I am at a special event in Belgium this week meeting with various executives from Agfa, EskoArtwork, Xeikon, HP and Canon to hear about their plans for drupa. I will report on some of the more interesting items and people I see. I will also try to summarize many of the press releases from these companies -- For the full press announcements visit WhatTheyThink.com's news section.

- Peter Camps, founder, chairman and CEO of Gradual Software and also founder and ex-CEO of Enfocus Software, has joined the EskoArtwork management team as Senior Vice President Enfocus. EskoArtwork announced this morning the purchase of Gradual. The Gradual Software staff, assets and technology will be merged into EskoArtwork's Enfocus operations.

- EskoArtwork will show the new Studio product line for the integrated 2D/3D, CAD/graphics design of packaging, with the Studio Toolkit for Flexibles. This extends such capabilities to the world of pillow bags, gusseted bags and rectangular stand-up pouches. Executives also said that drupa will be the perfect backdrop to show major progress with the integration between products from the former Esko and Artwork Systems portfolios.

- EskoArtwork says it will launch the newest Cyrel Digital Imager (CDI) solutions for flexo sleeve imaging and automated flexo platemaking - from digital data to a processed and press-ready plate.

- In terms of digital printing for labels and packaging, EskoArtwork is the OEM supplier of the digital front end systems for HP Indigo's ws4x00 and future ws6000 industrial digital presses.

- The company will have over 150 employees at drupa. Presentations at drupa and in two theatre areas will include partners such as Adobe, Bobst, DuPont, EFI, Gallus, HP, MAN Roland and Xerox. At drupa, EskoArtwork will have over 800 square meters on stand A23 in the new hall 8b.

“The days of computer systems being islands of automation or company departments operating in splendid isolation are long gone”, states Carsten Knudsen, EskoArtwork President and CEO. “Successful companies today continuously push the limits of efficiency and strive to adopt the best operational practices to create value and remain competitive. EskoArtwork's mission is to help our customers bring together all the systems, the software and the hardware, people and information assets available to them and effectively connect these into high-performance workflows. Operator guidance, process automation and supply chain collaboration are the drivers fueling our innovations.”