The Olympic Games of the print and media industry

Print stands its ground against competing media

With over 1,800 exhibitors spread across an exhibition area of more than 170,000 square metres, 400,000 visitors expected and some 3,500 journalists from around the world, drupa 2008, to be staged from 29 May to 11 June, will be bigger than ever before. “These figures once again underscore drupa’s status as the world’s No. 1 trade fair for the print and media industry. No other event has as profound and all-encompassing an influence on the economics and technologies of the print media industry as drupa in Düsseldorf. What the Olympic Games mean to sportsmen and women is what drupa means to the print media industry. 

In our age of Internet and digital media, the competitiveness of print is a recurrent theme of discussion. But the facts show print to be as solid as ever. Today more paper, cardboard, foil and other materials are printed than ever before. The annual global total is almost 500 million tonnes,” pointed out Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, president of drupa and president of Koenig & Bauer AG. At drupa 2008, the international supplier industry will present an abundance of innovations, integrated solutions and market-ready refinements that could give printed products the edge in competition between the media. “The feel, emotional power and high quality of printed products provide a substantial competitive advantage over electronic media, for example, at the point of sale, in brand communications, personalised mailings and large-format advertising,” added Bolza-Schünemann. On top of that, new growth markets are opening up thanks to electronic printing (the keywords here are security printing and brand protection) and networked communications (e.g. interactive campaigns).

drupa: the world’s biggest printing house

Exhibitor registrations mirror the international market situation and industry developments. Consequently, the leading technology producing nations will also be those most strongly represented at drupa 2008: Germany (some 70,000 m²), the USA (some 13,000 m²), Italy (some 13,000 m²), Switzerland (some 12,000 m²), Netherlands (some 9,000 m²), Japan (some 8,000 m²), the UK (some 7,000 m²), Spain (some 6,000 m²) and Belgium (some 6,000 m²). Exhibition space booked by up-and-coming industrial countries such as China and India has expanded at astonishing rates of 300 percent (China: some 7,800 m²) or 60 percent (India: some 2,400 m²). 

For more than 50 years, drupa’s heart has been printing. It’s with good reason that drupa is known as the world’s biggest printing house. Whether sheet-fed or web-fed offset, gravure or label printing, digital or screen printing – all the tools of the trade will be highlighted in XXL format. With over 67,000 square metres of space reserved, this product category will be the biggest, prepress and premedia (over 34,000 m2), followed by bookbinding and print finishing with more than 33,000 square metres, and packaging production/paper converting (over 17,500 m2).

Prior and during the show, the U.S. Commercial Service will provide U.S. exhibitors with counseling and assistance.  To request support leading up to Drupa 2008, or to receive advice on the German market, please contact the U.S. Commercial Service Düsseldorf, Frau Hesse, Tel.: 0211-737-767-70, E-mail:  Birgit.Hesse@N0SPAM.mail.doc.gov .