The culmination of years of hard work finally came to fruition at drupa 2016 in Düsseldorf. And what a show it was!
 
I think that I speak for everyone that staffed the Landa booth, and no doubt every other exhibitor, the media and many visitors too, when I say that drupa can sometimes feel like a marathon. It’s a LOT of hard work and a long show with many nights away from home, but it’s worth it.
 
For all our many blisters, long days and short nights, when the printing industry comes together for two weeks in June, some truly inspirational moments can be created.
 
For those of you who didn’t attend, what did visitors to our booth see? Of course, there was a theater presentation from Benny Landa. Utilizing cutting-edge technology and a good dose of humor, Benny explained how nanotechnology is all around us and that no industry will be affected by it more than print. From audience reactions in the theater and at product demonstrations, I could tell that interest in Landa and Nanography is even stronger today than it was four years ago.
 
In addition to Benny’s incredible and now legendary five-times-daily theater shows, visitors saw live demonstrations of industrial-strength Nanographic Printing® presses running at 13,000 sheets per hour using off-the-shelf substrates. They also saw our unique environmental approach for recycling ink, print and packaging as well as printed samples on paper, board and plastic.
 
How did the market respond to these samples? Well, the positivity and market interest was truly amazing. Visitors said that our samples had incredibly vibrant colors and crisp images.
 
Printers Looking for a Digital Future
 
I also learned that attitudes towards digital print in general had changed since 2012. Printers were coming to our booth actively seeking a digital future – and we no longer needed to convince them. What’s more, we were also approached by many global brands, interested in how Nanography® could help with mass customization and product promotions.
 
It definitely seems that things are falling into place. Market interest and excitement translated into hundreds of sales meetings and many new Landa press sales.
 
So as the dust settles on drupa 2016 and life slowly starts to get back to normal, we return to our day-to-day work full of excitement about the future. What’s next?
 
The coming months promise to be exciting as we complete our preparations and make the final refinements to our beta presses before the first shipments in 2017. We will also continue to work with our partners on the Landa DFE, integrating workflow software and delivering our Active Quality Management (AQM) technology. If you haven’t heard about AQM, this unique Landa system goes beyond closed-loop inspection – it scans each printed sheet identifying any quality deviations and makes corrections, all without operator intervention. We expect AQM to be a trailblazer in attaining sustainable, high print quality.
 
Before I close, I must acknowledge our customers. From day one, Landa customers have been our partners in this incredible journey, with their invaluable insights that have helped us develop and fine-tune our offerings. At drupa 2016, we were pleased to announce additions to our customer list including both Quad/Graphics and Cimpress as strategic partners, and colordruck Baiersbronn, Elanders and Imagine! as beta sites. To every single Landa customer, we thank you!
 
On a personal note, I flew home from drupa with incredible pride. Pride not only in our team and what we’d achieved, but pride in our industry. Yes, print has had its challenges, but drupa 2016 showed more than ever that our industry is able to flex and adapt. We’re not only taking the fight right back to the modern communications landscape, but we’re updating it to add unique value for sustained success.