Whether you call this drupa thing a circus, the Olympics of printing, or the mother of all print shows, there's no denying that Planet drupa has way of focusing the attention of the printing world. Pundits and hypesters to the contrary, I'm going to say it right here: the only way this 15th iteration of drupa (it's been taking place since 1951) will come down as being the drupa of some particular technology is if the loudest pundits proclaim it to be so. There's just too much in flux, too much in play, to claim that any single technology is in a position to dominate.

What it will do, though, is show that technology is once again poised to reshape the printing business, while giving us a glimpse of the future. Inkjet is going to have a huge presence from several companies, but when the drupa shuts down on June 11, inkjet will still not be positioned as the replacement for offset and vanquisher of toner-based printing that so many people seem to think it is. There are still too many unresolved issues surrounding workflows, substrates, reliability, durability, print quality, and a host of cost metrics for inkjet to be really close to a final answer. But that's not news. Toner based digital print also took some years to gain traction so there is little reason to think inkjet will be much different.

All that said, however, I think inkjet has a lot going for it and it's going to be a fascinating few years while the technology is refined and prepared for market. For that reason, any printer coming to Dusseldorf needs to take a close look at all the inkjet engines here at drupa, but more especially the technology demos and machines for which a hard release date is not available. Some of those may be a bit further off, but those are also among the machines that can be the real game changers when they roll out. Then, once you've had your look, go spend the rest of your time in Dussledorf looking for the equipment and software tools you can use to make your business more profitable this year, so you'll be ready to make the investment when the time is right for inkjet in your business.

Noel Ward
Brimstone Hill Associates

Posted by In The Balance at 05:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well the waiting is almost over and drupa is just about to start. Tomorrow, Wednesday May 28 is the pre-opening day at which the different press conferences start. It used to be a slow start for the press with just Heidelberg having their press conference to start drupa. Now the first press conference is at 9.15 am for Konica Minolta and then the first of the big iron companies, MAN Roland has their event at 10.30 am. Then on the opening day of drupa, May 29, it is a press conference almost every half hour.

One of the events that’s being really looked forward to is the Xerox press event at 3.00 pm German time (9.00 am East Coast USA) when Xerox will finally pull the covers of their new announcements. Xerox has been very quiet about what it will be showing unlike most of the other vendors. We have heard a lot from HP Indigo with its new 7000 Digital Press and from HP inkjet operations with its Inkjet Web Press, Xeikon has announced its new 8000 press, Kodak has announced a new drop-on-demand inkjet Versamark, the VL2000, as well as its future STREAM Concept Press, and there have been a raft of high-speed inkjet announcements from all sorts of companies. So far Xerox has announced its 490/980 Continuous Feed Color System and the 1300 monochrome system, but nothing else. When Anne Mulcahy steps up to the podium at 3.00 pm Thursday there will be a great feeling of expectation.

In the past few days there has been one really interesting announcement from one of Xerox’s partners Fujifilm. This is a new 28 inch wide (B2 format) sheet fed inkjet press that is actually being made by Fuji Xerox sing inkjet print heads from the Fujifilm subsidiary Dimatix. The question this raises is how will this be sold and through which channels. Already a number of Fujifilm channels sell Xerox presses such as Fujifilm Graphic System in North America and Fujifilm UK. Will they now be selling the new inkjet press alongside the Xerox iGen3 and Docucolor presses?

The big buzz at drupa up to now concerned the range of high-speed continuous feed color presses. The questions raised by these are what are the markets for these presses and are there going to be buyers ready to take them. The new trend of transpromo printing is relatively new and one has difficulty finding too many companies already operating in this space. I am sure there will be great interest in these presses at drupa but will there also be buyers ready to purchase them?

I will be there tomorrow morning before 9.00 am having the first of a huge number of coffees and perhaps even a few beers over the next fourteen days. I really look forward to drupa and the opportunity to network with so many people. I also look forward to the hospitality of Messe Düsseldorf where their support for the press is second to none. I will be seeing an awful lot of equipment but also be speaking at various events. If you are at drupa I hope to see you.

Andy Tribute tribute@attributes.co.uk
Managing Partner, Attributes Associates

Posted by ITB Guest Blogger at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Drupa... The Olympics of Printing, and I'm sure 2008 will be a gold medal performance. Drupa is derived from the German words "drucken" (to print) and "papier" (paper) and has a history of bringing out the best and most innovative products from all who exhibit at the show. I think one of the questions on everyone’s mind is, “What will be the big trends we will see at drupa 2008?”

Here’s what we think are some of the biggest:

First, a dramatic expansion of digital solutions. Digital printing solutions will continue to be big news in this industry – in fact in 2008, different from past drupas, there will be 4 halls dedicated to digital solutions and, according to the Messe Düsseldorf board chairman, Werner Dornscheidt, this entire exhibit space is booked and expected to be jam-packed. You can expect to see all the latest digital technology advancements and demonstrations at the show including continuous feed, production color, inkjet, and wide format solutions. There is also a lot of interest around the co-existence of offset and digital technologies and the seamless integration into hybrid environments.

The second trend we’ll see and hear a lot about at drupa is the increased emphasis on workflow. As print providers continue to deal with the challenge of generating greater margins and profits for their business, workflow and automation tools that help reduce costs, connect with customers, and enable new applications and new revenue streams become increasingly important. You’ll also see an increased focus on producing applications and print jobs more easily as well as business development tools, resources, and services to help print providers grow their business and address this challenge.

The last trend I think you’ll see is the growing awareness of the social and environmental impact of print. This will include both what technology vendors are doing to promote “green” in their business operations and products, as well as how print providers can capture new opportunities by being more green.

According to PIRA, the digital printing opportunity is 54B Euro and is expected to double in the next 5 years. Our goal for drupa 2008 is to help print providers truly connect with this amazing opportunity, in a 3500 square meter stand with the theme "Connect with Opportunity". What's more, our stand is built from recycled or remanufactured materials wherever possible - so it's very green.

Drupa 2008...it's finally here and we're very excited about the demonstrations that we have planned for the show.

Tracy Yelencsics
Vice President, Marketing Communications
Production Systems Group
Xerox Corporation

Posted by ITB Guest Blogger at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)