Printers will find keys to their future at drupa 2016, according to the organisers speaking to the world’s print trade media in Dusseldoirf this week.
The world’s biggest trade show kicks off in three month’s time, and is telling printers that the reoriented show will offer them plenty of insight into emerging opportunities which offer pathways to profit under the motto touch the future.
Key theme at the show will be what drupa is calling Print 4.0, by which it means a fully digitised workflow. The cloud will also feature heavily with major vendors including Kodak and HP Inc moving software out of printshops own servers and onto a cloud based model. Digital inkjet will also be a key feature.
Under the motto “touch the future” drupa says it is placing the industry’s innovative power centre stage and providing a platform for future technologies. The focus is especially on next-generation and it will highlight themes such as print, packaging production, multichannel, 3D printing, functional printing and green printing.
WernerDornscheidt, president and CEO at Messe Düsseldorf
WernerDornscheidt, president and CEO at Messe Düsseldorf says, “With this strategic reorientation and its focus on future and highlight themes we are obviously on the right track. Because the response of international upstream suppliers to the industry has been very good – which was not a given in view of the difficult market environment,”
Some 1,650 exhibitors from more than 50 countries will be at the show, which has all its 19 halls booked out.
“The complete spectrum of print and cross-media exhibits and topics will be represented. Such a comprehensive 360° view of the entire industry is provided by nobody but drupa,” underlines Dornscheidt. Packaging, functional printing, and 3D printing all have their own special areas.
The mega trend at drupa 2016 will be Print 4.0 as Claus Bolza-Schünemann, chairman of the drupa Committee and chairman of the Board at Koenig & Bauer explains. “Print 4.0 enables individualisation and personalisation in digital printing. In the face of high-quality packaging and the rapidly diversifying range of solutions in industrial and functional printing this digital networking of machines and systems offers the solution and guarantee for efficiency and competitiveness. Print 4.0 is the mega trend at drupa 2016. This is very clear even at this early stage.”
There is a programme of accompanying technical events – including the drupa innovation park, drupa cube, the brands Pepso (Printed Electronics Products and Solutions), 3D fab + print and “touchpoint packaging” – which drupa says is a substantial enhancement offering target visitor groups real added benefit.
