Kodak drops out of drupa 2021 too

International exhibitions need to strike a delicate balance with digital

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Jim Continenza CEO of Kodak Photo printbusiness.uk
Jim Continenza CEO of Kodak Photo printbusiness.uk

In a press release dated 24 September 2020, Kodak reveals that it has made the decision to withdraw from Drupa 2021. “Kodak’s commitment to the safety of our employees and customers during the Covid-19 pandemic is paramount. The continued concerns and impacts of the pandemic make it difficult for us to commit resources for such an event in these uncertain times,” said Jim Continenza, executive chairman, Eastman Kodak Company.

The release says, Kodak will continue to invest in the print industry, and doubling down on digital print and delivering the products its customers need to drive productivity and growth as the industry evolves. The announcement by Kodak makes it the seventh announcement by a major industry player to pull out of drupa 2021 by our reckoning although there may be more.

Our two cents on the Kodak withdrawal from drupa 21

The organizers have themselves declared that drupa 2021 will be a hybrid physical and digital event and Kodak’s withdrawal strengthens the digital and virtual outlook. To recite the list of withdrawals once again it was Bobst and Xerox who were the first to quit the event. Next came Heidelberg and Manroland Sheetfed followed by Komori. The latest was Screen in the first week of September and now it is Kodak in the third week of September.

Apart from the cost of exhibiting, the already considerable uncertainty of who will attend international exhibitions is increased by the uncertainties of the pandemic. The spread, recoveries, fatalities, and resources vary in each country, city, and region. When there are containment areas and quarantines for travelers within a country, international travel protocols are bound to be complicated beyond mere visas, quarantine regulations, and air connections. The risks of virus resurgence and that of travelers falling ill in a foreign country, together with the fact that they were the initial super spreaders, means that organizers need to strike a delicate balance.

In an interview, Markus Heering of the German VDMA said that drupa will have to have a virtual or digital component since so many will not attend. And the organizers have acceded to this and the slightly abbreviated physical event will take from 20 to 28 April 2021. With the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic still affecting large regions, including India, with an exponential increase in infections, and a second and third wave in several countries in Europe, it seems that the industry will have to look beyond 2021 and possibly to the more local and regional demonstration and training centers and events.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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