As everyone was aware, 2024 was a drupa year which always means new technologies. And while there may not have been any truly revolutionary new developments that debuted at the show (like digital printing, production inkjet printing, or JDF), the evolutionary technologies and new products on display were just as impactful and are just as likely to transform the industry over the next four years—or until the next drupa.  

The next major event is PRINTING United in September, so in this interstitial period between the two shows, the print edition—and this two-week slate of stories from it—will look back at some of the major developments that were on display in Düsseldorf, and look ahead to what to keep an eye out for in Las Vegas. We should point out at the outset that a hefty portion of the articles in this issue appeared in some form in the drupa show daily, which, as we suspect a fair number of people know, WhatTheyThink produced. In addition to live coverage of specific product announcements, purchases, or other news, we had also had our contributors write some overall “analyst” articles that were intended to serve as a guide to approaching different classes of equipment from a potential buyer’s perspective: What the current landscape is, what questions should you ask vendors, who some of the major players are, etc. These articles were designed so that they would be valuable references for any printer going to any show and looking to invest in a particular class of product. While these were written with drupa in mind, since the show, our writers have added any post-show updates and are intended to serve as guide to attending PRINTING United or any other industry event—or even just doing your own research. And since this is a Technology Outlook issue, the emphasis is on the new technologies that are driving the new equipment hitting the market.

This issue is grouped into nine “themes”:

  • labels and packaging
  • sustainability
  • display graphics and textiles
  • industrial and specialty printing
  • digital and inkjet
  • offset
  • binding and finishing
  • software and workflow

In each theme section, our analysts look at some of the major trends and technologies driving them.

Last week, we also presented our complementary Technology Outlook Week of webinars. To watch any of the archived sessions, please visit whattheythink.com/webinars or check out the dedicated Technology Outlook page.

Over the course of this week and next, each day we will publish a story from several of the theme sections.

Complementing the “sustainability” section, Pat McGrew spoke with Jonathan Graham, Marketing Director for palamides, about preparing for sustainability regulations and the challenges of “net zero” solutions. Look for that next Monday, August 26,

This Friday’s online edition will also include the latest installment of our “Tales from the Database” series, this time looking at technology investment trends, culled from our historical database of Print Outlook surveys.

On Thursday, look for David Zwang’s chat with Mark Subers, President of Exhibitions and Events for the PRINTING United Alliance, about what to look forward to in Las Vegas next month.

Next Thursday, August 29, look for Joanne Gore’s close look at 10 technological developments that are transforming the printing industry.

For today’s edition, we also compiled a roundup of some of the major news announcements that came out of drupa.

Finally, on Friday, August 30, Johnson’s World rounds up some winning mail pieces that caught his attention.

So, without further ado, adieu, and welcome to the Technology Outlook issue!