The exhibitors here are presenting numerous technical innovations and further developments, business models and solutions for the newspaper sector, packaging printing, commercial or functional printing. Even the investment backlog seems to be improving. Numerous exhibitors – including Canon/Océ, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Hewlett Packard, Kodak, Manroland Web Systems and Xerox – already reported concrete orders on the first day of the exhibition. Orders in particular came from Asia, Russia and South America. It was especially pleasing to see a number of printing outfits from Germany, UK and the USA also making significant investments – and this despite a difficult economic and structural environment.

“Drupa 2012 again demonstrated its outstanding function as a sales fair, a source of ideas and platform for the exchange of solutions and successful business models,” says Bernhard Schreier, President of Drupa and Board Chairman at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, stressing the position of Drupa.

Over the first seven days of the exhibition some 170,000 visitors from 115 countries passed through the turnstiles of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre, which is as expected 20% less than the figure posted half way through Drupa 2008. This means the proportion of international visitors stands at 65%. What is striking is the increased number of visitors from South and Central America (8.5% compared to 7.4% in 2008) and Africa (6.3% compared to 4.9% in 2008).

“These figures show we reflect the situation in the sector. In view of the far-reaching structural change in the European and North American print and media sector we had to assume this drop in visitor numbers,” said Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, CEO at Messe Düsseldorf. “The increased number of decision-makers amongst visitors is all the more gratifying: 51.7% of visitors come from top management (2008: 47.8%),” stresses Dornscheidt. The press checking in here over the first seven days of Drupa 2012 is also very international: the approx. 1,800 journalists come from 69 countries.

Until 16 May some 1,850 exhibitors from 52 nations will be showcasing their innovations in all 19 halls of Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. Drupa is open daily from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm and at the weekend until 5.00 pm.