A strong focus at drupa 2016 will be the advances in industrial printing – specifically packaging, glass, textiles, ceramics, flooring, laminates, wood, wall coverings, decorative printing and printed electronics. The world’s No. 1 printing industry tradeshow will take place from May 31 to June 10, 2016 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. “Packaging production and industrial printing applications are recognized today as growth markets,” said Werner M. Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. “We must follow market changes and identify future trends to integrate them into our concept for the trade fair. For 65 years, drupa has always been at the forefront of technological innovations,” he added.
Industrial printing applications have historically been produced using a variety of analogue printing technologies, such as offset, gravure, flexographic and screen printing. Although the digital revolution has taken several paths, the most prominent to date has been in the graphic communications industry. Digital print-on-demand is now well-established in this area and the use of digital technology is now migrating and growing in industrial segments such as packaging, decorative and functional printing. According to estimates by marketing research firm InfoTrends, worldwide mass production of decorative products accounts for just under half a trillion dollars in manufactured goods in flat glass, ceramic tiles, flooring/laminates, textiles and wall coverings.
“The print and media industry is changing. New technologies are establishing themselves,” said Sabine Geldermann, drupa 2016 Director. “With the highlight themes of print, functional printing, packaging production, multi-channel, 3D printing and green printing, we’re responding to this change and are opening up new visitor target groups with state-of-the-art technologies and new solutions.” In addition to the individual exhibitors’ products on display, drupa 2016 will present the latest design and production solutions in drupa special exhibits such as InnovationPpark, drupa Cube, Touchpoint Packaging and Pepso – Printed Electronics.
A strong base of productivity and demand and a growing desire for mass customization creates an excellent basis for innovative digital printing technologies. Inkjet printing is the dominant enabler of this transition, said drupa. Following several decades of technological developments in jetting and materials science, there is now a resurgence of technologies that enable deposition onto applications including packaging, ceramics, textiles, 3D objects and electronic components. “During drupa 2016, the world will converge to explore and observe new technological innovations in print and material deposition, with many of them focusing on industrial and functional printing solutions,” the organization added.
Drupa 2016 to highlight industrial printing
