Rhine drops keep falling on my head

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Katherine O'Brien

“Above all, we were wet,” writes Frank McCourt in the introductory paragraphs of “Angela's Ashes.” The same phrase aptly describes my Drupa 2000 recollections.

Every morning as I set out to the train station, it was as though an unseen hand was emptying a bottomless Rhine rain barrel on my head. My colleague, Yolanda Simonsis, had the foresight to bring an umbrella. Of course, even if I had packed my trusty Totes, it wouldn't have fit in my elegant accommodations, “Das Tom Thumb Suite” at “Der Teeny Tiny Inn.” As I have told many people (and shamelessly plagiarized from Henny Youngman), my room was so small, I had to go outside to change my mind.

Despite the daily dousing and the lingering claustrophobia, I was impressed by my first dose of Drupa. The entire city of Dusseldorf seemed to have Drupa fever: There were banners and billboards on the main thoroughfares, shop window mannequins were decked out in red and white Drupa duds, and the main train station was teeming with people all seemingly destined for the trade show.

When I got to the show, there was an opening ceremony on par with the Olympics as well as a Bonnie Tyler-esque anthem celebrating the dawn of a new Drupa. The show's sprawl was amazing. It reminded me of the Mall of America: You can't believe there could be so much stuff in one place, and you concede early on that you will never see it all.

Unlike the U.S., where we tend to build vertically with soaring skyscrapers, Drupa's architecture unfurls horizontally in a dozen or so gigantic buildings. Some of the really big vendors have their own buildings and the massive equipment displays truly are mind-boggling. Visitors will see full-size web presses, sheetfed and digital presses in all formats.

Will it be the ‘Inkjet Drupa’?

But the real excitement is seeing what's next. At Drupa 2000, all manner of DI presses, digital presses and CTP devices were unveiled. Drupa 2004 pushed the digital envelope even further. As for Drupa 2008, pundits are predicting large-format offset presses — and maybe some digital ones, too — as well as inkjet innovations.

“Write this in ink: It will be the Inkjet Drupa,” says RIT's Frank Romano. “Look for at least eight high-speed, high-quality roll-fed inkjet printers, initially for transpromo but also to challenge another level of offset litho.”

This is Romano's ninth Drupa. “I might have two more in me before I go to that great Drupa in the sky,” he says. “Hopefully, the hotels will be cheaper.”

Tim Burton, president of Burton & Mayer (Menomonee Falls, WI) attended his first Drupa in 1995. “I wanted to see the digital revolution,” he says, explaining that show ushered in the first platesetters. Burton also spied an automated skid turner, a useful if not necessarily exciting addition to his company's 104,000-sq.-ft., 95-employee operation.

He returned in 2000 to look at presses and again in 2004 to get a general overview of digital developments. In 2008, he'll look at digital presses, larger format presses and press automation.

Burton's lasting impression is the show's size, “the huge Drupa campus” as he calls it, as well as some culinary surprises on the show floor: At one vendor's booth, he enjoyed a bowl of delicious homemade pea soup.

Jim Mayes, immediate past chair of PIA/GATF and president of Colorcraft of Virginia (Sterling, VA) attended his first Drupa in 1995. “The mere size was overwhelming,” he recalls. Subsequent trips in 2000 and 2004 helped him keep abreast of the latest workflow, digital and offset press and proofing developments. Although Drupa tends to attract midsize and large North American printers — Colorcraft is a $15 million, 80-employee operation — the show company's figures indicate 27 percent of the total attendees are from companies with one to 19 employees.

On Wisconsin

For the 2008 show, Mayes and Burton have signed up for a package deal arranged by the Printing Industries of Wisconsin (PIW) (www.piw.org). “It's a great cultural experience,” says Niall Power, president and CEO of PIW, and the leader of two previous PIW trips. “Graph Expo is a wonderful exposure to new technology, but this really gives you a global feel.”

Many of the printers who participated in the 2000 and 2004 PIW trips had never been to Drupa, but Power says they all had a great time. “They probably thought it would be more challenging, in terms of the language and transportation, but English is widely spoken and you don't have to rent a car.”

Drupa 2008 will take place May 29 to June 11. That's a bit later than in recent years, so hopefully the rainy season will be long past. One final trip advisory: Hotels are always expensive, but apparently they are reaching new heights of outrageousness even at this early date. Book now! And bring an umbrella, just in case.
KOB@americanprinter.com