中文These days, nobody simply buys a printing press. Decision-makers evaluating new equipment want to see how a machine performs inside their own digital ecosystem, not just on a data sheet. The implication for suppliers is profound: components must fit seamlessly into end-to-end process chains, and neither a PDF nor a webinar can prove they deliver the promised results under real production conditions.
The development pace is accelerating across engineering firms, software companies and materials labs. Systems are becoming more deeply integrated, and B2B customers are calculating precisely whether a new system is worthwhile. A print shop or packaging business no longer buys a single press or an isolated software module; it commissions an automated process chain that must integrate with existing IT and production systems. Technology providers have had to adapt their sales models accordingly, moving beyond the webinar-heavy formats that dominated recent years.
There is a stubborn gap between management’s digitalisation expectations and the reality on the factory floor. Individual machines may be highly automated, yet they are frequently not connected to one another. The bottleneck is almost always the data flow: control data must move seamlessly from the management information system through the digital front end and prepress to the presses — whether offset, flexo, industrial inkjet or toner — and on into finishing. That integration only reveals itself when the entire chain is under load, which is why factories that look advanced on paper often stall in practice.
Print and packaging production is also applied physics and chemistry. It is not yet possible to reliably test on a monitor how much dot gain appears on the exact paper in an order, how highly pigmented inks flow at maximum web speed, or how a new recyclable substrate behaves. This is why live demonstration has returned to the centre of capital-equipment buying. drupa, for example, turns exhibition stands into test beds: its GROW experience zone focuses on end-to-end solutions where suppliers show how machines fit integrated workflows and where AI proves its worth in continuous operation.
The buyer economics justify the effort. Visitor data from drupa 2024 shows 78 per cent of trade visitors are personally responsible for investments or have a say in decisions, 57 per cent arrive with specific purchasing intentions, 80 per cent travel from abroad across more than 170 countries, and over six in ten are in top management. Exhibitors are therefore not pitching to junior staff; they are at the table with the people who sign long-term supply contracts and set global production capacity, which makes the cost of a convincing live demonstration worth bearing.
Power within the value chain is also shifting. It is rarely print service providers who now drive development of new equipment and materials. The impetus comes from the start of the chain: international brand owners, packaging strategists and creative agencies. They decide what anti-counterfeiting finishes should look like, how the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR) is implemented, and how the Digital Product Passport code is placed on packs. Exhibitors gain a tangible edge here — 72 per cent of the world’s most valuable brands use drupa as a benchmark, giving the CREATE cluster direct access to those decision-makers who shape demand upstream.
Regulation compounds the pressure. The Digital Product Passport and PPWR are only two examples; the EU Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR) and expanded CSRD reporting obligations force constant adaptation. Buyers therefore need not just the best hardware but process expertise and legal certainty. The LEARN cluster addresses knowledge, standards, the circular economy and practical experience — from INGEDE-compliant de-inking to automated colourimetry and operational sustainability management. For smaller converters, the challenge is acute: they must meet the same compliance bar as multinationals yet lack in-house regulatory teams, so they lean on suppliers who can demonstrate conformity rather than merely claim it.
Trust ties it together. Whether deals are struck in GROW, brand projects shaped in CREATE, or knowledge transferred in LEARN, all of it relies on people meeting in person. Under the PLAY label, drupa promotes interaction on and off the show floor, laying foundations for OEM partnerships, interface alliances and industry standards. Start-up founders, students and newcomers meet established leaders, and exhibitors can present themselves as employers to attract software, engineering and design talent, which matters as the sector competes for a shrinking pool of specialists.
The strategic takeaway is clear: a machine’s suitability cannot be read from its specifications alone. Compatibility with a company’s IT, alignment with brand requirements and compliance with Brussels regulation all decide the outcome. For suppliers, claiming a product solves problems is no longer enough — customers want to be convinced face to face before committing to decisions that echo for decades. Those who build a strong presence in that connected ecosystem will help set the standards shaping the years ahead, while those who sell only iron will find buyers increasingly indifferent to the spec sheet.
