Organizers for Drupa 2004 Provide Event Preview

The organizers of Drupa 2004 invited approximately 100 graphic arts journalists from around the world to converge in late January at the Messe Düsseldorf trade fair complex in Germany to get a preview of what would be seen there May 6-19, when the printing industry's largest international trade fair takes place in Düsseldorf.

At the conference, representatives from the Drupa organizing team shared their perspectives on the forthcoming event, and set the stage for 15 graphic arts vendors, as well as the PrintCity alliance, to brief the media on what they could expect to see on the show floor [for details on products to be shown at Drupa, see feature article on page 48 in this issue].

Says Koenig & Bauer AG chief executive Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, who also serves as president of Drupa 2004. "Drupa attendees will see much brainware and hardware on display, as well as IT technologies in the form of JDF-, CIP4-, and PDF-enabled solutions; increased automation; more custom-tailored innovations; and more choices of substrates on which to print."

He relates that the Olympic motto "faster, higher, farther" could be adapted for Drupa 2004 to read "prettier, faster, and more reliable," pointing to one of the main themes of the show—workflow efficiencies.