Print Business predicts a super Drupa

There seems to be something in the air that is enticing printers to sniff it. Could this mean that the 16th Drupa could be the best ever?

The omens for Drupa’s 16th edition are looking good, certainly better than at this point four years ago. There is a good spread of technology on view, mixing the available now and relatively easy to implement to the visionary technology that will shape the printing industry for the next generation. Which category Landa Digital Printing falls into will be an ongoing debate for the show’s duration.

There are also indications that UK printers plan to make the short hop across the Channel. There is a growing consensus that companies must understand technology and that investment in systems to cope with changing customer demands is necessary. Perhaps there is a little more cash around. Perhaps directors recognise that, having skipped the last Drupa and the most recent Ipex, they have a duty to the sustainability of their business to stay abreast of industry trends.

Among the technologies that must be understood are inkjet and alternative high volume digital print technologies; the Cloud, data communication and automated workflows that result; value added approaches to enhance print; sustainability and numerous minor eddies alongside these major currents.

The show is therefore an investment and should be approached in that way. As well as the eye catching stands from established suppliers, Drupa will for the first time feature new applications using print technologies, namely functional printing, textiles and 3D printing. These are the future touch points that are exciting some, if not commercial printers.

Another of the touch points is packaging where the pressures for shorter runs, faster turnarounds and higher quality are those that commercial printers have experienced in recent years. Can commercial printers therefore apply these skills to printing packaging? Plenty think this possible.

Printers should use the trip as the starting point not the end of a journey. Any investment must be expected to show some kind of return, however minimal. Those going to the show should therefore look to record and quantify their experiences. Some already do, creating teams with specific tasks who will later report back to their colleagues.

Smaller businesses can apply the same concept: plan how you will spend your time, ranking those stands that you have to visit, those that you would like to visit and leaving time to discover the unknown unknowns. Have a good idea what you would like to understand, while not forgetting to keep an open mind. Then develop a report that you can provide colleagues and which you can refer to later. Drupa is there to benefit the industry’s suppliers. Printers must ensure they use it for their own benefit.