition Center (REC) official. Kamil Al-Jawhari, Project Manager of the forthcoming printing, packaging, signage and graphics (PPSG) exhibition, said the Kingdom's commercial printing market alone is estimated at over SR1.38 billion and that this requires more efficient and advanced equipment and services to meet the expanding industry demands. Spending on advertising in the region jumped to SR51.4 billion in 2010, a 24 percent increase over 2009. This has consequently led to a huge demand for printing, packaging, signage and graphics services, he said. “The spending on advertisements in Saudi Arabia rose six percent in 2010 compared to four percent in 2009 and is expected to gain further momentum this year given the Kingdom's status as the region's largest economy. He said the re-energized spending on advertising in the Middle East is creating a huge demand for various printing products and services. “To keep pace with the evolving needs of business and individual customer needs the Saudi market has witnessed larger investments in advertisement-related machinery and technology,” said Al-Jawhari. Saudi PPSG is a bi-annual platform that attracts exhibitors and visitors from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The latest edition will concurrently run with Saudi Plas 2011 and Saudi Petrochem 2011, the 10th International Plastics and Petrochemicals Trade Fair, and will cover in-house graphics, production, manufacturing and custom fabrication. Saudi PPSG, the 10th International Packaging, Printing, Sign and Graphics Technologies Exhibition will be organized at Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. Al-Jawhari said that the exhibition is aimed at providing solutions that can help printing, packaging, signage and graphics companies streamline their operations and costs, while delivering the highest level of quality to meet local market demand. Saudi PPSG will showcase several new formats and cross-media concepts offering a global industry perspective. __
