Tours to focus on topical themes at drupa 2008

To smooth the way for trade visitors to gain an overview of individual themes, guided tours spotlighting current industry developments will be staged at drupa 2008. The range of topics runs from workflows and web2print through offset and digital printing to packaging production and finishing.

Participants in groups of a maximum of ten people will be taken to between six and eight exhibitors relevant to the tour. Due to drupa’s increasingly international profile, the 2008 tours will not only be conducted in German and English but also, for the first time, in Chinese, Spanish and French. ‘With this range of language offerings, we hope to cater to the diverse mix of visitor nationalities,’ says Manuel Matar, drupa project director.

The German and English-language tours will run daily (excluding weekends), while the Chinese, French and Spanish versions will be staged on alternate days. Topics are as follows:

• Networked print production: How much of a workflow do printers need?

• Web2print: Fundamentals of automated print production

• Creating printed products: Trends in design, image processing & layout

• Computer-to-plate: Innovative imaging technologies and the appropriate plates

• Digital printing: Cutting-edge printing systems – innovative printed products

• Inkjet printing: A printing process with a bright future

• Offset printing: Improve cost effectiveness through automation

• Mega-trend inline finishing: Systems and materials

• Packaging and label production: Innovations in the spotlight

• Print finishing: Innovative inline production

As at drupa 2000 and 2004, the Deutscher Drucker publishing house is coordinating the drupa Highlights Tours in collaboration with the Association for Managers in the Printing and Information Processing industries and the Department of Print and Media Technology at the University of Wuppertal.

The cost of participation will be 40 euros for advance bookings (from January 2008 at www.highlightstouren.de). Tours booked at the fairgrounds will be charged at 45 euros. Subscribers to magazines published by Deutscher Drucker and FDI members pay 35 euros for advance bookings. For further information on timings or to reserve places on the tours in advance, contact Ms Regine Grossmann of Deutscher Drucker at r.grossmann@publish.de  During drupa 2008, participants will only be able to make bookings on site at the Highlights Tours stand.