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Nathalie Müller-Samson
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Siegwerkers at drupa 2016 – Interview about trends, highlights and experiences

Rolf Montag about his visit at this year’s drupa and the highlights of the show. He is Product Manager of the Narrow Web Business Unit at Siegwerk Switzerland AG.

Q: How was this year’s drupa for you, Rolf?

A: As one of the leading trade shows for industrial printing, drupa 2016 again gave a great overview of all industry segments involved. Companies along the whole printing process were present which always makes drupa to a fantastic platform in order to catch-up with suppliers, partners and customers from around the world. To see which trends dominate and already shape different segments of the printing process is always an interesting preview into potential developments within the coming 4 years until the next drupa show in 2020.

Q: What were your highlights of this year’s drupa?

A: This year’s drupa was definitely dominated by new developments in the digital printing field. The direction towards UV inkjet was clearly recognizable when walking through the halls in Duesseldorf. It was amazing to see which high quality level can already be reached by UV inkjet. Besides, there was an increased number of companies demonstrating solutions in terms of LED technology compared to the last drupa in 2012. LED UV curing is one of the present growth drivers in the market. Besides, there will be a further shift from conventional to LED UV inks over the course of this year, as first low-migration LED UV ink systems are now available on the market. A further expansion of applications will enable printers to use LED UV inks for their full range of print jobs which of course will then drive the implementation and usage of this technology.

Q: Which of the currently trending topics do you expect to show some recognizable movement in the near future?

A: One trend that will make a big step towards becoming “industry normality” will be the LED UV technology. Printers are increasingly interested and opting for this technology - many decisions have already been made in favor of the low energy UV technology. Now concrete investment decisions in terms of appropriate equipment and machinery will follow and we will see an increase in LED UV solutions and applications soon. The next level of LED UV is already within reach, if you ask me.

Q: With today’s status, which of the recent industry trends do you expect to influence the next drupa in 2020?

A: Going forward, the quality of UV inkjet will be further improved and stabilized which will for sure influence the innovations and trends we can expect at the next drupa in 2020. Furthermore, the usage of digital printing in general – also in combination with analog printing technologies – will become more common during the next 4 years. And as we all know from last drupa shows 4 years can reveal a lot new innovative ideas that might become trending during that time.