drupa reduces show duration

China Print 2021 put off by a month due to covid-19

The 10th Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition has been adjusted to June 23-27, 2021.

Due to the impact of the new corona epidemic, the convention and exhibition industry has been hit hard and consequently, the tenth Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition (China Print) 2021 has been pushed further to now happen from June 23 to June 27 next year. The earlier scheduled May event (9 to 13 May 2021) has now been delayed by one month to take place in June 2021.

As of July 17, already 683 companies had registered booking nearly 130,000 square meters of exhibition space. China Print is an eagerly awaited event for the global industry; providing a huge international business, technology, trade and information exchange platform for the global printing and packaging market.

With its new exhibition theme of “Innovation drupa has decided to reduce the duration of the trade fair from eleven to nine days for 2021. By doing so, it is responding to the wishes of the partner association VDMA (Printing and Paper Technology Trade Association) and many exhibitors to make the trade fair presentation more efficient and to concentrate the volume of visitors in a targeted manner. This is also in reaction to any continuing travel activities and restrictions. “Since we are currently assuming that fewer visitors from overseas will be able to travel to drupa 2021, we consider a reduction from eleven to nine days to be sensible in order to direct visitor flows more efficiently. At the same time, the duration of nine days ensures that running machines can still be shown, which is a unique selling point of drupa,” explains drupa President Claus BolzaSchünemann. Despite some corona-related cancellations, the current booking status remains at a high level with over 1,500 exhibitors and a net hall space of more than 140,000 sqm. This once Leading the Future”, China Print promises more cutting-edge technologies, business

drupa reduces the fair duration

drupa 2021 will have shortened runtime now running April 20-28.

models, and innovative ideas such as again underlines the industry’s confidence in the international appeal of the event and the need for face-to-face meetings, acquisition of new customers or live presentation of running machines still exists. “Many of our customers also see it as their own responsibility to strengthen the industry and provide important impulses personally on site,” says drupa Director Sabine Geldermann.

In order to guarantee a professional and safe trade fair as usual, drupa not only adapted

industrial Internet, artificial intelligence, and green environmental protection.

the general conditions but also relies on a hygiene and infection protection concept that is continuously adapted to the latest corona protection regulations and official requirements. Sabine Geldermann points out: “The character of drupa in 2021, due to the pandemic and hygiene regulations, will certainly be different from what we are used to, but it will continue to make a very important contribution to the economic recovery.”

Heidelberg’s customer communications to become individual and digital

Innovation cycles becoming shorter and require new ways of communicating with customers

The trend towards ever shorter innovation cycles in the print media industry has accelerated very quickly. Data-based digital business models are emerging in very short time intervals and are constantly being modified to align with current specific customer requirements. Customers thus need to be informed about the latest trends quickly, flexibly and on an ongoing basis. This trend also affects customer communications at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg): The company will focus on offering more new, digital options to present products and innovations.

Innovation offensive in packaging as a growth market – complete interconnection of endto-end printshop processes to be seen live for the first time

The kick-off will be at the “Innovation Week” from 19 to 23 October 2020. Under the slogan “Unfold your potential”, Heidelberg will be presenting a wealth of product innovations that focus on packaging and commercial, including autonomous printing, end-to-end solutions, Smart Print Shop and Push-to-Stop. The Innovation Week will take place via livestream as well as face-to-face at the Wiesloch / Walldorf location. Heidelberg has already had positive experience of using digital channels in its presentation of the innovations that had been planned for this year’s drupa.

“We will be investing more in new, virtual trade fair concepts to ensure closer and more individual customer communications as well as in regional events in our growth markets. This means we will be able to consistently align ourselves with our customers’ expectations,” says Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberg. “The Innovation Week will now enable us to communicate with our customers as soon as possible and to present our innovation offensive.”

Face-to-face dialogue will continue to be the focus at the unique Print Media Centers in Wiesloch/Walldorf, Atlanta, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and Tokyo, where we can engage with our customers’ specific needs directly

High customer interest: Heidelberg Print Media Center Packaging at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site.

on-site. At the centres, Heidelberg offers all of its customers and other interested parties market-specific access to product and solution demonstrations, a multitude of possibilities for direct communications with applications specialists as well as extensive training courses. The Print Media Centers have already become established locations for customers to experience live demonstrations and for validating investments. Heidelberg generally welcomes several thousand customers annually to its own demo spaces around the world.

Growth market: Heidelberg Print Media Center at the Shanghai site.

Future Schoolz is GWG’s 1st Indian Educational Member

Future Schoolz representatives – Kulakkada Pradeep and Jose Thomas – will be joining 2 sub committees.

Future Schoolz became the first Educational member in The Ghent Work group (GWG) from India. “We are one among the 6 educational members worldwide,” updates Kulakkada Pradeep, CEO at Future Schoolz.

The Ghent Work group is an international organization made up of graphic arts companies, associations & developers building best practices for publishing and packaging workflows. “It’s a proud moment for me and Future Schoolz in our journey to contribute towards the print industry to upgrade overall standards,” adds Pradeep.

Future Schoolz, India is a Finishing School and Skill Development Centre for Print, Media and Allied Industries. Future Schoolz was started with an aim to establish quality print reproduction, contribute in developing skill and to upgrade them through technological know-how and latest innovations. Addressing the dearth of skilled workforce, it helps print professionals to achieve better print and colour reproduction. It is supported in its efforts by print industry associations, print educational institutes and print businesses.

Future Schoolz offers multiple courses in area of printing technology and colour management. The courses are short term, annual and short term training with practical sessions in shop floor. It also conducts colour management courses for printing professionals, students and for entrepreneurs to provide them basics of colour, colour models, colour management workflows, variables in colour management, colour reproduction challenges, colour measurements etc. All courses have contents which are relevant in practical scenario, and they equip participants to understand practical challenges and approach to solve them.

Future Schoolz is also involved in research and consulting services, helping various

printing presses in areas of innovation and quality standardisation. Future Schoolz is keen to work with brands and OEMs and printing presses in areas of colour standardisation, quality control and for colour matching. It offers technical and process consultancy to printing, packaging, label presses, OEMs, distributors, print & prepress software & QA tool providers, security print specialists, 3D printers in areas of quality, market connect and benchmarking, innovation and more.

Future Schoolz is a Knowledge partner to KMPA (Kerala Master Printers Association) to help its members harness the benefits of latest technology, to adopt and implement technology streams efficiently.

Future Schoolz CEO Kulakkada Pradeep is a G7 Certified Expert who can also train and certify others to get G7 certification. Idealliance’s G7 Master program is one of the world’s leading colour management validation programs. This validates the expertise in areas of colour, its measurements and applications in Print.

Heidelberg decides to opt out of Drupa 2021

The global printing press manufacturing giant has cancelled participation in next year’s drupa trade fair due to unforeseeable effects of Covid-19.

Covid-19 has accelerated the move towards digital and local events. Although there is no way of knowing what the impact of corona will be next year, Heidelberg felt the compulsion to make a decision now. The company has decided not to participate in international trade fairs next year and will thus not be taking part in drupa 2021 as well.

“In 2021, drupa will be a very different event – global travel restrictions and hygiene regulations mean significantly fewer visitors and constraints on communication. Traditional international trade fairs with busy booths and halls will very probably be difficult to implement and will likely lose their status as global meet-up events for customers and manufacturers. As a long-time partner to drupa, Heidelberg will be happy to continue to offer its experience when it comes to bringing future trade fair concepts into line with new digital possibilities and customer requirements,” the company states.

Komori cancels drupa participation

Komori decides to opt out of drupa 2021 due to widespread economic impact of Covid-19.

Komori has announced its decision to cancel its participation to the drupa 2021 exhibition (20th to 30th April 2021), due to the spread of novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19). The decision to suspend the exhibit is made in response to the raging novel coronavirus pandemic and its serious impact on both developed as well as emerging economies. “The decision has been made taking into consideration the potential risks of second or third surge of the pandemic, and to put highest priority in securing the health and safety of our global customers as well as our employees,” says the company’s statement.

Despite Komori deciding to call off its drupa participating, the company plans to launch an array of new products and services in the days to come, through open house events and active participations to regional exhibitions.

Komori put forward its concept of Connected Automation to revolutionize labour productivity of the printing industry. The KP-Connect is the core of an open platform to bring the concept into reality, through connection of various machines including offset and digital printing systems that are equipped with latest automation technologies, also providing new values through its role as an important remote communication tool between customers and Komori.

Rise in Paper imports from China ring alarm bells for domestic industry

Chinese paper imports to India up by 14% last fi scal; assisted by nil or preferential import duties.

“Paper manufacturers in China and ASEAN countries enjoy access to cheap inputs and raw material, and also get incentives and subsidies in their countries. Allowing imports from these countries, at either nil or preferential import duties, into India does not provide a level-playing field to Indian manufacturers in the domestic market,” Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) has pointed out in a letter to the Union ministry of commerce and industry. Imports should be allowed only on the basis of actual usual license, the association said.

Chinese imports to India enjoy a margin of preference of 30% on most paper grades under Asia Pacific Trade Agreement. Last fiscal, paper imports from China went up by 14%, sounding alarm bells across the domestic paper industry.

India’s paper import policy should be Sri . C. Ravinder Reddy, President of TOPA (Telangana Offset Printers Association), Vice President (South) AIFMP and Proprietor of Sravya Grafics has donated Rs.10 Lakhs to the association. Reddy made the donation in honour of his parents Dr. C.V. Narasimha Reddy garu and Smt. Sarada garu. TOPA also received a donation of Rs 2.50 lakhs from Sri. K. Karunakar, Vice President of TOPA and Managing Partner, Sreeven Offset Printers. This amount will go for the corpus fund of TOPA Centre of Excellence coming up by next year in a sprawling one acre of land at Dandu Malkapur, Pocharam Mandal in the New Model Green Industrial Park being developed by Telangana Govt. This novel Centre will provide advanced skill training in printing and packaging techniques to tweaked from “free” to “restricted” to halt indiscriminate imports, the paper mills have written to the Centre.

India’s import of paper from China reached 2,89,000 tonne in 2019-2020, according to DGCIS.

“The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in paper import to India in the last nine years (between FY11 to FY20) is over 13%. This is one of the highest amongst all the sectors that have been affected by surge in imports,” said AS Mehta, president, IPMA.

Even as Indian paper mills are working below capacity, thousands of jobs have been lost due to losses causing shutdown. Besides, there’s distress in the ancillary industries supplying paper raw material to the paper industry. employees and basic printing orientation training to students of printing technology for better prospects and employment opportunities. This will also ensure continuous supply of semi-skilled and skilled personnel to the printing and packaging industry.

Paper mills in India reeling under immense economic pressure created by Covid-19 related slowdown situation – when both demand and supply have been affected – aggravated by the menace of cheap paper imports from China as well as ASEAN.

IPMA has urged the government to hike basic customs duty on paper import to 25% and also to place it in the Negative List for all

TOPA receives donations from President, Vice President

Donations to go to the corpus fund of Telangana Offset Printers Association’s Centre of Excellence, coming up by next year.

existing and future free trade agreements.

Sri. K. Karunakar presenting his donation cheque for Rs.2.50 lakhs to Sri. Dayaker Reddy, National Coordinator of TOPA.