Epson projects innovation at LabelExpo with help from Caldera

As European communications manager for Epson, Melissa Urry’s remit is vast, covering content creation for technologies as diverse as printers, projectors and smart glasses. Inspiring new and existing customers in creative ways, therefore, is essential – no more so than when presenting ground-breaking new products. With two such occurrences scheduled for major industry show LabelExpo in Brussels in September 2013, Epson’s stand had to reflect the innovation and values inherent in its headline launches, all while respecting the team’s packed schedule.

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Enter Caldera and VariableDisplay. Extended far beyond its original purpose of creating a bridge for wide-format printers to become digital signage providers, VariableDisplay is an accessible yet fully featured solution for the control and delivery of content. While typical installations feature screens, Epson uses its own projector technology (in this case the EB-G6750) to deliver dynamic information at public events – and Caldera’s software and hardware combination enabled it to do so with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flexibility.

Always on the hunt for new ways to show content on the stand, Melissa’s colleague and European events manager Yvonne Myhill visited Caldera’s Strasbourg headquarters to check out VariableDisplay. “With the launch of both the SurePress L-6034VW single-pass digital label press and our new PrecisionCore printhead technology it’s based on, our LabelExpo stand had to be similarly impressive,” explains Melissa, who creates and deploys campaigns to full European roll-out. “It was vital that we get it right.

“We have a library of assets prepared already that, in the past, we might have sent away to turn into a video loop to fill our projections. Caldera’s demonstration had immediate appeal, showing how we could achieve significant time and cost savings by using playlists composed of the assets we’d already worked hard to create.”

Epson’s collateral for the world’s largest labelling industry show – with exposure to more than 28,000 attendees and dozens of specialist journalists – already included images, product videos, infographics and presentation slides. Three projectors engaged and informed visitors, with a master display serving to hook those treading the boards, one slave showing case studies and another leading on the hero launch products. VariableDisplay allowed Melissa to schedule, vary and day-part this content across the areas effortlessly.

“I’m relatively tech-savvy but had no previous experience of digital signage,” explains Melissa. “Caldera’s web-based demonstration made it clear that setting up the VariableDisplay box and controlling the software was incredibly simple. I was walked through everything from identifying the hardware on the network to uploading content and setting timings, enabling me to put the installation together by myself on the day.”

VariableDisplay majors on ease of use; able to accept all common graphics, animation, movie, video and web streaming formats, its software interface is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux and also available for smartphones and tablets. The mini-PC hardware element harnesses this interoperability to deliver via a range of full-HD output options, including HDMI, for any application, be it wayfinding, retail or – as for Epson – major international events.

“For major launches, press and marketing materials can end up being amended at the last minute,” Melissa continues. “Rather than causing conflict with our prepared content, VariableDisplay turned that into an advantage. We were able to keep the screens populated with fresh information throughout the show, demonstrating speed and reactivity to our audience. Even if I wasn’t on site, the Caldera set-up was so accessible that I could explain to inexperienced colleagues how to update the playlist.”

Epson’s presence was built to impress both the discerning LabelExpo crowd and Mr Minoru Usui, Epson’s global president – and Melissa’s team succeeded. Its success in Brussels meant that digital signage has now become an integral part of forthcoming exhibition stands and Melissa confirms that the Caldera solution travelled to both Gitex Technology Week in Dubai and Droidcon in London later in the year.

“We’re excited to see how we can use the suite’s extensive functionality to create even more vibrant show stands in the future,” Melissa concludes. “Visual, moving content is engaging trade fair audiences in completely new ways and our projection technology fits perfectly with that, giving us a different approach to digital signage. We’re now looking to the future to pair that with some of the advanced, dynamic functionality already included with Caldera’s VariableDisplay – Flash animation and social media, for example – to help us communicate in dynamic and original ways. It’s a winning combination that means we have plenty up our sleeve for future shows.“

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