Drupa 2008 review

Ink World, August, 2008 by David Savastano

Every four years, the printing industry heads to Dusseldorf, Germany for drupa, the huge two-week showcase for printing, drupa 2008 was another huge show, with nearly 391,000 visitors from 138 countries checking out the 1,971 exhibits.

The ink industry was well represented at drupa 2008, with many of the leading international ink companies in attendance and some intriguing new technologies on display.

Sun Chemical had a tremendous array of new products on hand at drupa 2008, covering the gamut from conventional and inkjet inks to new technologies such as brand security solutions, LED-curable inks and conductive inks.

Among the highlights were SunCure Advantage, a new range of UV curing inks that comprises around 30 percent sustainable materials; Solarflex LM low migration UV flexo inks for flexible packaging; and HD Heatset, a heatset ink that is ideal for lower basis weights. On the SunJet side, the company announced the development of new and novel ink chemistry specifically designed for curing under exposure to UV light from LED sources. SunJet also reported the development of inkjet ink chemistry designed to support and deliver conductive films using nano-particles of silver.

Rudi Lenz, president and CEO of Sun Chemical, is proud of the innovations Sun Chemical showcased.

"We as a company spend more than twice as much as all of our competitors combined," Mr. Lenz said. "You have to innovate to create value for your customers."

"Sun Chemical had a very successful drupa this year," noted John McKeown, senior vice president, human resources for Sun Chemical. "drupa provided us with an opportunity to deliver our message of 'Working for You' by providing quality, service and innovation to customers and prospective customers while showcasing 'world first' new product offerings such as SunCure Advantage, and other important product announcements about SmartColour and WetFlex.

"Over the course of two weeks, we had consistently heavy traffic at our booth allowing for many productive discussions with customers.," Mr. McKeown added. "Sun Chemical also showed its advances in digital by announcing its partnership with IMG Digipack GmbH, based in Remscheid, Germany, as a beta partner for FastJet, the world's fastest inkjet printing press for corrugated packaging."

Centered around the theme, "Always ImPRESSive!" Flint Group introduced a wide variety of products, including inks, blankets and photopolymer sleeves.

"Having been brought together from four major, well respected businesses, all 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," said Charles Knott, CEO of Flint Group.

On the ink side, the company launched Novavit F 950 Plus BIO and Novavit F 550 Plus ranges for sheetfed offset, and for Europe, the new Inuline ink/varnish system. Another concept is Premo, a water-based printing ink building block technology.

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"Due to the economic slowdown and the weak U.S. dollar, many North American customers weren't sure if they would attend," noted Mike Green, head of Flint Group North America's Publication and News Ink divisions. "In the end, though, a variety of customers did invest in attending drupa, and the focus of our meetings was very different compared to four years ago. Due to the business challenges in these tough economic times, customers came to drupa with very specific issues to discuss. They wanted Flint Group to provide tangible, actionable help. This made the show a very effective meeting point."

For Siegwerk, the emphasis at drupa was on individual customer solutions. With numerous sales meetings and contracts signed, the targets were fully achieved; Siegwerk officials estimated that more than 7,000 people visited the company's booth.

"Our international Siegwerk team with representatives from all regions and all of the company's business units could intensify relationships with current customers and successfully sign up new ones," said Siegwerk CEO Herbert Forker. "I'm happy to say that we are able to take full advantage of the communication opportunities drupa presents for us. Our dedicated staff enables us to provide customers with high quality products, innovative solutions and quick on-site support anywhere in the world, and we were able to convey this message successfully."

Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co., Ltd. used drupa to showcase its new products as well as emphasizing its overall capabilities. "drupa was a great platform to advance Toyo's presence in Europe and many other countries as well," said John Copeland, Toyo Ink America's president and COO. "There was a tremendous amount of activity and excitement around our booth."

"We've put special emphasis on our business in Europe," added Aviv Haruta, general manager, corporate communications department for Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

"For Toyo, drupa is a great business chance, and not just for Europe," said Hugh Takahashi, senior vice president, Toyo Ink America. "It is a great opportunity for us to showcase our capabilities and build new relationships the world over."