Saying Farewell to On Demand

Spring is in full bloom, but astute in-plant managers may have noticed one thing missing from the graphic arts garden this year. For the first time since it took root nearly two decades ago, the On Demand Conference and Expo is nowhere to be seen.

After sprouting in 1994 and quickly blossoming into the industry's main spring event, On Demand has faded quietly from sight. Questex, owner and producer of the event, had planned a more modest two-day conference this year, focusing on the life cycle of content, but it never came to fruition.

For in-plants and small printers everywhere, the show's demise—while not a surprise after years of shrinking attendance—is a sad occasion. More than any other equipment show, On Demand focused directly on in-plants, the earliest adopters of digital printing technologies. By 2009, organizers said 60 percent of the show's attendees hailed from in-plants. Managers flew in from all over the country to attend. In recent years show organizers seemed to take notice, and stepped up the educational sessions focused on our market. The 2009 show featured nearly a dozen sessions led by in-plant managers.

On Demand, the brainchild of Charlie Pesko and Jeff Hayes, took seed at a time when on-demand printing was a budding concept. The show's popularity rose steadily through the '90s and early 2000s—from 3,700 attendees at its debut show in 1994 to the high water mark of 33,753 in 2004.

In its glory years, nearly every major vendor in the graphic arts business had a booth, including offset suppliers like Heidelberg. On Demand served as the venue for countless product debuts over the years. The Canon imagePRESS C7000VP, Océ Vario­Print 6250, Xerox DocuColor 5000, and Konica Minolta bizhub PRO C6500 were all launched at On Demand. In 2004, Kodak used the show to announce it would purchase Heidelberg's digital printing business, including its share in the pair's NexPress joint venture.

The show, which spent its first decade in New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center, provided a counterbalance to autumn's Graph Expo, and an opportunity for East Coast printers to check out the latest equipment without coughing up money for a plane ticket. But like Seybold Seminars before it, the once-fanatical interest eventually dwindled. As digital printing became the norm, Graph Expo transitioned from an offset event into a digital show, luring vendors whose limited budgets no longer permitted multiple shows. The recession further drained travel coffers.

After 2004, On Demand became rootless, trying different cities to find the optimal audience. Attendance dropped to about 20,000 for its two-year stint in Philadelphia, then rebounded to nearly 25,000 when it moved north to storm-prone Boston. By the time it tried out Washington, D.C., in 2011, however, vendor participation had plunged noticeably. Many wondered if there was a point in holding last year's event at all.

But the show marched on, pinning its hopes on New York City, where it got its start. Sadly, attendance did not climb. Last year's event, a three-way partnership with info360 and SoMoLo, drew "thousands" according to a post-show press release—a vague figure that was obviously a far cry from the 33,753 that swarmed On Demand 2004.

From an in-plant perspective, the On Demand show, so perfectly suited to their needs, was an encouraging sign of support during their digital transition. Though its time has clearly passed, the On Demand show will be missed by those who once walked its jam-packed floors, looking for the next technological breakthrough.