For those who are not familiar with the printing industry, Drupa is the largest printing equipment exhibition in the world held every four years in Duesseldorf, Germany. (And if you’re wondering where the name came from, Drupa is a portmanteau of the German words druck and papier; print and paper respectively – you learn something new everyday!)
As the number one event for the print and cross media world, we were keen to attend to network, learn more about futuristic technologies and visions, and hear first hand the latest news from across the industry.
Fortunately our team were just as keen, taking part in a highly competitive sales contest for Xerox Emirates at the Sign & Graphics Imaging Middle East 2016 exhibition. Xeratek’s very own Sheeraj Rafeek, Sales Manager – Production Systems & Dubai North, earned himself the winning ticket to Drupa by closing a deal for a Xerox Versant 80 Colour Digital Press on the Xerox stand at the exhibition.
Having just returned fresh from Dusseldorf, we were keen to hear his thoughts on the trip:
“This year, 1,837 exhibitors from 54 countries showcased their innovations and applications for print and cross-media solutions in Düsseldorf’s 19 exhibition halls. We joined the majority of visitors, 76% of whom were international, coming from 188 different countries.
“Despite it being so incredibly busy, it was refreshing to see that all the exhibitors in Drupa were unique. Both exhibitors and visitors were from all over the world, and everyone was excited to demonstrate their new technologies. We were able to really experience the future of the printing industry and see the innovative solutions demonstrated live and at close hand – it really felt like a hub of innovation.
“I was particularly impressed with Xerox’s innovations in inkjet printing technology. It’s really opened my eyes to the huge shift that is coming from traditional offset printing to digital printing in the future – among the various applications of digital, inkjet print technology seems very promising. Xerox was actively engaged in demonstrating their inkjet technology and what made it even better was that even the traditional offset press manufacturers acknowledged the bright future of inkjet.
“My favourite part of the show though was the ‘Happy Hour’ every day. This was the last hour of the day and it felt like a festival. Every exhibitor celebrated the success of the day by playing music and having live performances. People were in high spirits and there was fun and refreshment at every stand. It really was incredible and will stick with me whenever I think of the show.”
Sheeraj is now back in the office and we’ll be sharing his pictures from the show on Facebook this week, so make sure you’re following us to see it for yourselves @XeratekUAE.
