Until the start of drupa 2016 (May 31 – June 10, 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany), drupa will conduct a series of global surveys in order to shed light on the profound changes in the international printing industry. These reports will provide a means to detect and assess trends and market potential, themes and innovations – on an international level and across most markets. “In view of the fundamental structural changes in the printing industry, current and comprehensive information and market data are more important than ever. As a key partner of the printing industry, drupa will support the market proactively in this way,” stated Werner M. Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, explaining this new project initiated by the world’s most important trade fair for this sector. “With these new tools we can provide our exhibitors and the industry as a whole with important new insights, thereby delivering vital information for strategic decision-making.”

The results of these trend surveys will be published in form of drupa trend reports at www.drupa.com. A total of four issues of the drupa trend report covering a variety of topics are planned between now and 2016. In the first drupa trend report to be published in Spring 2014, drupa will examine the challenging impact of the Internet for print service providers worldwide as well as the opportunities that the Internet now offers for the industry. Regional differences will be analyzed and evaluated. The participants to be surveyed will be selected from the unique drupa 2012 visitor database. The top decision-makers among the drupa visitors will receive their invitation to take part in the online survey by e-mail over the next few weeks. 

In addition to the drupa trend reports, the drupa barometer will track current key trends in the printing industry. Selected visitors who attended drupa 2012 will be asked to participate in this online survey by e-mail. The results of this research will also be published four times over the next few years at www.drupa.com alternating with the drupa trend reports. The first barometer will be published in the beginning of 2014 and the last issue is planned for publication during drupa 2016.

Messe Düsseldorf has commissioned the independent print consultancy, Printfuture/UK and the market research company, Wissler & Partner/Switzerland to conduct these trend surveys. “I am pleased to have these expert partners on board. Printfuture has outstanding technical and analytical expertise in the printing industry; Wissler & Partner is our longstanding and proven partner for Messe Düsseldorf’s exhibitors and visitors surveys. Furthermore, I expect these results to also produce concrete, valuable information for the strategic development of drupa,” remarked Werner M. Dornscheidt.