Less than 10 days ago, I attended the RadTech2020 in Orlando, FL. Coronavirus, or COVID-19, was already a huge concern, but there was no talk yet of curfews and business shutdowns. Some conference postponements and/or cancellations were being announced, most notably the American Coatings Show. The tragic death tolls and massive numbers of infected people across the globe had yet to become a daily reality.

There had been a number of speakers who cancelled their presentations at RadTech 2020, although many of them were able to create video talks.

So much has happened in the last week. On Friday alone, drupa 2020, the world’s largest printing show that was scheduled for June in Messe Dusseldorf, was postponed until 2021. Interpack, also slated for Messe Dusseldorf, also was called off. The 2020 NAPIM Convention, scheduled for Arizona in April, was cancelled. Same goes for the Flexo Forum.

NAPIM executive director John Copeland and NAPIM president Jim Leitch issued the following statement:
“This was not an easy decision for us to make. However, it is our obligation to do what is in the best interests of all our attendees and event sponsors. As we have all been following the news surrounding coronavirus, it is changing hourly with local and state governments issuing safety declarations, airlines cancelling flights, and large events such as conferences and sporting events being cancelled. Some attendees have already informed us that their companies have stopped all employee travel and that they would not be sending anyone to the NAPIM Spring Convention. This is an unprecedented situation for our organization, but we wanted to inform you as soon as a decision was made.”
Meanwhile, ink companies and key suppliers are issuing updates on manufacturing as well as safety.

Right now, it is clear that social distancing, or separation, is critical to try to contain the spread of the virus. It is also clear that the organizers of these shows recognized that the safety of attendees is of paramount importance. Now that federal, state and local governments have mandated that no gatherings of more than 10 people be allowed, these shows would have been cancelled.

As for Rodman Media, I am happy to say our employees are safe and working from home. We will continue to update you on any industry happening or conference postponements. I personally am thankful for the medical industry for all it is doing for us, which is plenty –  my wife is a nurse in a major regional hospital here, and at their own risk, they are doing all they can to treat infected patients – and I’ll add that there are ways to help, including donations. These are a couple that come to mind: 

American Red Cross Blood Services

COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO


COVID-19 has been devastating. We wish all of you good health and safety in these difficult times.