Late April · Mostra d’Oltremare, Naples
For Italian and European comic publishers, manga and light-novel houses, animation studios, independent authors, emerging comic artists, content creators, print and illustration labels, collectors and sponsors preparing their presence at Comicon Naples and needing signed prints in limited edition, public fan giveaways, international guest welcome kits and coordinated materials for the signing areas — delivered in time for the opening of the Mostra d’Oltremare.
Comicon — International Festival of Comics, Animation and Video Games — is the main festival in southern Europe dedicated to comics, animation, pop fiction and video games. Each year in late April the Mostra d’Oltremare in Naples welcomes hundreds of Italian and European publishers, manga and light-novel houses, animation studios, independent authors, small fine-art print and illustration labels, content creators and industry professionals, and attracts tens of thousands of visitors including comic fans, print and gadget collectors, families and the general public. For participating publishers, comic artists and creators the preparation calendar is dense, print runs are highly variable and recipients are varied — Italian and foreign fans, signed-print collectors, content creators and trade press, independent authors and small publishers, industry professionals, families — so every kit must be split clearly between signed prints in limited edition, public fan giveaways, signing-area materials and international guest kits.
For a merchandising programme around Comicon Naples, Corp-Merch.IT runs the full chain from its operational hub: receiving the publisher or creator master graphic files (AI, EPS, PDF/X-4 with CMYK images at 300 dpi, FOGRA39 colour profile for fine-art print, authenticity certificates for the signed editions), adapting them to the personalisation techniques (fine-art printing in signed edition on Hahnemühle and Canson paper for the author prints, water-based screen printing on GOTS-certified organic cotton for the coordinated shoppers and totes, hot-foil stamping on FSC-certified paper for the catalogues and fanzines, direct UV printing on Faenza and Caltagirone ceramics for the small author editions, laser engraving on Maniago stainless steel for the small accessories and pins, acid etching on Colle Val d’Elsa glass for the glasses of the guest kit, DTF print and embroidery for the official-merch branded textiles), physical pre-production sample with Pantone colour map and technical sheet, production on the Italian supply chains (Milan fine-art print, Como screen printing, Faenza ceramics, Caltagirone ceramics, Maniago steel, Colle Val d’Elsa glass, Fabriano paper for the fanzines, Naples bookbinding for the limited editions), and delivery to a central Naples hotel, the Mostra d’Oltremare stand or the publisher office in the agreed time slot. For programmes covering several publishers or creators we split into recipient-labelled lots, with distinct delivery addresses if a publisher headquartered in Milan or Rome wants to collect its share from its own warehouse.
The Comicon Naples audience is varied and kits must be tailored to the recipient. The Italian fan walking between the stands with their wishlist looks for a coordinated gadget of the series or creator (GOTS-certified organic cotton shopper with the comic graphics, signed print in limited edition, pin, mug, poster, coordinated notebook) they can take home and keep as a memento of the day. The author-print collector following the Comicon to update their collection needs fine-art prints in limited numbered and signed edition, certified by the author, on Hahnemühle / Canson paper, with an authenticity certificate. The content creator following the Comicon to document the fair looks for coordinated gadgets they can show their audience (branded shopper, pin, insulated mug, notebook) and small fine-art print runs to use as backdrops for the live streams. The first-time emerging comic artist at the Comicon with their self-published work needs a limited print run of their work, coordinated gadgets (shopper, pins, signed posters) and a small bilingual fanzine (Italian and English) for international promotion. The manga publisher following the fair to promote the Italian releases needs institutional catalogues of the upcoming titles, author sheets, trade-press materials, coordinated shoppers for the fan audience. A merchandising programme that respects these five audiences converts much better than a single kit trying to cover them all.
A recurring case is the merch coordinated with the launch of a new comic series the publisher presents at Comicon itself: the publisher’s marketing team prepares a neutral graphic base aligned with the series identity (branded shopper, poster, pin, notebook) and adds the launch details (first-issue title, author name, editorial claim, release date) in a reduced second run, so each visitor finds a specific memento of the series they saw at the stand. Printing on FSC-certified paper, GOTS-certified organic cotton, Faenza and Caltagirone ceramics, Colle Val d’Elsa glass, Maniago steel and Hahnemühle / Canson paper for the signed prints is a frequent request from publishers most careful with the environmental claim and the print quality, and we handle it with FSC and GOTS certified screen-printers, ceramicists and typographers, and with fine-art print labs accredited for the signed print runs.
Most publishers, comic artists and creators running a merch programme for Comicon coordinate their Italian operations from Naples, Rome or Milan. The Naples hub — where Corp-Merch.IT works through fine-art print labs in the Vomero district and consolidation warehouses in Fuorigrotta — lets us receive graphic files and Pantone references from the publisher team, run the pre-production sample across the Italian supply chains (Milan fine-art print, Como screen printing, Faenza ceramics, Caltagirone ceramics, Maniago steel, Colle Val d’Elsa glass, Fabriano paper for the fanzines, Naples bookbinding for the limited editions) and ship the lot to the Mostra d’Oltremare stand or the delegation hotel within a very short courier window, twenty-four hours from the Campanian capital. For programmes combining an Italian publisher and an international distribution partner we run bilingual materials (Italian and English at minimum) and, on request, full multilingual production with translations aligned to ISO 17100. For programmes pairing Comicon with parallel events such as Lucca Comics we mirror the logistics on both dates with a single operational contact and a dedicated MOQ price list for the annual volume.
The Comicon window is concentrated but the merch programme must be planned against a calendar that includes the two set-up days opening the preceding Wednesday, the four public opening days from Thursday to Sunday, the signing sessions and author-meets schedule, the live-drawing sessions and editorial presentations in the morning, the video-game demo areas and cosplay areas in the afternoon, and the industry after-parties in the evening. For publishers and creators the gap between confirming the fair calendar and the Mostra d’Oltremare opening is normally under eight weeks, and any item that must be at the stand, the signing area or the meeting room for day one must be closed and shipped at least one week before the debut. We work backwards from that moment: production must close two–three weeks before the debut; the courier slot must be booked for the Tuesday or Wednesday of the Comicon week; the addressee list must be finalised at the same time as the signing-session calendar is confirmed; the launch details (series title, author, editorial claim) only add a small print run to an already-produced neutral graphic base.
For teams following Comicon from Naples, Rome or abroad we also run a two-wave kit: a pre-Comicon wave on the Tuesday or Wednesday of the fair week to the delegation hotel or to the publisher warehouse in the Vomero or Fuorigrotta district, and a post-Comicon wave that returns any unused material to the publisher warehouse for storage until the next edition (annual). This split is a frequent request because the visitor and accredited audience that actually takes home a coordinated Comicon gadget is much smaller than the stand and meeting-area audience, and most publishers do not want surplus material left in Naples after the last day.
Author prints in limited numbered and signed edition on Hahnemühle / Canson paper with authenticity certificate, institutional catalogues and fanzines on FSC-certified paper with hot-foil stamping, bilingual texts (Italian and English) aligned to ISO 17100 for international programmes.
GOTS-certified organic cotton shoppers with water-based screen printing aligned to the series, Maniago stainless-steel laser-engraved pins, Caltagirone ceramic mugs, signed posters on FSC-certified paper, coordinated notebooks in FSC-certified paper.
Scandicci leather folders with discreet engraving of the publisher mark, branded FSC-certified paper notebooks, metal or wood ballpoint pens, bilingual biographical sheets (Italian and English), multilingual labelling on request, coordinated small stationery.
Coordinated FSC-certified paper placemats for the signing areas, branded bookmarks, postcards with the series graphics, small A3 posters signed by the author, promotional pins for the live-drawing sessions.
Before starting production we close graphic masters, quantities per publisher and per recipient, packaging and named recipient. The final delivery address is locked against the publisher marketing director or creator logistics contact calendar: the delegation reference hotel in Naples (Vomero, Centro, Fuorigrotta), the publisher warehouse in the Vomero or Fuorigrotta district, or the Milan or Rome publisher office for programmes that stay elsewhere. Mostra d’Oltremare access constraints and the Comune di Napoli ZTL condition the loading slots, which is why most teams choose early-morning or after-20:00 deliveries, when commercial vehicles are again allowed in the central areas.
For an Italian programme routed through Naples the consignments are consolidated at the hub and shipped to the Mostra d’Oltremare or the hotel within 24-hour windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express Italia, by appointment for venues that require telephone notice. For programmes above 1,000 pieces we offer appointment delivery with telephone notice and, on request, on-site set-up by our staff at the publisher stand or the signing area. For materials that require controlled-environment conditions (fine-art prints on Hahnemühle paper, catalogues, small leather goods, Colle Val d’Elsa glass for the glasses, Caltagirone ceramics for the mugs) we coordinate temperature-controlled transport with specialised partners. For kits bound for international comic artists we run multilingual labelling (Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic) and tamper-evident pouch packaging with bilingual packing list in the recipient’s name, with packaging certified for the air transport of signed prints. For clients subject to CSRD reporting (D.Lgs. 125/2024, transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we attach a sustainability sheet per order with a Scope 3 CO₂e estimate under the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain on the Lombardy–Campania leg and from the production supply chains involved, with material-level and leg-level breakdown usable for the client sustainability statement.
All Italian B2B orders are invoiced in EUR at the standard 22% VAT rate (with reduced 4%, 5% or 10% rates applied where the product category allows: publishing, art objects, PDO/PGI products) and routed through the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) of the Agenzia delle Entrate to the recipient code or the buyer’s PEC address. Corp-Merch.IT is an Italian VAT-registered operator, listed in VIES for intra-EU transactions, and handles reverse charge, split payment and self-invoicing for the public administration under current Italian legislation.
Eight–ten weeks is the safest window for production on the Italian supply chains and delivery to the delegation reference hotel or to the publisher warehouse in the Vomero or Fuorigrotta district. Six–seven weeks work when the product mix is simple, the publisher or series graphics are already approved and the print runs are already defined. For publishers pairing Comicon with Lucca Comics we mirror the lots across both dates with a single operational contact.
Only after the Comicon organisation confirms the set-up window, the loading lane and the named recipient. Most teams combine the Mostra d’Oltremare with a Naples hotel, the publisher office or a consolidation warehouse in the Fuorigrotta district. For industry after-parties the evening before the debut we propose delivery to the venue or the delegation reference hotel with twenty-four hours’ telephone notice.
Yes. Signed prints and limited editions of individual series, coordinated public gadgets, international guest welcome kits and signing-area items can be packed and labelled as separate lots, with distinct delivery addresses if the publisher has more than one series in catalogue or more than one destination address (for example the Naples hotel for the delegation, the Vomero publisher warehouse for the stand, the Milan office for storage). For programmes covering multiple publishers or creators we mirror the lots per publisher and consolidate in recipient-labelled crates by logistics node.
No. Corp-Merch.IT is an external, independent B2B supplier that helps publishers, comic artists, creators and sponsors prepare their own merch around Comicon. It does not organise, sponsor or represent Comicon, Comicon Srl, Regione Campania or the Comune di Napoli.
Corp-Merch.IT is an external, independent B2B supplier for publishers, comic artists, creators and sponsors attending Comicon. This page helps publishers, comic artists, creators and sponsors prepare their own merch around the fair. It does not represent Comicon, Comicon Srl, Regione Campania or the Comune di Napoli.