EVENT SPOTLIGHT: DRUPA 2024 REVIEW – TRENDS AND THEMES With such a long build-up filled with anticipation for the first drupa in eight years, it feels almost surreal to now be back in the office writing this review. With 140,000sq m of exhibition space and almost 1,500 international exhibitors, we could have easily spent the entire 11 days roaming the halls, exploring the innovations on show. However, with our visit condensed into five days, consider this a whistle-stop review of some of the key themes we saw at the print industry’s largest trade exhibition in the world. When navigating the venue, the outside areas between the halls provided a nice space to meet and network as well as to grab a refreshment or bite to eat – weather permitting! The drupa gardens feature in particular was a nice touch, presenting modern materials and printing solutions live in a food court setting. HP Large Format produced printed décor applications with Latex water-based ink as well as on PVC-free media; manufacturer of synthetic papers, YUPO produced film applications for the tables and chairs; and Georg+Otto produced textile applications such as large banners and curtains. Antalis provided various materials for visual communication solutions as well as large-format prints such as non-slip floor stickers and Massivit 3D printed a 1.8m crocodile and some garden gnomes which greeted visitors to the space. With so many innovations on show, it’s no surprise that the event was filled with sales and ribbon cuttings from the get-go. Web-to-print provider, OnPrintShop, reported record-breaking attendance across the first two days of the show with over 150 print industry professionals making the visit to its booth. Müller Martini also reported a busy booth which was reflected in sales with Yongcheng Shengda ordering nine Müller Martini lines. Cui Wenfeng, chief executive officer of the company, signed the contract on the Müller Martini booth along with Sven Olsen, regional director of Asia Pacific at Müller Martini. Elsewhere and Vedreine Packaging and Dettmer Delo Verpackungen became the second and third companies in Europe to invest in Fujifilm’s flagship Jet Press FP790 press for flexible packaging. Linney, a full-service UK-based marketing agency became the first company in the world to invest in the single-pass inkjet HS Series developed in partnership by Fujifilm and Barberán. The deal was agreed on the Barberán stand on Thursday May 30th. Freestyle Designs invested in the Agfa Anapurna Ciervo H3200, enabling it to now produce one-piece wallcoverings and Solopress placed the first order for the HP Indigo 120k to be delivered into the UK straight away after drupa. Tradeprint announced at the end of the first week of drupa that it had invested in its second Canon 3200 iX digital printer and Kodak reported the world’s first sale of its new KODAK MAGNUS Q3600 Titan Platesetter at drupa to Imprimerie Pollina. Following on from EFI and AGFA’s strategic partnership announcement at FESPA Global Print Expo in Amsterdam this year, a major theme we saw across drupa was the number of strategic partnerships and collaborations being announced. HP announced a partnership with Esko EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF PRINT 48 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk July / August 2024 - Issue 349 From the focus shifting from ‘offset vs digital’ to ‘offset and digital’, to bridging the skills gap using software and multi-reality and a rise in strategic collaborations, we look at some of the key takeaways from drupa 2024 Packed Stands and Multiple Sales Made Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations Aplenty
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