Over 50 percent increase in visitors makes the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION a great success

From June 22 to 23, 2022, the Congress Center Süd in Düsseldorf once again became the centre of the print universe of multi-channel and dialogue marketing. The focus was on sustainable media production, programmatic print and value-added printing.

With over 1,250 participants, the fifth edition of the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION came to a successful close. The unique concept of the congress and trade fair ensured a communicative and busy atmosphere and enabled long-awaited networking and knowledge transfer at the stands and in the presentations. The annual industry event has not only firmly established itself in the German-speaking region, many visitors also made their way to Düsseldorf from Belgium the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

"The atmosphere was excellent! Compared to the previous event, we were able to record an increase of over 50 percent in the number of participants. That's a top result," says a delighted Rüdiger Maaß, Managing Director of Fachverband Medienproduktion (f:mp. / ). "And we managed to bring the right target groups together to network for an in-depth exchange of ideas. It was a wonderfully inspiring two days – not only for us, but also for the entire industry!"

Extensive programme

Nine themed worlds, four stages, 50 top-notch speakers, 19 half-hour presentations each day and 63 international exhibitors – including DATEV, Deutsche Post, FKS, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Mondi, Xerox and HP, among others – offered participants future-oriented content on the potential of digital printing applications, multi-channel solutions, creative finishing and sustainable packaging solutions.

Highlight projects show the fascination of print

Visitors were particularly interested in the seven highlight projects that f:mp. realised with its partners. These projects represent hands-on best practice and thus reflect the special unique selling point of the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION: a "hands-on" trade show with concrete and practical application examples. The fascination of print is thus made tangible in the truest sense of the word.

Next generation of Print

In order to get new and young target groups interested in print and packaging, the Media Production Association and Messe Düsseldorf, as organisers of the congress trade fair, cooperated with the Fritz-Henßler-Berufskolleg (FHBK) from Dortmund, Stuttgart Media University, the Akademie für Mode & Design (AMD) Düsseldorf and with the Berufskolleg Bachstraße from Düsseldorf.  The young talents of tomorrow were able to find out directly from the experts at the stands and in the lectures about the fascinating applications of print and packaging in modern and sustainable media production.

"Even in the digital age, print is highly relevant and indispensable in its many facets – we want to convey this to the younger generation in particular," explains Sabine Geldermann, Project Director Print Technologies Messe Düsseldorf, and adds: "The response from students and trainees was very good. The demand for information is simply extraordinarily high! Young people want direct access to the market and want to experience live what potential print has to offer."

For this reason, the organisers are planning to further step up investment in the skilled workers of tomorrow for the next edition. For example, it is planned to offer "Youngster Talent Recruitment" for prospective trainees and interested companies. In the future, a "Start-up Area" will link established companies with young and innovative newcomers.

For more information on the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION, please visit: https://www.printdigitalconvention.de/en or www.drupa.com/en/drupa_global

Exhibitor Testimonials for PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION 2022:

Frank Siegel, Managing Director Obility GmbH

"The PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION presented itself as the perfect marketplace for the graphic arts industry. Everyone was there: brand owners, buyers, production people, printing companies and suppliers. This advantage paid off for us in concrete terms.

We were able to demonstrate how print stores can process jobs much faster and more cost-effectively with our modern ERP/MIS system and make their work easier for their customers with integrated customer stores, web-to-print and job interfaces. These advantages of digitised business processes were reported to us by visitors. So we are now looking forward to follow-up appointments and certainly interesting projects."

+++

Christian Kulhanek, Key Account Manager Digital & Print Solutions DATEV eG

"You can literally feel that there is more dynamism and movement in the industry again. The desire to network and exchange ideas has risen. This shows that the digital solution is not the only one – it's the mix that counts! I see myself as a digital print bridge builder.

The audience at the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION was broad and thus perfectly matched DATEV's equally broad range of products and services. It was a matter close to our heart to present our trainee project "DATEV Cookbook" at the trade fair – presented by the trainees themselves. What's special about it: The entire process of creating the cookbook was implemented independently by our junior staff from A to Z."

+++

Sebastian Hardung, Director Alliances & Marketing print Group / Werk II Medien- und Informationsgesellschaft mbH

"As a long-standing exhibitor at the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION and a strategic partner of f:mp., we are delighted to be present again this year. For us, the trade fair is a place of encounters and it is here you notice that the industry wants to meet and exchange ideas again. We are noticing more and more in the market that print as a medium is no longer being declared dead but has arrived in the mainstream of digital marketing. As a software manufacturer, we are all the more pleased to accompany the further development of partners and customers. This is why we also joined the Programmatic Print Alliances (PPA) in January."

+++

Kim Niemeyer, Marketing & Communication, Ing. Fritz Schroeder GmbH & Co. KG, Barsbüttel

"The industry get-together shows once again that print is alive and how print can be experienced. We are delighted to be part of the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION and to help shape the mix of technology, knowledge transfer and networking. For FKS, this year's event was all about Industry 4.0, because automation and networking are the be-all and end-all of efficient process design these days. We were also able to present a European premiere for our B2 solution in the area of multifinishing. We held exciting discussions on all aspects of printing, postpress and intelligent process design and thus jointly developed and took away valuable inspiration and innovative ideas."

+++

Bernhard Cantzler, Head of Marketing & Innovation at  Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper

"At this year's PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION, we were able to hold exciting personal discussions with representatives from industry, retail and brand manufacturers. We also received positive feedback from numerous visitors about the interesting presentations. Here, for example, we were able to connect very well at the sustainability presentations with the fact that all Mondi own brands such as PERGRAPHICA® or Color Copy are Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze.  A huge compliment to the excellent organisation, which allows us to focus on our core competence: Advising customers on paper selection."

+++

Mirko Pelzer, Offering Manager Professional Printing Konica Minolta

The PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION is a driver of innovation. Various companies and industries show here how the graphic arts industry will produce tomorrow. And all this in a familiar atmosphere with many and good opportunities for networking. This is why Konica Minolta has been part of the event since the very first edition. We also have a traditional and longstanding partnership with f:mp.

The PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION is something special: The focus is not on the pure sale of machines, but rather on demonstrating solutions and application possibilities. To this end, Konica Minolta has set up GLAMPRINT – a symbiosis of glamour and print. Here we can show all printing options and solutions that are possible in extended four-color printing. The focus for us is to offer the customer added value. This year, we were particularly pleased that many young students and trainees visited the trade fair.

+++

Matthias Wagner, Product Marketing Manager Graphic Communications Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Xerox

“The PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION is an excellent opportunity to expand one’s network and find out about the latest trends and views in the print and digital industries.

The perfect organisation by f:mp. especially in the run-up to the event has made it a success. The Convention was well attended across the board and provided many opportunities and new leads. The event was also enriched by the origin of visitors coming from many different sectors.

Digital printing, custom and special inks as well as multi-channel applications for print and digital were in high demand, which fits the portfolio of Xerox and XMPie very well. Sustainability also featured in our conversations with customers and parties interested time and again; this topic is gaining more and more importance especially for younger visitors and has become a key decision-making criterion.