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From May 7 to 18, German-language magazine publisher, Verlag Deutscher Drucker will be conducting Highlights Tours at drupa 2004, during which industry specialists will provide an overview of specific topics being highlighted by drupa exhibitors. International trade fairs such as drupa allow trade visitors to take in the products and services offered by various exhibitors at a glance and to compare them directly. Most visitors arrive at the fair with clearly defined key interests.

To help provide specialists with a clear overview of individual topics, guided tours dealing with individual thematic areas are being offered during drupa 2004. In groups of no more than ten people, the participants will be taken to selected exhibitors on the relevant tour. At each stand, someone in the know will be on hand.

"Thanks to the careful selection of exhibitors visited, tour participants lose no time in collecting plenty of useful information, so optimising their visit to drupa," says Bernhard Niemela, editor-in-chief of the Deutscher Drucker magazine, summing up the Highlights Tours’ concept. Due to the highly international profile of the visitors, the tours will be conducted in English and German.

As they were at Imprinta 1997 and drupa 2000, the Highlights Tours have been organised in cooperation with the Fachverband für Führungskräfte in der Druckindustrie und Informationsverarbeitung (German Association of Managers in the Printing and Information Processing industries - FDI) as well as the Department of Print and Media Technology at Wuppertal University.

The Highlights Tours for English-speaking drupa visitors will commence during drupa at the following times:

Highlight Tour Descriptions (and starting times)

Tour 1: Workflow/Networking
A well-organised workflow can be based on a number of different concepts and solutions. You will get to know the different approaches and products of leading suppliers and will be able to judge the relative merits of each system. Should the workflow be based on PostScript or PDF? Is it possible to introduce re-digitised data into the workflow? How can legacy data and hardware be incorporated? These are some of the questions, to which you can expect to find answers. (Tour starts at 13:30)

Tour 2: PDF
Here you get to know everything to do with PDF, from creating PDF documents with suitable layout and graphic tools to optimised output for the web or for print. You will learn about new tools for colour separation, for imposition and for last minute changes as well as for preflighting. (Tour starts at 13:30)

Tour 3: JDF
Whether drupa 2004 really will be a "JDF drupa" as some pundits are suggesting remains to be seen, but as a consequence of the increase in networked production, the Job Definition Format will in any case be an important subject. Many exhibitors want to show how a JDF enabled environment can be implemented in a printing company. It can be expected that drupa will see a number of JDF related product launches. This tour is designed to show participants how relevant the JDF development (which started in 2001) really is. (Tour starts at 13:30)

Tour 4: Imaging technology in 70 x 100cm
Imagesetters in format 70 x 100 cm are the workhorses of digital production. From among the huge number of systems and models on offer, this tour will pinpoint the most important new developments. In the area of plates, there are also many interesting new products on offer, and these will be introduced to tour participants. (Tour starts at 13:45)

Tour 5: Large format imaging technology
Large imposed printing formes are a touchstone of CtP efficiency. Here the importance lies with the best imposition software and powerful RIP solutions to process large amounts of data, as much as with new platesetters and new plate materials. (Tour starts at 13:45)

Tour 6: Digital proofing
The general acceptance of CtP has catapulted digital proofing into prime position. Where checking a set of films is no longer possible, a digital proof is the only alternative. There are high-end solutions, which simulate even the final on-press screens, efficient halftone-proofing systems as well as inkjet solutions with surprisingly high quality and reasonable prices. (Tour starts at 13:45)

Tour 7: Digital printing I

Tour 8: Digital printing II

At the centre of the digital printing tours is the introduction of new or enhanced digital printing technologies, capable of producing personalised, full-colour products in different formats and on a variety of substrates. Printing of very large amounts of data is a given. The many possibilities of multiple personalisation of documents will be presented, along with the technical requirements. (Both tours start at 14:00)

Tour 9: Large format printing
Large format printing has seen important technology "bursts". Tour participants will see the latest equipment for large format, indoor and outdoor advertising, from new RIP and hardware solutions to the latest software for dividing posters into sheets, new inks and substrates and finishing solutions for laminating of posters. (Tour starts at 14:00)

Tour 10: Packaging production
Packaging production is one of the growth markets in the printing industry. There are several printing processes available for the production of high-quality boxes, folding cartons, flexible packaging and labels, which are sometimes combined in hybrid or multi-process presses. Flexo printing has emerged as one of the prime processes. (Tour starts at 14:15)

Tour 11: Bookbinding
End-to-end workflow is also a hot topic in bookbinding. Separate aggregates have been combined into complete finishing lines. This tour will illustrate how cutting technology and material handling concepts have become part of a single production chain. Innovative bookbinding systems and new materials offer new opportunities to bookbinding companies. (Tour starts at 14:15)

Tour 12: Print finishing
New and enhanced production equipment, machines and material for varnishing, laminating, hot foil stamping, die-cutting and embossing as well as the use of holographic elements will be at the centre of this tour. Of special interest will be solutions which offer higher efficiency, profitability and the possibility of inline production. New materials for print finishing will also be presented. (Tour starts at 14:15)

Tour 13: UV Technology
Inline finishing without UV is unthinkable today and radiation curing of printing inks is gaining market share in national and international markets. This tour will illustrate the different technical aspects of UV curing in the printing industry in order to highlight the potential of UV technology. It will also show the areas of current and potential use and demonstrate the processes involved. (Tour starts at 14:15)

Tour prices

The standard fee for each tour is €45. The special price for early bookings before April 15 2004 is €35 per tour. Subscribers to Verlag Deutscher Drucker magazine titles pay €28 per tour (tickets are transferable).

For further information or to register, go to: drupa Highlight Tour Information