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It's not long now until visitors from all over the world will arrive in Düsseldorf, Germany, for the world's largest printing trade fair. Sabine Geldermann, drupa director, talks with Converting Today about what to expect at the industry's biggest show in May 2016.

What does drupa 2016 cover?
We are looking forward to drupa 2016 with the tagline 'Touch the Future'. Attracting visitors from 130 countries, drupa offers a 360° view of the entire world market for our industry. As trade fair organisers, we follow market changes and identify future trends to integrate them into our concepts. At drupa 2016, visitors will see offerings and technology including pre-press, print, pre-media, multichannel, materials and post-press. There is a focus on future technologies too.

In addition, drupa 2016 will launch two new areas to address packaging production and industrial printing, recognised today as growth markets and important sectors. At drupa 2016, we are launching touchpoint packaging to reflect the potential in this sector. We will cover the spectrum of the packaging world and the key facets of packaging production. This will be a highlight of drupa 2016 and will take place in hall 12. This special forum is being designed and implemented in collaboration with the European Packaging Design Association (epda), and the dedicated platform will be a focal point for the packaging industry.

Everyone in the print community is talking about 3D printing. Additive-production processes are on users' minds in the design and packaging industries, machine and plant construction, aerospace, automotive construction and dental and medical technology. Futuristic 3D printing has an important role to play at drupa 2016. First movers such as Stratasys and Massivit 3D Printing will be attending drupa 2016. It is important for us to focus on this topical issue. The potential of 3D printing in many vertical markets shouldn't be underestimated. In particular, spare parts for mechanical engineering or packaging design offer huge opportunities for machine builders, users and print providers. The 3D fab+print touchpoint in hall 7A reflects this diversity. This special show will present the latest, state-of-the-art technology, vision and cases of best practice.

Let's not forget functional printing. This topic will also play a significant role at drupa 2016. Around the world, there are many excellent applications for printed electronics. Touch sensors on furniture surfaces, and Bluetooth speakers made from paper and conductive inks are no longer science fiction thanks to innovative printing technology. Under the PEPSO (printed electronics products and solutions) brand, a wide range of exhibitors will present at various stands. In the drupa innovation park, our-long-standing partner, the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) will be there. So too will the Association for Specialist Printing Manufacturers of Screen, Digital and Flexo technology and specialists Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, PolyIC or Felix-Schoeller.

With over 300,000 visitors at drupa 2012, how do you organise such a large event and ensure it answers all attendees' needs?
We have improved guidance and instruction for visitors. Social media communications and the online drupa solution guide will provide visitors with useful tools to plan their visit. By entering the applications of interest, the software automatically sets up a guide to see the relevant exhibitors. There will be networking among our visitors, press representatives and exhibitors. Channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, the drupa blog and drupa.com will be active with instant updates before, during and after the show. Our website is already receiving 40,000 monthly visits. It offers personalised services such as MyOrganizer and MyCalendar for online diary organisation of appointments, and MyCatalogue for compiling your own trade show catalogue.

What is new for drupa 2016?
Highlights in 2016 will be the drupa innovation park (DIP), which is a pioneering technology and solution platform. This will contain six theme parks displaying current trends and topics along with case studies associated with process-oriented print and publishing solutions. The popular drupa cube will be based on six key drupa themes: multichannel, print, functional printing, 3D printing, package production and green printing. The cube's tagline is 'Entertaining, Educating, Engaging', and aims to bridge the gap between print professionals, creative agencies, brand-owners and the complete supply chain across a variety of vertical markets. There will be a range of new, intelligent and interactive applications for printed products in numerous industries and many areas of life.

What do you think will be the biggest topic at the show?
There will be a number of really interesting and key topics and not only one 'killer' application or topic. The five letters of drupa 2016 reflect the whole range of topics:
- digitisation of printing techniques and processes
- rapid manufacturing and 3D printing
- utilities for new consumables and substrates
- packaging as one of the growth markets
- applications in functional and industrial printing.