Digital drupa set to kick off next week

The drupa digital online platform will open next Tuesday, featuring a virtual conference, exhibition, and networking space; the organiser says it will provide a preview of next year’s drupa.

 

The opening sessions will see a panel discussion in English. The sessions will also present the new platform and address the current situation in the industry, which has been battered by Covid. A dozen of the major exhibitors have pulled out of the rescheduled 2021 drupa.

One the panel are Sabine Geldermann, project director print; Dr Markus Heering, managing director of the German Printing and Paper Technology Association (VDMA); and Dr Christian Plenge, executive director digital at Messe Düsseldorf.

Afterwards, companies and speakers will present important topics in live web sessions. Messe says the platform will enable exhibitors to present their companies and products, speakers will give insights into the drupa agenda setting, and visitors and exhibitors will already be able to interact and network. The organiser says that with this new digital offering, drupa will provide the industry with continuous exchange and knowledge transfer.

In the Conference Area, short talks by top speakers will provide information on the topics of the special forums at drupa 2021, such as cube, dna, and the touchpoints packaging, textile, and 3D fab+print.

Exhibitors will present their product highlights and innovations in the Exhibition Space in various formats such as Video-on-Demand or web-sessions with chat function.

Trade visitors and exhibitors will connect in the Networking Plaza, make new contacts and meet in virtual rooms of the drupa preview.

Participation in the Conference Area, research in the Exhibition Space and networking in the Networking Plaza is free of charge after registration, click here to register.

The original 2020 drupa was due to take place in June, but then postponed to next April. The world’s first online print expo was produced here in ANZ by suppliers' association Visual Connections, and ran for four months, seeing some 13,500 printers go through its virtual doors. Since then a host of online events have been springing up around the world.