'Drupa already?' I hear you ask. Yes, it is a long way in the future – 545 days as of December 3rd to be precise. Events such as drupa are years in the making and the organizers have just announced that 80% of the show is already booked.
With the theme ‘Touch the Future’ Messe Düsseldorf has hit a nerve by re-focusing the show to cover printed electronics, 3D printing, functional printing, industrial inkjet, cross-media and an increased drill-down on the burgeoning packaging sector. Digital and analogue methods of laying down inks onto substrates will of course still be in abundance and Heidelberg has finally committed to be there after some earlier ambiguous statements from CEO Gerold Linzbach about participation.
Harald Weimer, Executive Board Member at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG and member of the drupa committee has confirmed, with typical Teutonic sang-froid: “In line with present market requirements we will be demonstrating innovative solutions alongside our partners in Düsseldorf."
Superstars of drupa 2012, Landa Nanotech are a little more excited, with Ila Bialystok, VP of Marketing, Landa Digital Printing saying: “Our choice of drupa 2012 as the launch platform for Landa Nanographic Printing was the start of an incredible journey, both for us and for the industry. We expect that drupa 2016, at which we will almost double our stand space to some 2,600 square meters, will be another historic milestone on the road to the digitization of the printing industry.”
That Landa has doubled space should send a clear signal to any doubting Thomases out there, concerning the preparedness of Nanographic technology. Just as Indigo took 4 years to fully commercialise following its launch at Ipex 1993; it is unsurprising that Landa Nanographic printing has needed a 4-year drupa cycle to be commercially available.
Other notable companies confirming a major drupa 2016 presence include; EFI, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Mimaki, KBA and HP. EFI’s CEO Guy Gecht sums up the influence of the great German show thus: “ In a fast-changing world working in an often challenging industry, customers deserve to have the opportunity to explore and compare future investment options. No other event allows for that better than drupa. The show truly reflects the direction of our industry for the four years following each show.”
Werner M. Dornscheidt, Chairman of the Board at Messe Düsseldorf is justifiably proud of what looks like another sell-out drupa in its 60-year history of articulating modern print communications and applications: "In the light of the challenging environment, this is a more than outstanding result. No other industry event worldwide – neither the small, regional niche events nor national trade shows – can offer what we can. This result clearly confirms that our strategic realignment with its focus on future-oriented and highlight topics is correct."
I think Mr Dornscheidt is right. Ipex last March showed that a trade fair is only as good as its next one, not its last one. The wheels that suddenly fell off Ipex have rolled across the channel tunnel and benefited the drupa juggernaut. In truth, Messe Düsseldorf has taken a much more analytical approach to staging the world’s largest print media trade fair, with a deeper engagement with exhibitors on the Exhibitor Advisory Board and, perhaps, more fortunate timing as major printing industry suppliers return to profits and can plan trade fair budgets with more assurance of a return.
Drupa has already got the aces up its sleeve in the list of committed exhibitors and the ace-in-the-hole is undoubtedly Landa – it’s like having Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at your party. Landa is more than just ‘new tech.’ The company and its people represent new hope and horizons for the beleaguered printing industry worldwide. It’s new, exciting; has a roadmap and a few surprises no doubt.
For drupa 2016 it may yet prove to be: Landa Hope & Glory.