Previous Fujifilm posts have referred to the upcoming graphic arts trade expo, drupa 2016, to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany May 31 to June 10—yes, 11 days of show, seminars, sharing and socialising!
Previous Fujifilm posts have referred to the
Why does drupa occupy such a prominent position in the minds of the printing, packaging, publishing and overall graphic arts industry? Other major international printing shows—Japan’s IGAS, the USA’s PRINT, China’s All In Print and ChinaPrint, the UK’s IPEX, Australia’s PacPrint plus numerous other regional events—also have high profiles but none come close to a drupa (from “druck und papier” in German, or print and paper in English), in capturing the essence, scale and future of print-related technologies.
Perhaps it is because of Germany’s strong print heritage going back to the invention of modern moveable-type printing by Gutenberg in the 15th century? Or maybe the United States’ Marshall Plan, the post-World War II economic stimulus program that pumped billions of dollars into peacetime German industries to aid recovery. For printing, this resulted in the first drupa trade fair in 1951, mostly showcasing German-made engineering. Since then, 16 drupas (every three to five years) have been staged with the show becoming increasingly internationalised as the whole town of Düsseldorf comes alive as “Print City.”
Or, perhaps it’s simply because it’s a great show, impeccably structured and organised, with everyone who is anyone in print technology exhibiting there over 19 huge halls at the Messe Düsseldorf complex and more than 300,000 people from the worldwide industry attending?
At this drupa, Fujifilm will host the largest exhibit area in the company’s history, embracing the show’s own theme of “Touch the Future” and delivering on its own promise of “Value from Innovation.”