Once every four years the greatest show on earth takes place on the banks of the Rhine in north-west Germany, Wayne Robinson leads into Australian Printer’s special drupa guide with all you need to know about the show, the technology and the networking
Soccer players have the World Cup, athletes the Olympic Games, but for the world’s print community the once-every-four-years event that commands most attention is drupa, the giant international trade fair that has been held in Dusseldorf for several decades.To gain an idea of the size of drupa imagine PacPrint in Melbourne, multiply it by 20 and then double it, and you will be on the right track. And that's no exaggeration.
To gain an idea of the impact of drupa imagine more than 400,000 of the world’s leading printers coming from every corner of the globe to those halls, and every technology developer of any size spending sackloads of cash to get a booth in order to be in front of those printers. Some of the major exhibitors won't be getting much change from $20m for their 14 days in the spotlight. Many of the smaller exhibitors will be blowing their entire marketing budget on those two weeks.
And while size isn’t everything the fact that the entire global print community is in Dusseldorf for those two weeks does in reality define the global print industry, and without question sets the agenda for the next four years. The trends and technologies that emerge from drupa define the industry’s direction, until the next time. The last drupa saw JDF come to the fore.
In times gone by, ie pre-internet, when the pace of life was slower, drupa was virtually the sole launching point for technology. These days of course no-manufacturer can wait for four years before their next big thing, but even still drupa does command centre stage in the marketing plans of all developers. This means that there will be plenty of surprises for printers making the trip. However the key benefit of drupa is that for the printer you get to see everything under one roof (well 19 actually) all at the same time. As a vision of the future is it unrivalled, and as a location to understand new opportunities it is on its own.
For not only do you have the opportunity to assess the claims of the technology itself, you can talk direct to both the people who are developing it – every manufacturer has all its key staff on the stand – but you can also talk with your peers from around the world about their experiences. This is simply invaluable, spending an evening with printers from other countries will add to your knowledge bank, fire your imagination and help you understand your own business.
The technology on show at this year’s event will be simply dazzling, as the print industry moves with increasing speed from an analogue to digital business. All drupa visitors should especially take time out to look at the new breed of reel to reel inkjet printers that will be on show. Some of these will be in concept form only, but as an indicator of the direction the industry is moving in this will be well worth your while. The convergence of high speed inkjet printing, inkjet print quality improvements, database management and digital workflow may well mean that inkjet will be challenging offset's supremacy in the years to come, it will certainly offer new routes to profitability for any printer wishing to put in the effort.
But this is not, as some claim, the ‘inkjet drupa’, it is so much than that. Whichever area of print you are in there will be plenty to see, and plenty to excite you. Printers making the trip are advised to go with an open mind, a determination to ask as many questions as possible, and don't forget a comfy pair of shoes – you will need them.
