David Savastano, Ink World Editor05.08.08
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 Düsseldorf, 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 Düsseldorf. 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 innvoations. 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.”
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.
The Inuline ink/varnish system constitutes a further innovation. The name stands for two innovative ink-varnish systems: the first system consists of a special printing ink, Novavit F770 Inuline, which penetrates particularly quickly, is highly pigmented and has a wax-free formulation, and Ultraking Inuline, a corresponding UV varnish. The system permits the user to apply a UV varnish directly inline to a conventional sheetfed offset printing ink without using a primer. The second element of the Inuline system delivers extremely high gloss rates with a water-based coating. The same Novavit F770 Inuline is used, this time combined with the special Novaset 7302/100 Inuline water-based coating.
Another theme is Premo, the concept developed last year. Diverse possibilities and flexibility during the development of optimal printing ink systems for the packaging industry are available using the water-based printing ink building block technology.
“Flint Group has developed into a leading supplier for the printing and packaging industry,” said Mr. Knott. “Strong companies and recognized product brands are united under our umbrella. We are looking forward to drupa 2008 where for the first time we will be able to demonstrate our comprehensive product and service competency as Flint Group. We hope our customers will then also state that we are ‘very impressive’.”
Toyo Ink will be headquartered in Hall 4, C40. John Copeland, Toyo Ink America’s president and COO, has high expectations for Toyo Ink and drupa.
At the Toyo Ink exhibit space, taking center stage will be a variety of high-quality, high-performance products, such as printing inks and next-generation print materials targeting the European marketplace. This year at drupa, Toyo Ink will continue to use the group’s global tag line “Value You Can See.”
“Drupa is a worldwide show for Toyo Ink, and it is going to be a good show for us,” Mr. Copeland said. “We have some phenomenal new products that will be unveiled.”
Based on the Toyo Ink Group’s global tag line “Value You Can See,” the Group will be exhibiting at drupa 2008 under the new theme of “building a successful foundation for business in Europe.”
Among the key products are the Kaleido Ink Series, a range of oil-based, aqualess, UV curable inks that cover almost the full Adobe RGB color gamut with just four colors but enable sufficient color reproductivity to rival six- or seven- color printing; the Rexalpha series of electrically conductive silver paste inks; the FD LED series of UV curable sheetfed offset inks hard dried within the ultraviolet range given off by LEDs, enabling stability, long life and reduced power consumption through UV irradiation; and FD Carton ACE, a range of UV curable offset inks.
Toyo Ink is also introducing a wide range of offset ink products lined up for the European marketplace; two types of urethane-based gravure lamination ink for flexible packaging, the water-based Aquecol and the toluene-free MEK-free Liovalue; as well as Aqualiona, Toyo Ink’s flexo inks suitable for various different uses. For inkjet, Toyo Ink offers its Liojet range of high-performance inkjet inks offering superior properties such as stretchability, film strength and minimal odor. Toyo Ink also offers Liometal, low-temperature film formable silver nanoparticles that enable the formation of conductive films quickly at low temperatures.
Siegwerk will be headquartered at Hall 04, E49, where it will demonstrate its theme, Ink with Heart and Soul.
In Hall 4, C11, Sakata INX Group, under the banner of “Bringing Vision to Creation, Originality to Communication and Color to Human Life,” will showcase its products, worldwide systems and services, along with those of its U.S.-based subsidiary, INX International Ink Co. and its digital arm, INX Digital. A separate display in Hall 8b, C02, will more extensively cover INX Digital offerings.
“Developing forward-focused products and practices is imbedded in INX culture,” said Rick Clendenning, INX International president and CEO. “Drupa visitors will find a number of new and innovative, eye-opening examples here.”
A key move will be the introduction of INX’s Color-Chain Workflow Suite, advanced-technologies to dramatically increase design and production speed, color accuracy, quality and efficiency.
“We all know that ink is one of several critical components in packaging as well as commercial print design and production,” said Kiniyoshi Horimoto, senior manager – new products marketing of Sakata INX’ corporate marketing division. “Our extensive experience in developing not only high-performance inks and coatings, but also equipment and software workflow solutions gives us total-system insights and perspectives that few can match.”
Available as a fully integrated suite or in a la carte versions, Color-Chain Workflow tools include Visualizer software by ESKO Artwork; Beyond Stochastic – Concentric Screening by Esko Artwork; Super R-SKAT – computer color matching software developed by Sakata INX; TCM Program with CP3NAVI, a comprehensive print quality diagnostics software used with Sakata INX-designed print analysis technology; and Media Beacon, a digital asset management system, used with auto typesetting software developed by Baby-Universe.
“Drupa visitors can see firsthand how these tools can help reduce package design time and costs dramatically, achieve more-precise color matching, enhance detail and color clarity, provide more-efficient proofing and more,” Mr. Horimoto added.
Responsible environmental stewardship, long a hallmark of Sakata INX worldwide, will be evidenced as well, including the latest INX initiatives in utilizing, recycling and renewing natural resources, conserving water and energy, and reducing emissions that contribute to global warming.
Royal Dutch Van Son Printing Ink will have some important introductions, beginning with its launch of its packaging gravure inks. The company will also be showcasing its Quickson and Vs5 offset inks, as well as its flexo and digital ink lines.
“There is increasing interest in packaging gravure in Europe, and our customers in Europe have asked us to develop a high-quality line of packaging gravure inks,” said Joe Bendowski, president and CEO of Van Son Holland Ink, Royal Dutch Van Son’s U.S subsidiary.
For Van Son, drupa will be the perfect place to see customers and distributors.
“We are selling our inks in 140 countries, which is why drupa is so vital to us,” said Mr. Bendowski. “It’s an excellent opportunity to meet with so many end-users and distributors.”
Messe Düsseldorf is hosting drupa 2008. |
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 Düsseldorf, 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 Düsseldorf. 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 innvoations. 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.”
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.
The Inuline ink/varnish system constitutes a further innovation. The name stands for two innovative ink-varnish systems: the first system consists of a special printing ink, Novavit F770 Inuline, which penetrates particularly quickly, is highly pigmented and has a wax-free formulation, and Ultraking Inuline, a corresponding UV varnish. The system permits the user to apply a UV varnish directly inline to a conventional sheetfed offset printing ink without using a primer. The second element of the Inuline system delivers extremely high gloss rates with a water-based coating. The same Novavit F770 Inuline is used, this time combined with the special Novaset 7302/100 Inuline water-based coating.
Another theme is Premo, the concept developed last year. Diverse possibilities and flexibility during the development of optimal printing ink systems for the packaging industry are available using the water-based printing ink building block technology.
“Flint Group has developed into a leading supplier for the printing and packaging industry,” said Mr. Knott. “Strong companies and recognized product brands are united under our umbrella. We are looking forward to drupa 2008 where for the first time we will be able to demonstrate our comprehensive product and service competency as Flint Group. We hope our customers will then also state that we are ‘very impressive’.”
Toyo Ink will be headquartered in Hall 4, C40. John Copeland, Toyo Ink America’s president and COO, has high expectations for Toyo Ink and drupa.
At the Toyo Ink exhibit space, taking center stage will be a variety of high-quality, high-performance products, such as printing inks and next-generation print materials targeting the European marketplace. This year at drupa, Toyo Ink will continue to use the group’s global tag line “Value You Can See.”
“Drupa is a worldwide show for Toyo Ink, and it is going to be a good show for us,” Mr. Copeland said. “We have some phenomenal new products that will be unveiled.”
Based on the Toyo Ink Group’s global tag line “Value You Can See,” the Group will be exhibiting at drupa 2008 under the new theme of “building a successful foundation for business in Europe.”
Among the key products are the Kaleido Ink Series, a range of oil-based, aqualess, UV curable inks that cover almost the full Adobe RGB color gamut with just four colors but enable sufficient color reproductivity to rival six- or seven- color printing; the Rexalpha series of electrically conductive silver paste inks; the FD LED series of UV curable sheetfed offset inks hard dried within the ultraviolet range given off by LEDs, enabling stability, long life and reduced power consumption through UV irradiation; and FD Carton ACE, a range of UV curable offset inks.
Toyo Ink is also introducing a wide range of offset ink products lined up for the European marketplace; two types of urethane-based gravure lamination ink for flexible packaging, the water-based Aquecol and the toluene-free MEK-free Liovalue; as well as Aqualiona, Toyo Ink’s flexo inks suitable for various different uses. For inkjet, Toyo Ink offers its Liojet range of high-performance inkjet inks offering superior properties such as stretchability, film strength and minimal odor. Toyo Ink also offers Liometal, low-temperature film formable silver nanoparticles that enable the formation of conductive films quickly at low temperatures.
Siegwerk will be headquartered at Hall 04, E49, where it will demonstrate its theme, Ink with Heart and Soul.
In Hall 4, C11, Sakata INX Group, under the banner of “Bringing Vision to Creation, Originality to Communication and Color to Human Life,” will showcase its products, worldwide systems and services, along with those of its U.S.-based subsidiary, INX International Ink Co. and its digital arm, INX Digital. A separate display in Hall 8b, C02, will more extensively cover INX Digital offerings.
“Developing forward-focused products and practices is imbedded in INX culture,” said Rick Clendenning, INX International president and CEO. “Drupa visitors will find a number of new and innovative, eye-opening examples here.”
A key move will be the introduction of INX’s Color-Chain Workflow Suite, advanced-technologies to dramatically increase design and production speed, color accuracy, quality and efficiency.
“We all know that ink is one of several critical components in packaging as well as commercial print design and production,” said Kiniyoshi Horimoto, senior manager – new products marketing of Sakata INX’ corporate marketing division. “Our extensive experience in developing not only high-performance inks and coatings, but also equipment and software workflow solutions gives us total-system insights and perspectives that few can match.”
Available as a fully integrated suite or in a la carte versions, Color-Chain Workflow tools include Visualizer software by ESKO Artwork; Beyond Stochastic – Concentric Screening by Esko Artwork; Super R-SKAT – computer color matching software developed by Sakata INX; TCM Program with CP3NAVI, a comprehensive print quality diagnostics software used with Sakata INX-designed print analysis technology; and Media Beacon, a digital asset management system, used with auto typesetting software developed by Baby-Universe.
“Drupa visitors can see firsthand how these tools can help reduce package design time and costs dramatically, achieve more-precise color matching, enhance detail and color clarity, provide more-efficient proofing and more,” Mr. Horimoto added.
Responsible environmental stewardship, long a hallmark of Sakata INX worldwide, will be evidenced as well, including the latest INX initiatives in utilizing, recycling and renewing natural resources, conserving water and energy, and reducing emissions that contribute to global warming.
Royal Dutch Van Son Printing Ink will have some important introductions, beginning with its launch of its packaging gravure inks. The company will also be showcasing its Quickson and Vs5 offset inks, as well as its flexo and digital ink lines.
“There is increasing interest in packaging gravure in Europe, and our customers in Europe have asked us to develop a high-quality line of packaging gravure inks,” said Joe Bendowski, president and CEO of Van Son Holland Ink, Royal Dutch Van Son’s U.S subsidiary.
For Van Son, drupa will be the perfect place to see customers and distributors.
“We are selling our inks in 140 countries, which is why drupa is so vital to us,” said Mr. Bendowski. “It’s an excellent opportunity to meet with so many end-users and distributors.”
Arets Graphics NV 04 / A25 AtéCé Graphic Products 09 / D25 Atlantic Zeiser GmbH 11 / C56 Beijing Kincolor Digital Technology Co., Ltd. 05 / C02-3 BiOGRAPHiC 07.2 / D47 Brancher Freres 07.2 / F32 Budacolor Kft. 04 / E19 Chromos AG 10 / D79 Collins Ink Corp. 15 / B04-14 Diellecolor Srl 07.2 / E29 Eastman Kodak Company 05 / D01 ECKART GmbH 03 / B32 ECS (Nottingham) Ltd. 07.1 / B29 EFI 05 / C01 EPPLE Druckfarben AG 06 / C26 EuroStar Ink Limited 13 / B92-2 Flint Group 05 / C38 Frimpeks Ltd. 07.2 / A07 FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc. 08b / B03 FUJIFILM Europe GmbH 08b / A25 Gleitsmann Security Inks 03 / C68 Grafmaj AM Aneta Szczublinska 07.2 / D16 Great World Ink & Paint Co., Ltd. 07.2 / A30 Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG 01 / A01, 02 / A01 Hewlett-Packard 08a / B26 Hexion Specialty Chemicals 07.2 / G16 Hostmann-Steinberg 03 / C68 Huber München GmbH, Michael 03 / C68 INX International Ink Co. 04 / C11 Jänecke + Schneemann Druckfarben GmbH 07.2 / B24 Kornit Digital 08b / B11 MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG 06 / D28 Marabu GmbH & Co. KG 03 / A92 Marks GmbH & Co. KG, Ernst 03 / A46 MetalFX 15 / D17 One Solution S.A. 09 / E03 Pantone Europe GmbH 09 / E04 PolyIC GmbH & Co. KG 03 / C46 Printing Inks Technology AG 07.2 / A30 Pröll KG 03 / E51 Römer Printing Inks 03 / B68 Sakata INX Corp. 04 / C11 Samor International Group SpA 04 / E19 Schlenk Metallic Pigments GmbH 07.2 / G41 Sicolor GmbH 17 / B56 SICPA 07.2 / B08 Siegwerk 04 / E49 Spico Printing Inks P LTD 07.2 / A43 Stehlin + Hostag AG 03 / C68 Sun Chemical Corporation 06 / B75 Sun LLC 07a / E12 Supercolor S.r.l. 04 / E19 Suzhou Kingswood Printing Ink Co., Ltd. 03 / C88-10 Toyo Ink Mfg.Co., Ltd. 04 / C40 Triangle Digital INX 08b / C02 Ultrachem Limited 06 / A75 Van Son Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories 03 / C52 Xerox Corporation 08b / A78 Zeller & Gmelin GmbH & Co. KG 03 / B52 |