Seminar with RIT Professor Emeritus Frank Romano - duomedia’s Lut Verschueren reports

No badges left at the reception desk in the European Auditorium in Turnhout for Frank Romano’s VIGC seminar on June 21. A packed auditorium and appreciative audience for this well-respected, knowledgeable and entertaining industry guru. He delivers a great review of drupa, and offers an international perspective and unique insight on the trends shaping the printing industry. Sharp, to the point, sweet … and amusingly controversial when stating that Landa’s technology announced at drupa was a great show, just not all that revolutionary. A very refreshing, well-packaged, truly informative session in a time when we all suffer from ‘infobesity.’

The winners and losers

Diminishing print volumes affect the entire printing industry. In the US alone, 50% of print has gone away since 1995. In the current climate of huge technology upheaval, everyone is competing fiercely with one another. And we’re seeing a great shift towards multi-channel marketing. All this has had an impact on print products – some of which will disappear, while new products will emerge and grow.

Another huge change is the demand for short runs (under 2,000 copies). And then there’s the inexorable rise of digital printing – it already enjoys a 15% market share, and this is set to rise as the technology is embraced everywhere.

In commercial printing, the two largest segments are advert/promo (24%) and packaging (15%). The book market is still performing well, but without the big runs. A decline in page count – due to the decrease in advertising – and circulation, means there’s a growing opportunity in digital for periodicals. 

When it comes to catalogues, which encourage recipients to call, click or visit, Romano says there will be a shift toward even greater personalization. And what about the billion-dollar question: will newspapers survive? “Until 2049,” shrugs Romano. As for directories, there is agreement that they will die.

Promotional printing was identified as a growth category (for digital, hence the short runs) and will remain a mainstay of the commercial printer’s output. Direct mail is expected to stick around, but its success depends on the efficiency of postal systems.

Technical documents like manuals and guides are predicted to be on their way out. There is potential, however, for printing legal and financial documents.

The decline in printing of traditional office documentation will continue, but the outlook is brighter in the stationery business, where there are growth opportunities.

Romano describes packaging as “the only area that has no electronic competition” and “the last 12 inches of the marketing program.” He asserts that this market offers huge potential for printers. He also claims that for those bringing viable solutions in film printing for flexible packaging and other applications, a great future lies ahead.

Printers that have embraced large format have discovered new markets. But it is industrial printing that offers the greatest potential. Think textiles, plastics, glass, printed electronics. What’s produced is unique, and people are willing to pay a premium for it.

Romano acknowledged that there is confusion in the market when it comes to print technology, saying there are ‘too many’ alternatives.

He acknowledged that offset people wouldn’t appreciate his view, but stated that in today’s multi-media landscape, digital inkjet is where the world is heading. Today’s printer is evolving into an information-making factory.

Romano expects that while the printing industry will stabilize in 2013, the market will continue to change. “VIGC helps you understand these changes,” he concluded.

Finally, despite the flood of announcements at drupa, Romano believes a lot of news has been held back, and anticipates more PR activity in the fall. If he’s right and there is to be a torrent of PR and marketing initiatives, you can expect duomedia to be at the forefront. Stay tuned!

Annie Garçon de duomedia participait, le 23 mai dernier au petit-déjeuner organisé par la publication française « France Graphique ». Ce petit-déjeuner, destiné aux imprimeurs n’ayant pas pu se rendre à la drupa, a fait le point sur les nouveautés présentées à Düsseldorf et sur les tendances émergentes. La conférence, animée par  Rodolphe Pailliez, rédacteur en chef adjoint de France Graphique et par Henri Saporta, rédacteur en chef d’Emballages magazine et nouveau directeur de publication de France Graphique, était organisée autour de quatre intervenants : deux imprimeurs, un membre de l’association UNIC (Union Nationale de l’Imprimerie et de la Communication) et un consultant en arts graphiques. La conférence s’est achevée par une présentation des logiciels proposés par Chili Publisher.

Les thèmes majeurs ressortis de la drupa 2012 sont la concurrence entre l’offset et le numérique, notamment avec des formats phares de l’offset, comme le format B2. L’impression nanographique, présentée par Benny Landa, a suscité la curiosité même si elle ne sera pas mise sur le marché avant 2014. Lors de cette 15^ème édition, de nombreux partenariats « stratégiques » entre constructeurs offset et numérique se sont créés. Également très présent sur tous les stands, le packaging a fait une entrée remarquée, notamment par le biais de l’impression numérique. Enfin, les solutions de gestion des flux et de web-to-print avaient mis en avant une intégration complète dans la chaîne de production, et ce, quelles que soient les technologies utilisées.

Tour à tour, les quatre intervenants ont exprimé leur ressenti de l’événement, tous d’accord sur le fait que la drupa représentante une occasion unique d’identifier les tendances et de mobiliser des projets collectifs. Cependant, l’un deux a émis son sentiment que le salon « raconte de belles histoires », loin de la réalité du terrain. A ce titre, il a été mentionné que si la drupa 2004 avait mis en avant le JDF et la drupa 2008 le jet d’encre, les avancées chez les imprimeurs dans ces domaines en France n’avaient pas été largement suivies. C’est pourquoi il est demandé pour la prochaine édition du salon, davantage de prospectives ainsi qu’une plus grande visibilité sur les clients potentiels. L’UNIC a profité de l’occasion pour présenter son projet baptisé « IniGraph » (Impression numérique dans les industries graphiques), dont la mission est d’aller expliquer aux imprimeurs français ce qu’il se passe dans le secteur de l’impression. Un rôle tout à fait complémentaire à celui de la drupa, qui permettrait aux imprimeurs d’imaginer la quasi-totalité des solutions et d’être créatifs !

Ce petit-déjeuner, de grande qualité, a été très apprécié par tous les participants. Une initiative à renouveler en 2016.

In English

drupa lets printers be creative and imagine a large portfolio of production solutions

The main trend that filtered out from drupa 2012 was definitely the competition between offset and digital. But also a number of key strategic partnerships emerged between offset and digital printing manufacturers. A strong packaging presence as well as workflow and web-to-print solutions enabling full integration in the production chain were visible on many stands. And finally, nanographic printing, presented by Benny Landa created a lot of curiosity even though the presses will not be commercially available before 2014.

The 4 speakers (2 printers, a member of UNIC (Union Nationale de l’Imprimerie et de la Communication) and a graphic arts consultant) took it in turn to speak about their experience at drupa. All agreed that drupa represents a unique opportunity to identify the emerging industry trends. UNIC presented its new project IniGraph (Impression numérique dans les industries graphiques = digital printing in the graphic arts industry), which aims at explaining to French printers what is happening the printing sector.

The quality of the press breakfast was highly appreciated by all participants! Definitely an initiative to do again after drupa 2016!

Maria Laura Lombardi, duomedia’s PR rep in Italy, just came back from a very interesting post-drupa event in Milan, organized by 4itgroup, and has some insight well worth sharing. The event was sponsored by the graphic industry’s big hitters – Kodak, Ricoh, Agfa, Canon, Océ, Epson, Fujifilm, Konica-Minolta and ObjectiveLune – and attracted 150 print professionals from across Europe. 

From the excellent presentations it’s clear that the print industry is very much alive and well – but it must face a number of challenges head on if it’s to remain profitable.

Canon Europe surveyed 420 print buyers in Europe and found that nearly half (47%) consider print communication to be a very important tool. Nevertheless, direct marketing campaigns are increasingly adopting digital platforms like email because the ROI is easier to measure. That’s not to say that print campaigns will become a thing of the past, however – the survey also revealed that around a third (32%) of print buyers aren’t aware of digital printing, while 47% of print service providers don’t keep their customers up to date on the latest developments in printed communication.

What also came out of the survey was that price isn’t always the determining factor when it comes to campaigns – what’s important is the price-quality ratio.

During an intriguing panel discussion, printers agreed that the real challenge is not the technology itself – it’s how it’s used innovatively to enhance the marketing chain and lend campaigns the ‘wow factor’. However, they all stressed that their partnerships with vendors are vital for them. And all presenters said that a key goal at drupa was to educate and inspire clients about new applications and printing possibilities.

Clearly, the industry must continue to raise the profile of digital printing and how it can add value to marketing campaigns via things like personalisation and eye-catching effects like embossing and Dimensional Printing. After all, if companies don’t know these cool print apps are out there, how can they invest in them? If we all work together to plug this knowledge gap and ensure brands understand all that print has to offer, no doubt we’ll all benefit from a more buoyant market. Let’s get to it!

Life after drupa - it’s been what we been dreaming of after all the months of hard work and the exhilarating two weeks in Düsseldorf.

Last week the last duomedia lady returned home - with the latest drupa dailies, our little office pharmacy (compeed for feet!) and business cards. As we take a trip down drupa hall lane, we cannot help but wonder… Was it all real?

Sometimes it surprises us how something you crave so deeply passes by so quickly. At duomedia we’ve been preparing since last year, when we launched the first pre-drupa press conferences in various European countries. Early this year we moved on to full speed for our international pre-drupa press event in Lisbon. April was all about prepping all press releases and make sure the message got across to the press that these companies have been working for four years to stand tall at drupa and put forward solutions that help our challenged graphic industry.

Late April and very early May were all about fixing interviews and prepping the press conferences. Getting all material for press conferences, stocking up our tool box (no laughing matter, our tool box comes in handy at any press conference!) and getting the stuff in the duomedia cars.

On a personal level, thorough planning was also required. Briefing the homefront on essentials - kids’ swimming gear on top shelf, daycare days clearly indicated in red on the calendar and don’t forget the cat medicine! What (not) to wear and to what weather - short or long sleeve? Looking for comfortable yet classy #drupashoes. Stocking up on some sleep before you leave so as to not arrive with baggy eyes. 　

And then the big day arrives. The kick-off to a rocking two weeks. Sprinting from one hall to another, making sure every press conference is handled as professionally as the next and sitting down with interviews so we can keep track of what the press needs. We can hardly believe we handled 10 press conferences on a few days’ spread. duomedia represented no less than 15 customers at the show, each one as valuable as the next. Meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. Handling urgent press and customer requests. Pushing your boundaries to the maximum, even on days when you do not feel like it. And not forgetting to be social. Updating the duomedia and drupa social media tools: catchy snapshots, happy reunions, RTing the key news, tagging the right people. The interaction was wonderful to experience. The twitterwalls were just booming with tweets on the #drupa buzz!

We’ve worked hard and it was worth it. Messe Düsseldorf reports on successful drupa with a strong emphasis on qualitative leads and visitor profiles and that is indeed how it feels. Rewarding.

So thank you to the Messe, for organizing another successful edition of drupa. Thank you to our customers, for their continued faith in our PR skills. Thank you to the international press for their continued faith in our PR skills. And last but not last, thank you to the entire duomedia team. It would have been impossible without your dedication, humour and perseverance.

Onward and upward. drupa 2016, here we come. Watch out! ;)

Last days of drupa… Already? It seems as if the days have just flown by.

Over the last days, we picked up a few more commandments here and there to hold high for the next drupa and other events.

1. Come prepared - ah yes, we’re all connected via our laptop, mobile, iPhone and iPad, but these things work on batteries. Did you know these wear out? So make sure to bring cables and indicate on each cable if it is yours and what it is for. We can’t tell you how many cables we’ve already replaced over the years.

2. KISS - well yes, you can give 2, 3 or even 4 kisses to people you’ve known for some time at drupa. But that’s not what we meant. Cable-wise - Keep It Simple and Stupid. Got to love Apple for that. One wire to charge and share all. Please avoid spaghetti effect as illustrated below as much as possible!

3. Find your Zen spot. We don’t mind if you bring along pictures of the homefront or Hugsy your teddy bear, but find a zen spot or mental image you can carry with you throughout the show. Although we do recommend to leave Hugsy in the safety comfort zone of the hotel… But nonetheless, drupa can be overwhelming for both visitors and exhibitors. A rough night at the Altstadt, a mass overload in the halls or a bad sales review during the day. drupa happens. If you feel a bit overwhelmed at times, go outside, take a breather and block it out all for just a minute.

More to come later as we take the final drupa gear. Onwards and upwards!

We saw this blog appear on the drupa 2012 blog and it is too good not to share. One of the key graphic Twitterati shared his experience on how (not) to’s on Twitter.

Here is a sneak preview. You can check out the full blog on the drupa 2012 blog:

Tweeting is a mysterious world, and companies of all sizes are right to be cautious as they decide their strategy. Who’s the right person to tweet? What can or can’t they say? How does one deal with negative @ mentions and when should the conversation be taken offline? These are all things to be decided internally, perhaps bringing in a specialist to help demystify, and in many cases there is no right or wrong: we are all still feeling our way with this exciting and powerful new technology area.

It has been great to see broader social media adoption at drupa. YouTube has been particularly strong, with many companies engaging with film-makers to capture the sense of what they’ve tried to communicate at the show to the outside world. And Twitter has been a thoroughly jovial place these past days, enabling people to connect in a totally different way, providing a wholly new (and often very amusing) experience of the show’s incredible zeitgeist.

But there are still some mistakes being made: no names, no pack drill, but I hope that some blunt pointers will help companies make their feeds richer for the tweeters in their ecosystems – and also easier for their employees. I’ll also try and link them to some examples in the real world that would frustrate you equally.

James Matthews-Paul is publisher of Output, http://www.outputmagazine.com/, which offers news, technical features, blogs, videos and product profiles on the graphic arts and visual communications sector. You can find him tweeting at @signanddisplay, or you can email him at james@outputmagazine.com.

A continuation on Rosa Arza’s presentation of duomedia customers at drupa. Today’s special on software and finishing!

Esko/Enfocus - Pabellón 8b, stand A23

Esko muestra la Suite 12, una actualización mayor del software de flujo de trabajo de Esko para los mercados de los envases, etiquetas, rotulación y expositores. A través de WebCenter 12, Automation Engine 12, Color Engine 12, Studio 12 y los editores insignia ArtiosCAD, PackEdge, ArtPro y DeskPack, Esko Suite 12 sube el listón de la integración de procesos desde el diseño hasta la máquina de impresión, implicando a todos los participantes en la cadena de suministro. En flexografía Esko la novedad es el modelo CDI Spark 2530 con Inline UV1 digital y CDI Spark 4835 Auto con Inline UV2 digital, así como el Digital Flexo Suite para optimizar el proceso de producción de planchas para flexografía. A destacar la tecnología HD Flexo Pixel+. En acabado digital destaca la mesa Kongsberg XN así como también sus soluciones de software integradas para diseño estructural, ArtiosCAD, y flujo de trabajo de acabado digital, i-cut Suite. Enfocus, empresa filial de Esko, presenta su cartera de soluciones de software, entre las que se incluyen los nuevos Enfocus Switch 11 y Enfocus PitStop 11.

X-Rite - Pabellón 5, stand D023

La experiencia de Pantone como autoridad mundial en materia de color, sumada al liderazgo en tecnología y ciencia del color de X-Rite, ha dado como resultado PantoneLIVE™, un “ecosistema” dinámico que aporta colores coherentes en toda la cadena de suministro de los envases y que se muestra en la feria. Otras novedades son los Sistemas de gestión del color i1Pro 2, incluido el espectrofotómetro i1Pro 2 mejorado.También un nuevo espectrofotómetro que incorpora la última tecnología de navegación de “tocar y deslizar”, así como software intuitivo para que los operarios de preimpresión midan el color de forma rápida y sencilla, y controlen el cumplimiento de las últimas normas ISO. Los nuevos espectrofotómetros incluyen X-Rite Graphic Arts Standard (XRGA).

Pageflex- Pabellón 4, stand A02

En drupa Pageflex presenta la globalización de todos sus productos: Pageflex iWay 6.0 que incluye nuevas características en múltiples idiomas, así como Pageflex 8.0 que ha sido traducido a más de 10 idiomas. Con iWay 6.0 los clientes pueden crear plantillas para documentos personalizados para incluir en sus portales iWay. Pageflex también muestra productos que permiten a los dispositivos móviles ser usados en los procesos de producción de impresión, y nuevas herramientas de comunicación para lo que ha formado nuevas asociaciones que permiten ampliar las comunicaciones a nuevos medios de comunicación incluyendo video y multicanal.

Bell & Howell - Pabellón 4, stand A24

Bell and Howell presenta los sistemas de insertado Forerunner 13 y Ascender 14; el sistema de clasificación Criterion APEX capaz de procesar más de 70000 elementos de correo por hora; y la familia de soluciones JETVision que incluye soluciones de hardware y software para leer, decodificar y controlar la información. Su participación en drupa se completa con la solución Software IQ para ayudar a los usuarios a incrementar el impacto y la relevancia de cada mensaje, así como a maximizar la productividad y eficiencia.

Bekaert - Pabellón 11, stand C55

Bekaert presenta una amplia gama de alambres revestidos para espirales de alambre y ganchos de calendario. El nuevo alambre exclusivo con revestimiento de polímeros se puede imprimir de cualquier color abriendo un mundo de nuevas posibilidades a los diseñadores, permitiéndoles dotar de más carácter al material de papelería encuadernado sumando una dimensión adicional de color:

Duomedia’s Rosa Arza has been going down the halls for duomedia and provides you with a short update on the key news per customer. In Spanish of course!

Today’s special on printing.

Atlantic Zeiser - Pabellón 11, stand C56

Atlantic Zeiser muestra en su stand los equipos DIGILINE Web 300 con impresoras digitales inkjet de alta velocidad DELTA 105i y OMEGA 36i integradas para producir etiquetas de sellos fiscales y de seguridad. También está presente el DIGILINE Sheet 300 con impresora digital inkjet OMEGA 36i integrada y sistema ecológico de secado UV LED refrigerado por aire SMARTCURE AIR para codificar y serializar de forma individual cartones plegados. PERSOLINE con tratamiento previo de plasma, impresora digital inkjet 4C-GAMMA y módulo de barnizado UV para imprimir a cuatro colores y personalizar tarjetas de plástico de gran calidad. Además, junto con Koenig & Bauer AG, la empresa presenta un innovador sistema híbrido de impresión y codificación de hojas.

Kodak - Pabellón 5, stand F09-1

Kodak presenta 10 nuevas soluciones digitales entre las que destaca el nuevo sistema de impresión KODAK PROSPER 6000XL de 305 mpm, con volúmenes de impresión mensual (MPV) de hasta 160 millones de páginas A4; el KODAK PROSPER S30 de 915 mpm, que puede presumir de la velocidad más alta del sector para aplicaciones de impresión híbrida. Y el sistema de impresión TIMSONS T-Press para la impresión totalmente digital de libros. También es novedad el sistema KODAK FLEXCEL Direct, que presenta un innovador grabado directo con láser para producción de camisas de caucho flexográficas, así como el nuevo CTP KODAK ACHIEVE. Imprescindible la visita al escenario Zona K donde se ofrecen presentaciones en vivo todos los días de la feria.

Mimaki - Pabellón 9, stand C21

Mimaki da a conocer en drupa su nueva impresora plana UV-LED. En su stand se pueden ver la impresora látex JV400-160LX de alta velocidad y calidad, que emplea tinta látex sostenible con tinta látex blanca, y el modelo JV400-130SUV, que aúna la flexibilidad de la impresión con tintas de base solvente y la durabilidad de las tintas de curado UV. Ambos sistemas emplean el RIP de Mimaki, RasterLink6, que permite aplicar tres capas de tinta en una sola pasada con tinta blanca y de color. La impresora plana de sobremesa UJF-3042HG también ocupa un lugar destacado en la Drupa. Otras impresoras planas UV que Mimaki expone son el modelo UJF-3042FX y la gama de impresoras planas de gran formato, la serie Mimaki JFX.

Ricoh - Pabellón 08a, stand B46-1 y B46-3

Ricoh presenta en drupa la gama TotalFlow, la Pro C901 Graphic Arts Edition, los equipos digitales en color de hojas cortada Pro C751 y la máquina rotativa InfoPrint VP 5000. RICOH también presenta el nuevo Programa de Compensación de la Huella de Carbono, la última actualización del Business Driver Programme™ y una nueva impresora en color de gran formato. El stand de RICOH muestra la última incorporación a su gama de impresoras de color por inyección de tinta de gran formato: la RICOH Aficio CW 2200SP, diseñada para atender las necesidades de un sector emergente como es el del diseño asistido por ordenador (CAD).

Xeikon - Pabellón 8A, stand B44

Xeikon presenta la nueva serie 8000 de equipos de impresión digital, controlados por el flujo de trabajo de Xeikon que utiliza una nueva interfaz de usuario, mypress. También se muestra la nueva gama de suites centradas en aplicaciones para los mercados de etiquetas y envases. Además, Xeikon lanza una nueva tecnología de impresión llamada Quantum que evita el compromiso actual entre calidad y velocidad, y combina alta calidad para el mercado de la impresión de documentos. Xeikon también presenta su nueva gama de soluciones ctp fiables y de alta calidad Thermoflexx para los mercados de la flexografía y tipografía. Los usuarios de máquinas de impresión convencionales pueden conocer la nueva generación de soluciones ctp UV basysprint VLF, de 4 páginas y 8 páginas para la exposición digital de planchas offset UV.

How are you doing? Not parched we hope?

Another lesson learnt the last couple of days - stay hydrated!

Walking around the halls, we quickly learned that staying hydrated is the only way to survive two weeks of drupa. So here are some small tips from us to you:

- drink water - sure, we wouldn’t refuse a nice Coupe de Champagne either, but try to hit that 1,5l a day minimum. Your entire bodily system will be grateful and looking fresh, alive and kicking. Look at the water bottles you can find at different stands and take a sip.

- use the wet towels you can find throughout drupa or bring with a moist cloth in a plastic bag. You’ll be amazed how refreshing it can be to put this on your face every once in a while

- use those moisturizers! Men and women alike, bring a moisturizer and keep those hands, neck and face hydrated. Put just a tiny bit of creme in the palm of your hand an drub it all over your face and neckline. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your skin will feed on it. It’s all these airco’s in the hall…

- shower or take a nice bath at the end of the day. Not only will this help take of some of the stress and dust after a day on the booth, but it will also be good for your mental resistance. Cool down, literally and get hydrated.

Until the next #drupa commandment!

One week in the show and we’re all starting to feel it - aching, swollen feet. The long distance walking from one hall to another. Carpeted floors. Standing up for hours at a counter. Or sitting down, but just not long enough for your feet to recuperate just a little bit more and then having to stand up again.

Oh yes, we’ve been there and we’ve come prepared.

At duomedia, we went shoehunting some time ago already. Practical tip number one: buy your shoes in advance and wear them often, so they have adjusted to your feet.

Get panty hoses, 100% cotton socks, foot deodorant and anything that will help your feet to make it comfortably through the day.

At the end of the day, take off your shoes, socks and treat your feet to a delightful lukewarm bath. Add some bubbles or sea salt to help against the swollenness and put on some comfortable open-toe slippers. Let them breathe. Your company won’t mind if you’re among friends. If you have a business dinner planned, we do recommend putting on another pair that is both comfortable and stylish.

An invaluable tip we also want to share with you, delivered by drupa connaisseuse @rockstro: alternate, alternate, alternate. Don’t let your feet adjust to a certain pair of shoes. Wear a different pair of shoes every day and be ensured blisters don’t stand a chance.

And if you do have blisters: bring Compeed. Blister relief is but a bandaid away.

We’ll be posting regular tips on how to look and feel alive and fresh throughout drupa.

And keep track of the #drupashoes hashtag - post a picture of your drupashoes and use this hashtag to see what the rest is wearing!

Stay tuned!

At the recent #duopredrupaBE press conference held in Brussels, there was one sentence that sums up pretty much all of the drupa trends currently going on. Ignace Cosaert, CEO of Athena Graphics, specialised in pre-press for packaging, said the keyword in everything they do is “de-care”. An interesting thought as drupa is only a fortnight away.

The #duopredrupabe was held on April 5th, Easter break in the duomedia premises at The Egg, a communication hub in Brussels. A raft of interesting speakers gave their take on the drupa at hand. Monika Kissing, head of the press department at messe
Düsseldorf, informed us drupa was sold out. Sold out. Entirely! The cross-media campaign definitely proved its worth. Initial feedback from visitors shows they are coming to see a lot of diversified solutions. A trend confirmed by Eddy Hagen, Director at the VIGC and trendwatcher. Belgium based, but with a steady eye on the international trends, he confirmed printers are looking at not one solution at a time, but they’re exploring options on how they can take more work and cares away from their customers. They’re researching automation, shorter run terms and web-to-print applications for easier access, control and output. This was reflected in the Belgian industry figures, released by Belgium based Febelgra. Downward leaning figures indicated that Belgian printers are experiencing difficulties, but the survivors are the innovators who are investing in solutions that turn printers in interactive and cooperative partners.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we asked Athena Graphics (a packaging pre-press specialist) and Drukkerij De Bie (commercial printing specialist) to provides us with a sneak peek on how they grow. De Bie invests a lot in sustainable management and solutions (they even have a bee-kingdom at their premises!) and Athena Graphics focuses on de-caring. They’ve developed an internal workflow approval tool, to manage and integrate all the processes from within the company. They’ve also set up the Athena Academy to invest in training people. Quality and de-caring are on top of their priority list.

De-caring or taking stress and workload away from customers, it seems like today’s mantra. Especially as we head up to drupa. A fortnight to go and still a lot of things to be done with stress levels hitting the red zone hours before opening day. So here an appeal to all of you - let’s de-care one another every once in a while.

Hey you there, good job on all the drupa preparations, how can we help?

Don’t forget: #drupa #drupacube #drupadip @drupa2012 @duomediapr

Prior to the big drupa show next May in Düsseldorf (Germany), Messe Düsseldorf set up two pre-drupa seminars in Spain and Belgium in order to inform local drupa visitors and press on the endeavors of the graphic arts industry in these countries and the importance of drupa for the local economy. In Spain, the seminar took place on March 22nd in the Barcelona premises of the Printing Industry Association of Catalonia, resulting in a large number of attendances. Duomedia’s Rosa Arza directed the event and happily reports on its success.

No less than 80 participants attended this event - bringing together both drupa fair representatives, the most important digital printing exhibitors and speakers discussing the current and future situation of the graphic communications market. The President of the Printing Industry Association of Catalonia opened the seminar by analyzing the situation of the Spanish market. He described the current situation as challenging times with the activity drops, a closure of credits, the change of economic model, and ultimately a series of elements that make it predominantly clear to the market players that technological innovation is key. Olivier Hubing of Messe Düsseldorf Spain picked in on how the drupa show is a good platform to bring forward the endeavors of market players on how they can help local printers to both survive and gain a competitive edge.

The main digital printing exhibitors at drupa also participated in this predrupa seminar, providing attendees with a comprehensive overview of their drupa actions. There was an impressive line-up from following key market players: Canon, HP, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Xerox. Closing off the sessions, two experts from Procograf and Aido analyzed the present and the future of the printing and the packaging possibilities for printers.

Attendees praised the extensive information they received in preparation for their visit to drupa. They all felt that this seminar provided them with living proof that the only way out and forward is technological innovation. And visiting drupa, of course, in order to make a well-informed decision on how to select the most suitable solution for the needs of their company.

A conclusion well worth the organization of these kinds of seminars. And isn’t that what it’s all about in the end? Bringing people together and discuss how we face the challenges in the industry?

What are you up to this drupa and how are you preparing your trip?

Did you get that horrible sinking feeling when you read the headline? You won’t be alone. With so much at stake, the Mother of all print shows can make the most seasoned marketing professional sweat. There’s always so much to prepare, so much to organize. And always so much more than you first thought. 

But for the next minute or two we ask that you park the panic. Take a breather as we explain how you can make some of that angst disappear. 

First up, get to grips with social media. It’s going to be big at this year’s drupa. And by big we mean huge. You simply can’t afford to be off the pace. drupa moves fast, and people will turn to blogs and tweets for up-to-the-second news.  Social media lets you tell everyone exactly what you’re doing , while you’re doing it. Which means they can come join you and share the experience. Need help? Speak to our Mr. and Ms. Social Media, Stan Lemmens and Maya Staels for a social media approach that fits your company profile. In the meantime subscribe to our blog, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels. We’ve got loads of pre-drupa stuff planned to help you engage with the media, and we’ll be posting more at the event.

But as important as social media is, it’s in the build-up to monster shows like drupa that traditional PR really proves its worth, certainly in the print industry. We’re going over every last detail with clients to make sure they’re seen by all the people that matter to them at drupa. And come May, the duomedia pr office practically re-locates to Düsseldorf, we’ll have a fully equipped office at the fairground. Now that’s support.

Not a client? We really should be talking – contact us today - stan.l@duomedia.com

Be drupa smart – some practical tips

• Plan, plan, plan – drupa gives you one shot every four years to get it right. Your PR manager  will help you. Speak of the devil, is that your PR hotline calling?
• Tell your PR manager everything – let them know every activity in the pipeline, no matter how small, they’ll keep track too!
• Go social media crazy – get your own channels in order and subscribe to all things drupa

Warm-up your audience – participate in a local pre-drupa event and get stakeholders talking. duomedia pr is likely to stage events in France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium. We’ll keep you posted.