Take a ‘dip’ in the Drupa Pool
The Drupa innovation parc (dip) is best described as a “microcosm of innovations” and will feature eight different themed sections at the Drupa 2008 exhibition. It is particularly well-suited for startup companies and smaller-sized firms as an ideal venue to highlight their cutting-edge developments.
Established companies will also have a strong presence, but there is an important prerequisite: They must be future-oriented and global. The products in this exhibition space will cover the gamut of printing solutions, from Web-to-print applications to workflow systems through to creative image retouching.
Océ, the official print partner of dip, will provide the Drupa think tank with professional support. In the dip section, exhibition visitors will gain a unique overview of the latest developments in diverse sectors of the printing trade.
Publishing houses, agencies and users will discover upcoming trends and learn how to tap into new opportunities. The dip will be a magnet for attracting new target groups, such as customers in the print media trade and corporate publishers. The innovations presented for the first time at Drupa by these newcomer exhibitors could well become industry standards in the future.
Tomorrow’s Trends
Messe Düsseldorf is committed as a promoter and active sponsor to help the rising stars in the Drupa innovation parc make an influential debut and attract visitor interest. Well-known companies have followed this lead and are actively involved as promoters.
Manuel Mataré, Drupa project manager, describes the dynamic potential of dip. “The basic idea is to give smaller firms, in particular, a strong jump start. For the first time, many smaller, but nevertheless innovative companies will have the opportunity to be represented at Drupa. In the future, their software innovations may be hugely important for the entire industry, as was demonstrated by the dip premiere of 2004.
“It is now difficult to imagine the printing industry without a lot of the applications that were demonstrated for the first time in the dip in 2004,” he continues. “An example of this is Web-to-print, which we were the first to pick up on as a trade fair, and it is now the hot topic around the world.”
