With “time enough for counting, now the dealing’s done”, PacPrint 09 organisers have issued visitor figures for the Melbourne show – which closed on Saturday – which indicate that 4000 more people preregistered than attended. The final total was 18,197, boosted by more than 2500 people who came through the doors on the final day. Just over three quarters of these came from Victoria, with another 16 per cent from interstate and almost eight per cent from overseas destinations. Although numbers were down on 2005 levels, exhibitors across the board expressed “pleasant surprise” at numbers which exceeded their expectations, and were also delighted with what they saw as the excellent quality of the visitors. More than 12 per cent of visitors identified themselves as the CEO or MD of their company, with another ten per cent registered as ‘owner’ or ‘partner’ and a further 15 per cent as being in management positions. For exhibitors, this breakdown – together with the good number of sales made – confirmed that the ‘decision makers’ were still strongly in attendance. “PacPrint 09 has provided a positive and optimistic ‘shot in the arm’ for the industry in what are undoubtedly challenging times,” says PacPrint 09 chairman Alastair Hadley. “After a relatively quiet start on the first day, there has been a constant buzz around the stands, not only generated by good numbers of visitors, but by the genuine interest and expectation shown by those people in what PacPrint exhibitors had to offer.” One visitor had told him it was ‘just what the industry needed’, providing intelligence, ideas and information which will help businesses equip themselves to survive, and prosper, into the future. Certainly the reaction varied among exhibitors canvassed by GXpress during the show. Quality attendance was a further networking opportunity but little consolation for ‘heavy metal’ vendors who have taken order in the last 12 months for which they are unable to find finance. But for others, the situation was different. Robert Gatto, sales and marketing director of colour management specialist Kayell Australia reported that he was on 147 per cent of budget for the month, and commented “what recession?” Technicality or not, it was a sentiment enthusiastically echoed yesterday by Messrs Rudd and Swan!