Duration
March 4–6, 2026
Location
Guangzhou
Topic
Paper, Packaging and Waste Processing
Overview
Dates and positioning within the print-to-pack cluster
Printing South China is the 32nd South China International Exhibition on Printing Industry and runs from March 4–6, 2026 at Area A of the China Import & Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. The organizer positions it as a practical, business-driven platform that anchors the region’s early-March “print-to-pack” cluster, co-located with Sino-Label, Sino-Pack and PACKINNO so buyers can cover prepress, print, labeling, packaging machinery and packaging products in one trip. For engineering and procurement teams this structure compresses vendor discovery, technical due diligence and shortlist creation into a dense, three-day workflow with line-owner conversations rather than brochure talk. In practice, visitors can validate throughput levers, substrate latitude, color stability and digital workflow integration while aligning service depth, commissioning windows and aftersales KPIs before capex decisions. For exhibitors, the Guangdong buyer base and the cross-hall flows from labels, machinery and packaging products translate into qualified projects with drawings, CTQs and budget envelopes on hand, improving conversion from footfall to RFQs and pilot planning. The official Show Information confirms dates and venue, and press/overview pages state the co-location model used in 2026.
Topics
Prepress, digital and offset, specialty print, postpress and workflow
The show’s scope spans the complete printing value chain: prepress systems for color management, RIP/workflow and CTP; digital toner and inkjet presses targeting commercial, label and short-run packaging; offset, flexo and gravure platforms for longer runs; specialty print including screen, UV and hybrid for value-added effects; wide-format for signage and décor; converting for cartons, corrugated and flexible packaging; postpress systems for cutting, folding, binding, laminating and foiling; inks, coatings, substrates and consumables including low-migration options for food contact; inspection, color measurement and inline QA tied to ERP/MES; and software for web-to-print, VDP and automated scheduling. Co-location adds practical bridges: label innovations at Sino-Label can be tested against press and finishing options next door; packaging machinery at Sino-Pack helps verify downstream runnability and sealing; PACKINNO provides product/materials context for recyclability and branding. This end-to-end layout lets teams evaluate not just list price but total production economics—OEE, makeready time, waste rate, ink/energy per thousand, compliance and service footprint—before committing to specifications. Official pages describe this integrated scope and the “whole-industry” positioning for 2026.
Participants
Brand owners, printers/converters, integrators, suppliers and investors
Attendance typically blends brand owners from FMCG, beverage/dairy, daily chemicals, pharma/healthcare and 3C with commercial printers, label and flexible converters, folding-carton and corrugated houses, OEMs and system integrators, substrate and consumables vendors, workflow/IT providers and finance/after-sales partners. Buyer delegations arrive with target SKUs, print windows and compliance requirements, so meetings rapidly move from capability overviews to feasibility, CTQs and commissioning calendars. Printers benchmark platforms by makeready dispersion, substrate flexibility, color consistency across SKUs and automation depth; converters compare die-cutting, inspection and waste-handling strategies; brand teams validate shelf-effect, variable data and sustainability claims under realistic logistics and retail constraints. With the organizer’s co-located ecosystem, procurement can assemble multi-plant roll-out plans that align presses, finishing, labels, packaging machinery and materials in one pass, shortening time-to-RFQ and reducing project risk. The event’s trade-only format and the co-organizing entities are documented across the Show/Press sections.
Exhibits
Presses, finishing, inks/substrates, inspection and digital workflow
On the floor, visitors walk complete chains from prepress to finishing: CTP and color servers feeding digital and offset presses; flexo/gravure for flexible packaging and long-run labels; hybrid and screen modules for tactile effects; converting lines for cartons and corrugated; and postpress assets such as cutters, folders, stitchers, perfect binders, laminators, die-cutters and foilers. Adjacent zones feature inks, coatings and wash-up systems with low-VOC and low-migration options; substrates including papers/boards, films, foils and specialty synthetics; inspection cameras, spectro and inline defect detection tied to reject logic; and software for VDP, imposition and automated job-ticketing. Because Sino-Label, Sino-Pack and PACKINNO sit next door, teams can immediately reconcile label materials with print engines, confirm filling/closing parameters with packaging machinery, and test recyclability or premiumization ideas on the products side, which turns a three-week spec cycle into a two-day on-site loop. The exhibitor and press pages outline this exhibit matrix and the one-stop positioning.
Venue
Area A, China Import & Export Fair Complex; opening hours confirmed
The event is held in Area A of the China Import & Export Fair Complex, Pazhou. Official hours are 9:30–17:30 on March 4–5 and 9:30–16:00 on March 6, with last admission thirty minutes before closing, which is relevant when scheduling trials and extended demos. The venue’s hall heights, power distribution and contractor ecosystem support live press runs and finishing lines, while Guangzhou’s hotel/metro network lets international teams compress two-to-three-day buying programs into back-to-back meetings and trials. Co-located shows in adjacent areas allow quick cross-checks without losing time in transit, and Area A’s dock configuration simplifies crate handling for heavy presses and sensitive color-measurement equipment. The Show Information page provides the authoritative reference for dates, area designation and hours.
Organizer
China Foreign Trade Centre Group & Adsale Exhibition Services
Printing South China is organized by China Foreign Trade Centre Group, Ltd. (the institutional entity behind the Canton Fair) together with Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.; hosting units include China Foreign Trade Guangzhou Exhibition Co., Ltd. and Adsale Exhibition Service (Shenzhen) Ltd. This partnership blends venue governance and policy alignment with market-facing exhibitor services, media and buyer recruitment, which explains the show’s 32-year continuity and the co-location strategy with Sino-Label, Sino-Pack and PACKINNO. For exhibitors, the integrated operations reduce friction around move-in, utilities, safety and press-run permissions; for buyers, curated routes and registration pipelines improve signal-to-noise and lift the share of meetings that progress to RFQs and pilot installs. The organizer list appears on the same Show Information page as the dates, venue and hours.
Organizer’s website