Well, CMM Intl. 2005 is history, and as with every major event, how it was perceived varies greatly depending on the perspective of the person you ask.

For many people, show organizer Paperloop delivered on its promise of a "re-energized" CMM, working hard over the past two years to breathe new life into the industry staple. On the plus side:

Bill Klein, executive director of the Packaging & Label Gravure Association, praised the improved working relationship Paperloop has established with both trade groups and exhibitors alike compared to the show's previous management.

Overall, an expanded CMM conference program drew fairly good attendance. A few specific sessions were either standing-room-only or management had to bring in extra chairs to accommodate the crowds.

Sales were made on the show floor. Stanford Products sold the three machines in its display on the first day of the show, and Nordmeccanica, Polytype and Uteco Converting (among others) all consummated deals.

The smaller the booth, the better was the case for several exhibitors. Whether it was an unusual product, like Stratis' plastic pallets, Componex's lightweight idler rolls, or Appleton Manfacturing's core cutters, or just an effective pre-show marketing plan, many smaller companies were "knee-deep in CMM attendees," as managing editor Melissa Larson observed in the Show Daily.

But unfortunately, all these positives just didn't seem to me to outweigh the overall negative tone of the show. Covering about 250,000 net sq ft of display space in the South Hall of McCormick Place with about 500 exhibitors, CMM 2005 was again down around 10 percent from two years earlier. As shows go, Day One was relatively quiet, Day Two was slightly busier, and the last two days appeared sadly empty.

I could spend pages going on and on about the decline of CMM since its heyday back in 1999 when it was bursting at the seams of the North Hall. But really, since 9–11, and even before that, trade shows in general have had a tough row to hoe via the last economic recession, and they don't seem to have recovered.

Are trade shows as old-hat as selling Electrolux vacuums door-to-door in the 1950s? Are they just not the right way of doing business anymore for some companies? It certainly isn't easy to draw a crowd to your booth to watch a video of that new printing press or coater/laminator when the customer can just go online and see the same thing from the comfort of his or her office. And if they want to initiate a conversation, there's the telephone (or that online "Contact Us" form).

Frankly, I don't know what the answer is, but CMM isn't giving up. The show's move to the Rosemont Convention Center in 2007 may be its salvation. The new venue promises to slash costs for exhibitors while making it easier for the typical one- to two-day attendee.

In the meantime, there's no shortage of competition for CMM in the next six months. How well those shows do will be a barometer not just for CMM but also for the trade show concept itself.