Over 100,000sqm of floor space has been booked for Drupa 2024 so far
In a statement, Drupa said that the milestone of 100,000sqm booked underlined Drupa’s continuing relevance to the industry, and backed up its claim of being the premier trade fair for print.

18 months before the show opens – past the official bookings deadline of October – around two thirds (63%) of indoor space has been booked. At the same time before the 2016 event, 80% of floor space had been booked.

Drupa said that it continued to see strong, continued demand for space, despite the deadline having elapsed.

Sabine Geldermann, the Drupa and print portfolio director at Messe Düsseldorf, said the team was “very confident and optimistic” about the number of bookings that had come in despite current geopolitical and economic challenges.

Exhibitors for 2024 include industry heavyweights like Heidelberg, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta and Müller Martini, among others.

The exhibition will focus on future and cross-industry technologies. The circular economy, automation, print/finishing 4.0 and artificial intelligence are expected to feature heavily in brands’ offerings.

UPM and Orthex collaborate to make products from plastics 
UPM Raflatac and Orthex have joined forces to offer household products and their labeling made of recycled plastic saved from ending up as marine litter. The products include buckets, wash bowls and water scoops. To achieve this, both companies are part of value chains that collect the plastic waste and transform it back into raw materials.

Orthex is part of a value chain that produces raw materials from recycled plastic by collecting old fishing nets and ropes from harbors in Scandinavia, in the UK and in Northern Europe. The collected material is sorted, cleaned, shredded, and extruded into raw material pellets, from which the Orthex’s bucket, bowl and scoop products are made. The raw material has up to 94% lower carbon emissions compared to virgin plastic.

“To produce household products from recycled materials requires a great amount of expertise and collaboration in the value chain. By collaborating with UPM Raflatac, we can even have product labels made from recycled ocean bound plastic. This is the icing on the cake, making our products even more sustainable,” says Alexander Rosenlew, CEO of Orthex.

UPM Raflatac collaborates closely with multiple partners in the value chain to produce the Ocean Action labels. The Ocean Action label materials are the world’s first label materials made from ocean bound plastic waste. The ocean bound plastic waste is abandoned plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50km inland from shores, defined by OBPCert as “at risk of ending up in the ocean”.

At the first stage in the value chain HHI, a Malaysian-based plastic recycling company collects and sorts the ocean bound plastic waste with its partners. HHI then uses chemical recycling to convert the waste into pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis oil is used by SABIC to create high-quality PP plastic granulates. The plastic granulates are used in the process in which the film manufacturer Taghleef Industries produces the label film that is used to produce the final label material for product labeling.

“Orthex’s products made of old fishing nets are the perfect match for our Ocean Action labels. The combination is a concrete example of how we can create new products from recycled raw materials with close collaboration and some ingenuity within the value chain,” says Eliisa Laurikainen, Business Development Manager from UPM Raflatac.

The plastic waste used in the value chain of making Ocean Action label material is certified under the Zero Plastics Oceans program, and the final label material under ISCC PLUS. The label material is produced using sustainable recycled feedstock, replacing the equivalent amount of virgin fossil resources used in the production process, using a mass balance approach accounting for the amount of sustainable resources. These verify that the Ocean Action label material is traceable and sustainably sourced.

Fedrigoni Top Awards, the winners of the 2022 edition
The best international creations of designers, editors, brands and printers made with Fedrigoni Group paper and self-adhesive materials were presented on 21 November, 2022 afternoon at the 3 Mazarium in Paris.

Beauty, expression, sustainability and innovation. Extraordinary works from all over the world are selected by a jury of experts to enhance the design and hard work of those who use Fedrigoni papers and self-adhesive materials and turn them into unique jewels. An explosion of creativity at the prize giving ceremony for the winners of the Fedrigoni Top Awards 2022, who were announced during a ceremony at the 3 Mazarium in Paris. 100 of the best works in the competition were on show in a hall in the prestigious Parisian location.

Designers, printers, editors and brands presented their projects made with Fedrigoni specialty papers and self-adhesive materials: high-quality objects that were judged on the basis of the graphic project, functionality, quality of technical execution and appropriate use of the materials, with special attention on the environmental impact. 

There were five prize categories: the winner for Packaging was “Nibbo Bean to Bar Chocolate Packaging” (China); second place went to “Romaniello” (Italy) and third place went to “Please & Thank You cosmetics” (UK). Special mentions go to “21 Beauty” (China), “Champagne Bollinger B13” (France) and “Chaumet 2021 Mooncake boxes” (France).

The winner in the Labels category was “Terra viva” (Italy), followed by “Woven Whisky” (UK) and Paraje Dondellas (Spain). Special mention for “Xamorfos” (Italy).

The first prize for Publishing was awarded to “Impressions” (France) and the second and third went to “The Quest for Universality” (Czech Republic) and “Gotico-Antiqua” (made in Germany). Special mentions for “Design and the Wondrous” (France) and “Improvisation” (France).

The winner in the new Large Format Communication category was “Recalling” (Indonesia) followed by “Italianate Palazzo in England” and “DJ Console”, both made in Italy.

The winner for Corporate Communication was “Sueño lo que soy” (Spain). Coming second was “Diptyque: Coffret 60 ans” (France), and third “Organic Texture Box” (Italy). Special mentions go to “Modulation 2021-2022” (France) and “Valentino make-up kit” (France).

“Social Determinism through the City Of God”, made by Samuel Friedrich Schmidt, a student at the Ecole Cantonale d’Art of Lausanne, won recognition for the new “Research” section. This is a pilot project conceived to bring out the creativity of the designers of the future coming from universities throughout the world.

The winners were selected by a jury of experts, consisting of Silvana Amato (editorial graphics with over thirty years of experience specialising in cultural sector projects), Ivan Bell (graphic designer founder of Stranger & Stranger and a global expert in labels for the spirits sector), Simon Esterson (Art Director of Eye Magazine and Pulp), Laurent Hainaut (industrial training designer and founder of ForceMajeure Design), Jiaying Han (multiple award-winning founder of Han Jiaying Design & Associates and one of the most influential people in his country according to Forbes), Fanette Mellier (veteran of French print design who makes atypical works mainly in the cultural sector) and Marion Trossat (purchasing and packaging development manager at Interparfums Paris, a company that has a worldwide exclusive to develop, produce and distribute perfumes and cosmetics from prestigious brands).

“The Fedrigoni Top Awards was also a showcase for creativity, quality and inspiration this year. Seeing our materials take shape and be transformed into real works of art makes us very proud - declares Marco Nespolo, CEO of the Fedrigoni Group. We want to tell stories of excellence with the Top Awards, stories that we can be inspired by, bringing to light the trends in the dynamic design and graphics sector. Thanks to the new Research section, we have explored innovative projects from the world of the university, which is always rich in ideas and has such a desire to experiment. This way, we can examine new trends and, at the same time, give students the chance to interface with the world and its professional dynamics. Entries for the next edition of the contest will open again soon”.

Labelexpo roundup
The show featured more than 250 exhibitors who saw global launches. What caught our eye was a hybrid press developed jointly by Domino and UV Graphic Technologies; incorporating a retractable digital print bar in line with multi-color digital and flexo print units.

Multitec premiered its S1 full servo press in an eight-colour 450mm-wide configuration  with combined LED-UV and UV dryers and multi-layer coupon label kit. Webtech unveiled the 410-mm-wide, servo-equipped X1 flexo press with a smart E+L inline inspection system.  

On the digital side, Monotech showcased a range of machines including the Colornovo hybrid press and an entry-level aqueous inkjet press. The company also demonstrated a blockchain-based track and trace system built on variable QR codes and hidden trigger images.

Pulisi displayed its Aobead DPIM330 digital press, incorporating in-line flexo units, while AKO Flexo LLP launched its Delta flexo press, available in widths up to 520mm. Both machines are built in China with Indian production sites to follow.

Global suppliers were also present in strength. HP Indigo demonstrated a 6k press, which was sold at the show, while Konica Minolta showed its AccurioLabel 230. Avery Dennison, BST, GEW, Omet, Bobst, DuPont, Esko and Miraclon were also present.

The show also featured a Digital Embellishment Trail. Monotech demonstrated its dSpark UV inkjet label digital varnish and cold foiling press to coincide with the trail, while Vinsak promoted laser die cutting and Konica Minolta its MGI JetVarnish3Dweb. The show also witnessed Apex International's Genetic Transfer Technology (GTT) which eliminates the use of anilox. There were many automations from the industry, such as VeePee launched its Vee Ensure App which has various features for product authentication as well as augmented reality (AR).

The 7th edition of Labelexpo saw many different technologies, various products, post-press and pre-press operations, some new product launches and numerous installations throughout the four day exhibition, held at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, from 10 to 13 November.