Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as national and international lockdown measures and associated travel restrictions, the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION congress and trade fair originally planned for June 2021 will be moved to Oct. 20-21, 2021, in the Congress Center at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. The organizers, Fachverband Medienproduktion (f:mp.) and Messe Düsseldorf, are counting on better general conditions in autumn and extended planning time for participants.
Rüdiger Maaß, managing director of f:mp, stated that the organizers have a responsibility when it comes to the health of their visitors and exhibitors. Against the background of the current COVID-19 pandemic and continuing restrictions, it is unfortunately not guaranteed that the organizers will be able to hold the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION at the Düsseldorf exhibition center in June. The exhibitors’ confidence in this decision is documented by the fact that 95% of the exhibitors who have booked already also will be present in October. The organizers see the congress as a platform for interaction focusing on selected highlight projects and knowledge transfer while placing a strong emphasis on interactive experiences. They therefore consider it important to hold it as a face-to-face event as soon as the framework conditions allow it.
Sabine Geldermann, director print technologies at Messe Düsseldorf, said that even if virtual formats are the measure of all things in these times, the organizers’ customers recognize, based on the experience of the last 12 months, that face-to-face events are indispensable, especially when it comes to the haptic experience of technologies and their applications. That is why the organizers are confidently looking ahead to October 2021.
The PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION will focus on the presentation of innovative technologies in projects that not only showcase individual machines or tools, but also demonstrate overall solutions oriented on practical requirements. In addition to exciting exhibits and intensive expert advice at the exhibitor stands, visitors can expect an extensive and top-class program of lectures on all relevant aspects of corporate communication and print and digital technologies. As an established annual event in the industry, the congress and trade fair – together with virtual offerings such as virtual.drupa and drupa’s global Print Technologies trade fair portfolio – will bridge the time until the next drupa staging in 2024 and will offer an important platform for knowledge transfer, exchange and networking.
For more information, visit www.drupa.com/en/drupa_global/ and https://tdm-e.f-mp.de/.
