Drupa, the most anticipated event of the printing industry fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic—not only once, but twice. To keep up the momentum, drupa organisers replaced the on-site drupa with a four-day virtual event running last week from April 20 to 23. All conceded that it will be an experiment. After all, a virtual event is almost the opposite of the live, meet-and-greet drupa we all know and love.

After live trade shows garnered a lot of criticism lately—besides COVID-19 making live events impossible—virtual.drupa should be a good benchmark on how virtual events can replace the live versions. Drupa has an invaluable head start on many other virtual activities due to their strong brand name and almost guaranteed media coverage.

To turn the virtual event into an experience drupa three main sections were laid out by the organisers: