drupa latest: Landa in, Fujifilm out
One of the major drawcards to drupa, Benny Landa, has reconfirmed his commitment to the rescheduled giant trade show, while Fujifilm has joined those withdrawing from the event.
Speaking at the global Q&A this morning Landa said, “I love drupa, drupa has emerged as the industry trade show – in fact it’s the only trade show that Landa Digital Printing has ever participated in.
“It’s the place to communicate our messages and share our vision to educate our market about what’s possible and how we see the future of this industry.
“So yes, we definitely plan to participate in the next drupa – subject only to the prevailing public health situation. If it's safe for our employees and our customers, we will be there.”
Landa was launched at drupa 2012, with his vision for digital printing at offset speeds on offset stocks persuading 400 printers, including a few from Australia, to stump up $10,000 for a place in the queue for the theoretical (at the time) technology.
Four years later, Landa also had a major booth at the show, but it has only been in the past 18 months when the presses have begun to be installed, with a dozen of the sheetfed B1 systems now up and running.
Meanwhile, Fujifilm has become the latest big name to withdraw from the event, citing health and safety concerns. The Japanese company has also pulled out of interpack, which is scheduled to take place eight weeks prior to drupa, also at the Messe Centre.
Fujifilm said: “Under the circumstances where Covid-19 has become a global epidemic and the spread of infection has not yet come to an end, Fujifilm has made this decision of withdrawal from these exhibitions as a result of giving top priority to ensuring the health and safety of all visitors and employees.
“As the society moves to adjust to a new normal, remote communication and more efficient way of working at manufacturing sites will be increasingly required in the printing industry.”
Fujifilm is hosting a live three country virtual event in Europe next week, The Real Production Show, which it says will feature much of what would have been on show at drupa had it taken place in June as originally planned.
The Düsseldorf Messe Centre has just hosted the first exhibition since Covid smashed through the exhibition world, with Caravan Salon running over 10 days. All eyes were on the show, which ran under new hygiene protocols including social distancing, masks, and partitions between cafe tables. The organiser of the show was buoyed by 107,000 visitors attending the show, which while well down on the 270,000 last year was still considered a success in the circumstances. The age profile of the visitors was considerably younger than in previous shows.