Membership Benefits & Plans

Our pavilions are an integral part at major trade shows and showcase the printing technology on both printing and non-printing exhibitions.

Current shows:
- drupa
- FESPA
- glasstec
- K

Members benefit from:
- Reduced exhibition costs in different formats (ESMA lounge partners, pavilions partners, own stands)
- Introduction to new shows and reduced risk of exhibiting to new, niche markets
- VIP access

ESMA cooperates with international exhibitions, associations and academic entities active in areas related to functional and industrial printing.

Current partnerships:

- AIPIA (Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association)
- BVDM (German Printing and Media Industries Federation)
- Euratex (The European Apparel and Textile Confederation)
- Fogra (Graphic Technology Research Association)
- IDTechEx
- IMEC
- InnovationFab (organiser of Smart Lighting and Smart Sensing conferences)
- iPrint Institute at University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland
- Stuttgart Media University
- Unitex (Association of Executives of the Textile Industry)
- University of Cambridge
- University of Hasselt
- VIGC (Flemish Centre for Graphic Innovation)
- Viscom (Visual Communication show)

Members benefit from:

- Reduced entry fees to partner events
- Dedicated meeting areas and VIP treatment during the events
- Involvement in partner projects, co-development and research

Chaired by Gabriele Heller from Marabu, the Health, Safety and Environmental Protection Committee educates and updates members on regulations such as REACH, GHS, CLP, as well as recycling and nanotechnology legislation. Members receive support and advice, and can participate in setting industry standards.

Chaired by Robin McMillan from Sun Chemical (TEC) and William Shorter from MacDermid Autotype (M&P) the committees for Technical Exchange and Marketing & Promotion conceptualise and develop ESMA conferences, seminars and involve members in workgroups on print quality and certification.

A team consisting of ESMA members, all experts in their respective domains offers advice both inside the organisation and to everyone from the printing world who seeks specific advice on digital transformation, textiles, colour management & inspection and innovative business models. All ESMA members are welcome to join the team which is promoted on major trade shows and in mailing campaigns. The questions coming to ESMA from the printing community are channelled to our experts and benefit both the association and member by generating new business contacts.

ESMA newsletters and mailings reach over 80,000 international contacts from all stages of the printing value chain. There are at least four online editions per year and two-three hard copy newsletters distributed on the biggest industry events. All ESMA members are mentioned in the hard copies with their logo and website address. Additional exposure is offered via advertisement banners (both online and offline).

Circulated in 15,000 copies worldwide, “Specialist Printing Worldwide” is the magazine for functional and industrial printing processes. The focus on technical content and practical solutions ensures high readership quotes among ESMA target audience. Our members benefit from special PR packages at “SPW” and advertisement discounts of up to 40% compared to standard rates.

ESMA is actively involved in EU-funded projects at the meeting point of printing and other processes including electronics or textiles. Some of the recent projects received support within Horizon 2020 and CORNET programmes, as well as from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship Agency (IWT). These were eg. CLIP (Conductive Low-Cost Ink Project) and POLEOT (Printing of Light Emitting Devices on Textiles). ESMA members are welcome as partners and originators of projects and can always contact the association with their ideas. 

With support of renowned European academic institutes ESMA develops a series of educational programmes. The goal is to offer certified training courses handling all aspects of industrial printing technologies in an intensive hands-on setting. First topics currently in preparation include industrial inkjet and digital textile printing.

A Technology Partner is a person or company involved in using, promoting, supporting screen or digital inkjet printing in the general purpose.

Excluded are all suppliers or OEM partners because these are full members. Included are resellers, distributors, consultants, printers, developers… using or supporting in a professional way the technology described before!

Membership fee is €500/year (€250 for registrations after July)