Press Release
11/27/2007

Hans Werner Reinhard
Divisional Director Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

The leading trade fair for the international print and media industry is drupa in Düsseldorf. The global significance of the event is underscored by its legendary status. For more than 50 years, the print media fair has been the industry’s major get-together. More than 400,000 visitors get up close and personal with the technologies and market-ready solutions but also exchange news and views on who’s holding talks with whom, on what’s being bought from competitors and why. This emotional aspect is a fundamental feature of drupa.

More than half a century ago, drupa was launched with a showcase of 527 exhibitors from ten countries; the debut event was attended by 190,000 visitors. In contrast, the impressive numbers notched up at the last staging include 1,865 exhibitors, more than 3,350 journalists from 82 countries and over 394,000 visitors from 122 countries. The keys to drupa’s success are expertise and an international profile. Just how knowledgeable the trade visitors are is proven by the figure of 85 percent – that’s how many of those who attended in 2004 had a final say in investment decisions at their companies. And it’s not only the offerings at drupa that are international but also the visitors – well over one in two arrived from outside Germany in 2004. The 14th drupa is to be staged from 29 May to 11 June 2008 and is poised to continue this success story.

The starting gun for the Olympic Games of the print industry goes off in Düsseldorf on 29 May 2008. I say Olympic Games because what that event means to sportsmen and women is what drupa means to the print media industry. Up to 11 June, more than 1,800 exhibitors from all corners of the globe will display their latest technologies for printing, publishing and converting. Nineteen exhibition halls offering a total of over 170,000 square metres of net exhibition space are fully booked. The entire global panorama of offerings for prepress, press, post-press and converting will be on show in Düsseldorf. From global giants and leaders in technology to small innovative companies as well as up-and-coming suppliers from emerging markets such as China and India – they’ll all be there.

Olympia 2008 brings me to China: The 3rd All in Print China will be staged under the theme of “Power of Print” from Nov. 14-17, 2008, at Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC). The successful staging of the 2nd All in Print in 2006 wrote a splendid chapter in the history of Chinese printing exhibition. It boasted a total exhibition area of 69,000 square meters with a net exhibition area of 35,648.5 square meters. A total of 671 manufacturers of printing and related products coming from 26 countries. The 4-day event attracted 49,337 trade visitors from 76 countries and regions, of which 4,106 were from overseas.

With more than 1,800 exhibitors and a net exhibition space of over 170,000 square metres, drupa 2008 will be bigger than all previous events. As is the case with K and interpack, drupa, too, will occupy the whole of the fairgrounds as all 19 halls are fully booked. That is why the allocation of space at drupa must be visitor-focused, in other words demand-oriented, and laid out according to an easily navigable breakdown of offerings.

The other drupa 2008 pillars are:

The individual building blocks of the programme are:
The drupa innovation parc serves as a forum for innovative new technologies. With more than 3,300 square metres of floor space and 160 exhibitors in eight different sections, the “dip” is the world’s biggest micro-platform for young, innovative companies making a name for themselves in the digital supplies sector of the print and media industry. The focal areas of the “dip” in Hall 7 span workflow, publishing, PDF, XML, etc. as well as cross-sectoral topics tackled in the “printbuyer integration parc” and “JDF experience parc”.

Also in the pipeline are the Compass Sessions, organised by the Bundesverband Druck und Medien (German Printing and Media Industries Federation). Every day, international speakers will give you the lowdown on current trends, machinery, software, workflows, manufacturing techniques and products. Each Compass Session will have a different thematic slant and pick up on current industry trends. Aside from passing on knowledge, the Compass Sessions will also act as the ideal “navigational aid” and meeting point for getting together with colleagues and talking shop.

For greater insight into the various thematic areas, join one of the Highlights Tours. These guided tours bring visitors into contact with expert discussion partners at exhibitors’ stands. The ten different tours offered range in topic from “workflows” and “web2print solutions” through “offset and digital printing” to “packaging printing” and “finishing”. The tours will be conducted in German, English and for the first time Spanish, French and Chinese. As at drupa 2000 and 2004, Verlag Deutscher Drucker is coordinating the drupa Highlights Tours in collaboration with the Fachverband für Führungskräfte der Druckindustrie und Informationsverarbeitung (association for managers in the printing and information processing industries – FDI) and the department of print and media technology at the University of Wuppertal.
An overview of all the tours and dates can be found at www.drupa.com

Created especially with print buyers and marketing decision makers in mind, drupacube is the infotainment spot that’s anything but ordinary. For a start, it will be located in front of the Congress Center South, directly on the Rhine, and take the form of a two-storey white cube-shaped building. All of which should make it clear that the drupacube is the hot spot for new drupa target groups. An infotainment programme devoted especially to these visitors is being developed in conjunction with the relevant communications, marketing and design associations.

And then there’s also drupacity Düsseldorf with its distinctive atmosphere. drupa doesn’t end at the gates to the Trade Fair Center, many deals and discussions started or sealed in the exhibition halls can be crowned with a beer, Rhenish Sauerbraten (braised beef marinated in vinegar and herbs) or a portion of asparagus in Düsseldorf’s Old Town. To ensure that you feel as much at home in Düsseldorf as in the past, we have partnered with many restaurateurs, hoteliers, retailers and service providers to form a blanket of special offers over drupa’s run. These drupa extras run the gamut from menus in English and English-speaking staff through to special drupa articles in department stores and events at shopping malls. A special drupacity guide that lists all of our drupartners and their offerings will be available during the fair. And let’s not forget that the Internet, too, will be a source of copious, updated information on this programme.

Press contact:

Angus Chen

Kaigo Co., Ltd.
Representative of
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

8F-3, No. 9, Dehuei Street,
Taipei 10461, Taiwan

Tel: (886 2) 2595 4212 ext 712
Fax: (886 2) 2595 5726
E-mail: press@kaigo.com.tw
www.kaigo.com.tw