17,000 printers go to first day of virtual.drupa
Some 17,000 printers from 155 countries went through the doors of virtual.drupa, as it opened yesterday for the first of its four-day run.
The online event virtual.drupa is taking place of the mega-show, which was cancelled, having already been postponed form last June. No in-person print expos have taken place for the past 15 months. The first one is actually likley to be PacPrint, scheudled for Melbourne at the end of September.
In the first day’s virtual.drupa visitors had 660 minutes of "inspiring, cutting-edge topics in the Conference Area” and 930 minutes of Live Web Sessions. They networked with 212 exhibitors, from 45 countries, in the Exhibition Space and Matchmaking Plaza.
The international print and packaging community will meet at virtual.drupa and participate in what the organiser says are “top-class” Key Notes, Panel Discussions and Live Web Sessions until Friday. According to drupa, “valuable insights, industry trends and technological innovations will provide impetus for the development of business potential".
The first day of the show already recorded 222,000 page impressions from all over the world; 7,500 visitors took part in the conference programme alone.
The organiser says "success is also documented by the participation of major global players as exhibitors and virtual.drupa event partners" – including Bobst, DuPont de Nemours, Electronics For Imaging, Esko, Fujifilm, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, HP, IST Metz, Koenig & Bauer, Kodak, Komori, Konica Minolta, Kurz, Kyocera, Landa, Siemens, Stora Enso, Windmöller & Hölscher, and Xeikon.
Sabine Geldermann, director Print Technologies, said, “We are pleased that the interaction within the community has started so positively. The impressive range of valuable knowledge transfer in the Conference Area and the Exhibition Space, as well as the exchange with business partners via matchmaking in the Networking Plaza, are being excellently received.”
The day was opened together with drupa president Claus Bolza-Schünemann and a subsequent Key Note by Wallstreet Journal bestselling author and innovation partner Michael Gale.
Afterwards, presentations, best cases and talks by top speakers, partners, associations and exhibitors provided impulses on the topics of Artificial Intelligence and Circular Economy, as well as the latest innovations on the market. Until Friday, the focus will additionally be on Connected Consumer and Platform Economy.
Visitors from other time zones, including Australia and New Zealand, who were unable to follow the presentations live will have the opportunity to access the sessions 24/7 on demand via the Video Library and then network with exhibitors for a personal exchange via Matchmaking in the Networking Plaza. It is still possible to register for participation at virtual.drupa.
The event days are being opened by the top-class key note speakers James Sommerville, Gabrielle Walker and Michael Gale, who bring special expertise in the areas of design thinking, sustainability and digitalisation respectively.
In the course of the day, all other presentations in the interactive conference programme also referred to important questions that move the industry, such as: What role does AI play in the print and packaging industry? How can workflows and processes be optimised thanks to digitalisation? How does product design drive innovation? And what role will the circular economy play in the industry? Whether specific use cases or long-term strategies for the future – the visions of renowned industry experts inspire, provide orientation and help to develop concrete measures.