Drupa 2008

Mike and Adrian were fortunate to have been invited by Xerox and their local agency, Bytes Document Solutions, to attend DRUPA in Dusseldorf in June 2008.
The event is the biggest international print and packaging expo, and is held only once every four years. It's known as the "Olympics" of the printing trade!
The show was expected to draw approximately 500 000 vistors. Over 2 200 exhibitors from every corner of the globe had their wares on display, covering everything relating to print, from software to web presses to paper suppliers to finishing equipment.
It was a fantastic opportunity for us at Mega to view the very latest technology - once again "thanks" to Xerox and Peter Walton from Bytes for giving us the chance!

On arrival at DRUPA

First view of the event

The insides of a digital colour press.

Bird's eye view.

Folding and stitching

The Muller Martini stand

Full colour laser reel to reel

Inline printing, binding and trimming

Laminating

Turnaround system on a Xerox press

Conveyer system

Mike and Peter Walton (Xerox) being brought up to speed on the '495'

Unwind unit for reel fed machines

iGen 3 colour press from Xerox

2 x iGen 3s, for double the speed!

On demand UV varnishing

Massive inkjet press - 2400 personalised full-colour pages a minute!

Another view of the monster

Large format printer (5.3 metre!)

One of the 17 exhibition halls

Party boat on the Rhein

Restaurant on the banks of the Rhein

Mike and Adrian on board for a river cruise

Finishing equipment at the Heidelberg stand

Interface for the Heidelberg Press

Finishing equipment

Hotelship MS Debussy, our accommodation

Picturesque Dusseldorf

Picturesque Dusseldorf

A popular mode of transport in Dusseldorf

Adrian and Mike Ehret from Paarl Printing

The Cape Town Xerox contingency: L-R: Adrian (Mega), Tyrone (Lithotec), Peter (Bytes), Mike (Mega)

Adrian and Mike roughing it in Europe