Ink manufacturers take the stage at drupa 2008

Ink World, May, 2008 by David Savastano

By virtually any statistic, drupa, the printing industry's largest trade fair, is a staggering undertaking. At the last drupa in 2004, 394,478 visitors from 122 nations attended the two-week exhibition, visiting 1,866 exhibitors from 52 countries.

With that in mind, it's more than understandable that drupa is held every four years.

This year's drupa, scheduled from May 29 through June 11, promises to be another gigantic program. With more than 1,800 exhibitors and more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space, 400,000 expected visitors and some 3,500 journalists from around the world, drupa 2008 will be larger than ever before.

"These figures once again underscore drupa's status as the world's number one trade fair for the print and media industry," commented Werner M. Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Dusseldorf, drupa's organizers. "No other event has as profound and all-encompassing an influence on the economics and technologies of the print media industry as drupa in Dusseldorf. What the Olympic Games mean to athletes is what drupa means to the print media industry."

Attendees will see plenty of innovations, as press manufacturing giants such as Heidelberg, MAN Roland, Koenig-Bauer, Goss, Cerrutti and many others showcase their newest innovations. The digital side will be more heavily represented than ever, with Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, EFI, Fujifilm, Xerox and many others planning major exhibits.

"The exhibitor applications to date reflect the development of the industry," said Manuel Matare, drupa 2008 project director. "Notable in this context is the increased commitment of exhibitors who include digital solutions in their product portfolio. This area will grow enormously compared to drupa 2004."

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The Ink Industry and drupa

It should come as little surprise that with 400,000 attendees affiliated with the printing industry, major ink manufacturers will be very much in evidence at drupa. The major international players will all be there (please see the chart on page 24). Sun Chemical, Flint Group, Siegwerk, Toyo Ink, Sakata Inx, Huber Group, SICPA and many more companies will be on hand at the show.

Sun Chemical is once again headquartered in Hall 6 with PrintCity, with a 600 square meter stand, and will be focusing its efforts on quality, service and innovation, as well as environmental issues.

"Working for you" is the new tag line for Sun Chemical.

"Our customers' needs are driving the way forward," said Felipe Mellado, Sun Chemical's corporate vice president, marketing. "These days, it's not just about having the best products, it's about having the complete customer-focused value-added package. Sun Chemical exceeds, not just aims to meet, its clients' needs. Our global footprint enables us to deliver solutions in local markets worldwide.

"Drupa will be the perfect showcase to demonstrate our latest innovations as part of the strategic direction driven by Rudi Lenz, our new chief executive officer and president," Mr. Mellado added. "These will range from the latest low-migration products in packaging; new technologies for newspapers; new environmentally-friendly sheetfed inks in the commercial market; and new products for very large format graphic printers. We will also be unveiling the latest developments in color management, such as SmartColour."

On two stands (Hall 5, C38 and Hall 16, A21), Flint Group is preparing for its debut at drupa.

"Having been brought together from four major well respected businesses, each leading companies in their own right, and having leveraged our strengths and capabilities, we now as Flint Group have more to offer than ever before" says Charles Knott, CEO for Flint Group.

Around the theme "Always imPRESSive!" Flint Group is presenting their product offerings on its two stands: The Printing Inks Divisions as well as the Flint Group Flexographic Products, Flint Group Narrow Web and Flint Group Pigments Divisions will showcase their broad portfolio and innovative service solutions at stand C38 in Hall 5. Day International and Flint Group Flexographic Products are demonstrating their commitment to the printing and packaging industry with high-performance products and services at stand A21 in Hall 16.

The main focus is on the new ready-to-image photopolymer sleeves nyloflex ITR Thin and nyloflex ITR Classic. nyloflex ITR sleeves are seamless printing forms inclusive LAMS layer ready for digital imaging, especially developed for high-quality flexographic printing. Easy operation, faster make-ready, improved press speed and last but not least cost savings for customers are the advantages of this new generation of product. Furthermore, a new nyloflex developed for UV printing will have its debut at drupa.

On the ink side, the new Novavit F 950 PLUS BIO and Novavit F 550 PLUS ranges for sheetfed offset printing will be introduced. These inks have been developed for fast running printing presses and are ideal for shiny coated paper and cardboard. Novavit F 550 PLUS is especially suitable for straight printing mode; the most recent binding agent technologies facilitate an even better ink/water performance. Novavit F 950 BIO PLUS has been designed for use in very fast running multi-color printing presses for face and reverse printing modes. Both series demonstrate clearly improved misting properties at high printing speeds.