Hybrid offset/digital production made easy with long cover runs produced on HP Indigo presses during drupa using HP’s PrintOS automation tools

WhatTheyThink, the leading global media organization serving the printing and publishing industries, has joined forces with HP to leverage hybrid production processes to create a unique drupa Daily experience during the world’s largest printing trade show scheduled for May 28 to June 7, 2024, in Düsseldorf, Germany. This year Schaffrath MedienDruck, a German printing house located in nearby Marktweg, will be printing the interior of the drupa Daily in English and German using offset press technology. HP will produce an average of 64,000 cover pages on HP Indigo presses during the show using HP SmartStream Designer, a component of HP’s PrintOS software, with the unmatched quality delivered by HP Indigo’s Liquid Electrophotography (LEP) technology. This combination of hybrid offset and digital technologies gives this project a smooth and effective workflow to meet tight deadlines while delivering brilliant colors that help make the drupa Daily an outstanding publication.

“We are pleased to be working with HP to produce covers for the drupa Daily,” said Eric Vessels, WhatTheyThink’s President. “HP will be producing drupa Daily covers, based on content provided by WhatTheyThink’s large staff of writers and editors working at the show. Each day, visitors will be able to collect a high-quality printed product that also contains exclusive show-oriented content produced by our professional staff. In order to ensure a more sustainable publication, we will also be using artificial intelligence analysis to predict the approximate number of copies required each day, based on 2024 registrations and past history. This will eliminate the many copies that historically have been left over and discarded at the end of each show day. Following the show, WhatTheyThink plans to prepare a thorough case study regarding the hybrid production process used for the drupa Daily, including the covers provided by HP each day.”

The show daily will also be printed in the common A4 format used in Europe, a smaller format that is easier for readers to manage than the traditional broadsheet format that has been used in the past. The covers will be printed on HP Indigo’s new B2 sheet-fed 120K and 18K digital presses, recently announced in March at dscoopedge Indy. In addition to thousands of variable covers, HP will also print on different media substrates to showcase the versatility of the HP presses.

HP will be producing covers each day on the show floor and using HP Indigo LEP printing technology. Covers will then be sent to Schaffrath for binding and delivery to Messe Dusseldorf in time for the arrival of the day’s visitors. Copies of each day’s drupa Daily will be available at each of the Messe’s three entrances as well as other locations throughout the show floor.

“We are thrilled to be part of this meaningful collaboration that leverages our digital print technology for the first time in what has traditionally been an offset production of the drupa Daily”, said Haim Levit, Senior Vice President & Division President, HP Industrial Print. “HP Indigo's digital print technology offers flexibility in the combination of offset and digital, and this project exemplifies our vision: that ultimately, next to each offset press will be an HP B2 digital press. It showcases how digital printing can transform offset production, confirming that HP is at the forefront with innovative automation solutions that make the entire production floor more efficient to meet today’s customer needs.”

Get exposure in the drupa daily: https://wttmedia.com/drupa/

WhatTheyThink drupa 2024 coverage: https://whattheythink.com/drupa