Industry education will be at the heart of the 11th annual Sign and Graphic Imaging Middle East (SGI 2009) exhibition, taking place February 15-17, 2009 at Dubai Airport Expo.

The three-day industry exhibition will offer visitors the chance to engage in a two-day seminar series, to be headed by internationally-acclaimed speaker Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth, and sponsored by Ghandi Innovations, taking place on days two and three of the show.

A number of prominent industry leaders will be flying in to Dubai to present keynote addresses on the sign and graphic imaging industry during the two afternoon sessions being held at SGI 2009.

“In today’s highly competitive marketplace industry education and information is a valuable commodity and that is why we decided to add a seminar programme to this year’s event. The aim is to make SGI 2009 a must visit event for anyone linked to the Imaging industry. Now, exhibitors and visitors alike can come and do good business as well as learn about regional and international market trends, new product development and business forecasts for the future,” said Abdul Rehman Falaknaz, President of IEC.

Seminar series leader Dr Hellmuth has dedicated his career to the advancement of digital imaging in art history, archaeology and photography.

Dr Hellmuth is the founder and author of several publications and websites on high-end scanning and large format printing, as well as looking at indigenous art forms. He has worked in conjunction with many international printing corporations, inclding Hewett-Packard, MacDermid ColorSpan, Epson, Heidelberg and Calumet Photographic.

“I am interested in developing and marketing new products that provide end users what they need to take advantage of the advances in digital technology without frightening these end users with a steep learning curve,” he said.

Gandi Innovations will sponsor the SGI 2009 seminar series. Founded in 2001 by industry pioneers, James Gandy and his brother Hary, Canada-headquartered Gandi Innovations has become a market leader in high performance wide format digital printers, and now boasts international operations in San Antonio TX, Mexico City Mexico, Mumbai India, South Africa, Belgium, Dubai UAE, Hong Kong and over 40 distributors worldwide.

SGI 2009 will showcase the latest products and emerging technologies from the industries of Advertising, Architectural Hardware, Banners & Posters, Digital Imaging, Electronic Message Centres, Electronic Signage, Graphic Imaging, Graphic Services, Large Format Printing, and Signage.

SGI 2009 will take place at Dubai Airport Expo from February 15 – 17, 2009. The show is supported by the Advertising Section of Dubai Municipality.