Romics 2026: B2B merchandising for publishers, authors, comic schools, indie comic stores, independent bookshops, trade associations and sponsors

Production briefing before the order hits the workshop

Dates

Comics, animation, video games and pop culture salon of the Italian calendar, split into two yearly editions (Romics Spring and Romics Autumn) at Fiera di Roma. The 2026 calendar, the public opening hours and the signing sessions and events schedule are published on the official site before each edition.

Venues

Fiera di Roma, Via Portuense 1645, 00148 Roma. Halls of the fair district, Palastudio area, signing session and workshop spaces, cosplay area, video games area, Japan area, hospitality zones and press conferences.

Audience

Comics, manga, animation, video games, cosplay and gadget collectors, emerging and established authors, publishers, comic stores, comic schools, trade and consumer press desks (Fumettologica, Best Movie, Wired Italia, etc.), bookshop and large-scale retail buyers, international delegations of partner festivals, corporate and institutional sector partners.

Operational calendar

Hall set-up across the two days before opening, press and trade preview the day before public opening, four days of fair, dismantling the day following closing.

Romics — a salon dedicated to comics, animation, animated cinema, video games and pop culture, organised in Rome since 2001 with biannual cadence (spring and autumn) — runs every year a programme ranging from new-release launches of the leading Italian and European publishers through signing sessions with Italian and international guest authors, drawing workshops and portfolio reviews coordinated with Italian comic schools, novelties presentations in the animation industry, video game tournaments and demo areas, cosplay competitions, animated and anime screenings and round tables on publishing, rights, translation, adaptation and new forms of digital distribution. The salon brings to Rome publishers, comic-book retailers, contact schools, bookshops, specialised press, large-scale retail buyers, international delegations of partner festivals and an enthusiast public that historically reaches one hundred thousand visitors per edition.

For publishers presenting their catalogue releases, authors and illustrators signing copies and meeting readers, comic schools running portfolio review desks, indie comic stores staffing their booth at the fair, generalist bookshops running the children and comics section, Italian comics trade associations, corporate and institutional sector sponsors, streaming platform partners and the organisers of the parallel sections (cosplay, video games, anime, Japan), Corp-Merch.IT coordinates from its Milan operational hub a tailored programme that opens with intake of master artwork from the publisher, the author, the school or the sponsor, advances through adaptation to each decoration method (water-based screen printing on GOTS-certified organic cotton for salon audience shoppers, hot-foil stamping on FSC-certified paper for editorial catalogues and press kits, computerised embroidery for premium tote bags, laser engraving on birch plywood or Maniago steel for high-end welcome bags, UV printing on recycled PVC for accredited badges and author passes) and closes with the physical pre-production sample, AQL 2.5 quality control and delivery to the publisher’s warehouse, the fair booth, the guest author’s hotel, the partner comic store or the press desk of the salon.

For clients with Italian VAT (Partita IVA), the invoice is issued through the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) with 22% IVA applied in EUR; reduced rates of 10% for catalogues and 5% for books and art publications apply to editorial categories under current Italian law. The ordinary rate applies to gadgets and demo kits. Reverse charge applies for intra-EU buyers registered in VIES, split payment applies for public-sector stands and Codice Destinatario / PEC handle electronic delivery. For non-EU clients we can issue an invoice in EUR without Italian IVA under the relevant territorial rules, or a self-billed summary on request. For programmes that fall under CSRD reporting (Italian D.Lgs. 125/2024, transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464), we provide a per-order sustainability sheet with Scope 3 CO₂e estimates aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain standard and ESRS E1, E5 and S2 disclosure requirements.

Edition calendar and Fiera di Roma logistics

The two yearly editions of Romics (Spring and Autumn) span the calendar year and the last-mile logistics towards Fiera di Roma, located in Via Portuense 1645 inside the EUR – Magliana – Ponte Galeria quadrant, shape the operational planning; the loading windows published by the salon’s production require a consolidation buffer at our Milan hub and, for larger runs, a nearby depot in the Fiera district or the EUR quadrant. Traffic on the A91 Rome – Fiumicino and on the Rome-Fiumicino road alongside the spring public holidays (25 April, 1 May) and the autumn ones (1 November, 8 December) shapes deliveries, and alongside the Jubilee and the major city events (concerts, Marathon, matches at the Stadio Olimpico) loading windows can compress; we often combine venue delivery with a buffer at a hotel affiliated with the salon in the EUR area or the Portuense area, a nearby depot close to the Fiera and a second delivery to the fair booth inside the official build-up window, once the production has confirmed the recipient, gate and pass. For programmes spanning multiple operating venues (halls, Palastudio area, cosplay area, video games area, Japan area) we prepare separate packing lists per destination with on-site recipient labels and the signing sessions and panels schedule.

Production, VAT and delivery to Fiera di Roma

Before launching production, graphics, quantities per recipient, packaging and named point of receipt must be confirmed. Hall, booth, loading gate and on-site contact must be verified against the manual published by the salon’s production; Fiera di Roma is not an address open to receiving parcels and any address has to be tied to a confirmed loading window. The Roman city calendar shapes the delivery schedule (Jubilee, public holidays, major events), and a buffer at a partner hotel in the EUR area or a nearby depot close to the Fiera often reduces the risk of an out-of-window delivery, paired with venue delivery on phone appointment and a bilingual packing list addressed to the recipient.

Typical print runs for a Romics programme range from 500 to 5 000 pieces per code: editorial catalogues start at 50 copies; salon audience shoppers reach 5 000 pieces; welcome bags for guest authors settle around 200 pieces in total split across authors; coordinated drinkware for hospitality zones moves between 300 and 500 pieces per area. The optimal production window runs eight to twelve weeks before the opening of each edition, with a three-week pre-production window for graphics and a ten-day buffer for physical delivery. For programmes that require fine-art printing on Hahnemühle Photo Rag or Canson Baryta Photographique, gallery-certified, we add two weeks of drying and one week of climate-room conditioning before packing.

For Italian programmes routed through the national hub, shipments are consolidated and shipped to the publisher’s warehouse, the fair booth, the guest author’s hotel, the partner comic store or the press desk of the salon with 24–48 h windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express Italia, on appointment for venues requiring phone pre-notice. For programmes above 1 000 pieces we offer appointment delivery with phone pre-notice and, on request, on-site setup by our staff at the publisher’s booth or at the salon’s consolidation warehouse. For materials that require climate-controlled transport (catalogues, launch dossiers, editorial materials, art materials) we coordinate climate-controlled transport with specialist partners. For welcome bags intended for international guest authors we handle multilingual labelling (Italian, English, French, Japanese for the East-Asian guests, Spanish for the Iberian partners) and tamper-evident packaging with a bilingual packing list addressed to the recipient.

For programmes that span multiple operating venues (halls of the fair district, Palastudio area, cosplay area, video games area, Japan area) we prepare separate packing lists per destination with on-site recipient labels, logistics references and the salon’s signing sessions schedule. For international delegations arriving at Fiumicino or Ciampino airports, we can coordinate pickup at the airport and forward the materials to the salon’s warehouse without intermediate transfer by the delegation.

The invoicing follows the rules already outlined: EUR with 22% IVA via SdI for clients with an Italian VAT number, reduced rates of 10% for editorial catalogues and 5% for books and art publications under current Italian law, reverse charge for intra-EU buyers registered in VIES, split payment for public-sector bodies. Payment terms include bank transfer at 30 days from invoice for clients with Italian VAT, 30% upfront on the first order, improved terms after the first 90 days of trading. Corp-Merch.IT accepts the main credit cards for orders below five thousand euro and coordinates with the client’s reference bank for invoice advances, Ri.Ba and SEPA Direct Debit for recurring clients. The supply contract includes specific confidentiality (NDA) clauses for delicate commercial materials and a twelve-month limitation on customer designs, graphics and colour combinations agreed from delivery.

Frequently asked questions — Romics 2026