A personalised object tells a story, said Consuelo Muredda, owner of Finitech, at the ‘From the masses to the ego’ conference (Homi Lab, March 11). And the story of this edition of PTE is a great one because it conveys emotions. Many of them are green, a bright colour of hope that we will soon emerge from this economic situation which has dampened - though only in part - the industry's significant recovery reported in the second half of 2021, and also the colour of sustainability, which has now become synonymous with a mature and mindful way of being on the market. This is demonstrated by the many companies on display at PTE 2022 with sustainable stand designs (just think of Maxema, Silicon and Stricker, though there are many more) and with catalogues and brochures strictly in recycled paper.

The green approach manifests in details. Packaging, for instance, is now being rethought in response to market demand for products with low environmental impact.

Demonstrating the seriousness of companies operating in the market are certifications. Each ‘green’ product is accompanied by a sort of ID indicating its compliance with the most stringent regulations, in terms of both environmental and social sustainability.

Even the ‘tech’ side of PTE, i.e., printing and personalisation machines, rose to the occasion and joined the ‘friends of the environment’ club, starting out focusing on saving energy and ending on saving on consumables with water-based inks.

A commitment - to both the environment and the community - that confirms the maturity and professionalism of the promotional sector, on the front line supporting the world of marketing with solutions that are always creative and fresh as well as respectful of the planet and the people who live on it.

But PTE 2022 was also an opportunity to be ‘immersed’ in the numerous industry innovations: an exhibition experienced with emotion and joy by many exhibitors and many visitors, who seized the opportunity for training in the PTE Lab. Training is of course one of the benefits of PTE, which is increasingly taking the form of an event where you can tackle the latest printing techniques assessing the most innovative inks and the most advanced technologies thanks to the attentive support of the professionals available to transfer know-how and dispense advice.

“Personalisation is an art”: this is the message echoed around the stands at PTE, which even configuration software made available online by many clothing and gadget companies can give rise to. But that’s not all.

This year, even more than before, personalisation seems to have made an evolutionary leap towards ‘made-to-measure’, towards bespoke, towards the possibility of customising the neutral product beforehand. Just think - for textiles - of the work of tailors linked to distributors who can modify certain details of the garment before it is purchased by the agency for personalisation or finishing, which is increasingly requested in order to make packaging and products ‘unique’.