Over 1,800 exhibitors, 400,000 visitors, and as many as 3,500 journalists from around the world are convening in Düsseldorf, Germany for drupa 2008, a two-week event that is often referred to as “the Olympics of the Print Media Industry”. This moniker comes not only from drupa’s once-every-four-years occurrence, but its dramatic and lasting influence on the print media industry. Breakthrough technologies and design innovations are unveiled and shared on a daily basis across the 170,000 square meters of exhibition space, with the leading print media companies from across the globe putting their latest technology on the line.

Digital communication has surged over recent decades, but has failed to replace print as the dominant medium. “more paper, cardboard, foil and other materials are printed than ever before. The annual global total is almost 500 million tons,” states Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, president of both drupa and industrial print press maker Koenig & Bauer AG.

“The feel, emotional power and high quality of printed products provide a substantial competitive advantage over electronic media,” he adds. “For example, at the point of sale, in brand communications, personalized mailings and large-format advertising.”

Our Point Of View*

Xerox has played an active role on the floor at drupa since 2000. This time around, Xerox is unveiling the iGen4, the most advanced digital press in the print industry.

Bolza-Schünemann makes a good case for the continued role of print media in the digital age, pointing out that the “substantial” qualities of print (in part, its tactile nature and portability) surpass digital in countless ways. Print is an indispensable part of human communication, and will continue to be—regardless of advancements in digital media.

Rather than evolve into a “paperless society” as some predicted at the advent of personal computers and digital communication, we are now using more paper than ever before. The 500 million tons of paper, cardboard, and foil that Bolza-Schünemann refers to can result in an equivalent amount of waste, unless it is recycled or re-used in some way. Paper is an invaluable (and limited) natural resource, and as such must be protected and preserved.

The global print media industry, gathered today at drupa 2008, has an ethical and economic responsibility to advance sustainable initiatives like efficient paper recycling, responsible forest management, and innovative technologies like re-usable paper.

In your opinion, does the increased amount of printed materials worldwide pose a threat, calling for greater emphasis on digital media and less use of paper? Is this even feasible, or should we continue at our current rate of consumption and work toward technologies to offset these figures?

*The views expressed here are the individual views of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Xerox Corporation.