Rahul @ Drupa: Made in India, HP and Heidelberg

Rahul Kumar will be attending the 2016 Drupa Media Conference from 29 February to 2 March in Düsseldorf.

27 Jan 2016 | By Rahul Kumar

Rahul Kumar, associate editor, PrintWeek India

India is a big theme at Drupa

In Drupa 2012, the total number of exhibitors was 1844, with a net space of 165,988 sqm, the total number of visitors were 314,248 and maximum visitors were from India; 8% of the total visitors.

In 2016, the numbers are expected to increase even though the duration of the show has been reduced. Already 33 Indian companies have confirmed their presence as exhibitors.

Both premier associations, AIFMP and IPAMA have a stall in partnership with the Messe Dusseldorf authorities where they can showcase the Made in India products. In Mumbai, MMS (Mumbai Mudrak Sangh) and BMPA (Bombay Master Printers Association) have launched a common project for a joint Drupa Tour. Members of other Indian print associations in India are booking their flights and hotel rooms for the show.

All eyes on HP

With HP being the largest single exhibitor at Drupa 2016, the Israel-based digital giant is expected to do a revamp with all the print power at its disposal. HP's Indigo man, A Appadurai met up with the PrintWeek India team during the super busy CEIF show in Mumbai, where the HP stall (with the PageWide, three Indigos (10000, 7600, 5600), and all types of Latex printers) was an indicator that Drupa will not be about "Druck and Papier" anymore.

Last week (20 January), there was a grand announcement that "print impressions by HP Indigo printers has breached the one billion mark in 2015 from its Indigo printers."

That evening, HP introduced Michael Boyle to the 200 delegates at the HP show that included customers, channel partners and HP staff, as the new head of HP GSB (graphics services business) for the Asia Pacific and Japan region.

The change is timed alongside HP's pre-Drupa thrust into labels and packaging, which has seen traction in the region.

The manufacturer now supplies digital flexo and corrugated printers, and in 2016, expects to see the fruit of its collaboration with KBA.

My colleague and managing editor, Noel D'cunha informs me that HP's pre-Drupa event will be in Israel in March, where HP will share with him what they are doing at Drupa.

I feel, Drupa 2016 is going to be a very important milestone for HP. After May 2016, digital print is going to be considered as a mainstream business.

Action on the Heidelberg front

Unlike Drupa 2000 (which saw Heidelberg’s biggest-ever Drupa presence), Drupa 2016 will see "10% of the spend."

PrintWeek India's Noel D'cunha will attend Heidelberg’s Pre-Drupa press conference in St Gallen (Gallus), Heidelberg and Wiesloch-Walldorf and hopefully get a preview of Heidelberg's B1 sheetfed inkjet press, which is likely to be "a huge draw at the show."

As PrintWeek India readers know, the Gallus Group with its production sites in Switzerland, the Swiss manufacturer and the world market leader of web presses for the label and folding carton market. The tour of the factory will provide "an impression and interesting insight into Gallus innovation and technology."

Later the action will shift to Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG in the picturesque Heidelberg and Wiesloch-Walldorf. The event will provide insights into how Heidelberg and its partners (Steinemann, Masterwork Machinery and Polar) will be showing the digitised future of the print media industry under the motto “Simply Smart”. Heidelberg’s new Smart Monitoring service is currently in beta testing with a number of customers worldwide.

During Drupa, Heidelberg with trips to its Wiesloch site where it has invested heavily in running a complete line-up of presses and post-press equipment for commercial and packaging printers. The site is about three hours from Dusseldorf by train.

Drupa, the biggest exhibition of graphic art industry will take place from 31 May to 10 June 2016 at Dusseldorf, Germany. PrintWeek India is a cooperating media partner at the show.