"What with volcanic ash, the potential strike at BA and the recent problems with the Channel Tunnel, about the only thing we haven't had is a plague of locusts," he quipped at yesterday's opening ceremony. "Hopefully, life is a little more positive than it was six months ago."
Meanwhile, as the punters flooded into the NEC, exhibitors appeared to be largely optimistic about the prospects for the exhibition.
George Clarke, Ipex 2010 president and managing director of Heidelberg UK, said: "We exhibitors have put our money where our mouths are, at a difficult time. Now we need a return on our investment. We will judge the show a success if we manage to instil confidence in our industry to invest."
"We expect a good show and a good week," added Komori president and chief executive Yoshiharu Komori.
One of the first visitors through the doors as the show opened was David Knight, managing director at specialist screen printer Quazar International, based in Maidstone. "We're particularly interested in reel-to-reel printing of fabrics," he said.
Pensord chief executive Tony Jones and commercial director Darren Coxon were also among the first attendees on site.
"We're going to have a look at the Fuji Jet Press, with an eye on the future," Jones said. "We're also interested in innovations that deliver automation in finishing – anything that's labour-saving."
The 10 Ipex Champions in Print were honoured at the opening ceremony, with Crosfield Electronics founder John Crosfield, Indigo founder Benny Landa, St Ives founder Lord Gavron, and Professor Frank Romano, of the Rochester Institute of Technology, all present to receive their awards.
A whistle-stop VIP tour of the halls followed the ceremony, with Gavron describing the exhibits on view as "mind-blowing".
"Manufacturers give so much advice nowadays. In my day, they gave us a press and said 'get on with it'," he said.
As the VIPs were touring the halls, the first deals of the show were already being signed, with Welsh magazine printer Stephens & George sealing a £500,000 plate deal with Agfa to complete a £10m refit.
The mammoth investment, which kicked off in January 2009, included three Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105s.
S&G's Ipex pre-press spend included a pair of Avalon N8 platesetters, each able to churn out 50 plates per hour, and a contract for Agfa's Energy Elite plates.
Further business was done on Heidelberg's stand, where Swindon-based ESP Colour confirmed a £3.9m order for an XL105-10-P to add to the two XL75-5+Ls it bought just over a year ago.
Elsewhere, Apex Digital Graphics sold a Ryobi 525GE to Darlington-based Sense Creative as part of a £340,000 spend that will also include a range of Roland and Autobond equipment.
On the digital front, Springfield Solutions in Hull bought an HP 6000 label press to replace a 4500 and make them the first company in the UK to have two 6000s. Meanwhile, east London-based Precision Printing bought an HP Indigo 7500.
