Ricoh’s post drupa Roadshow has just wrapped up its last stop in Sydney with guest speaker Karen Goldsmith spruiking offset and digital partnerships as the future of the industry.  

The Roadshow had visited Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane offering audiences an unbiased insight into the latest news and trends direct from drupa.

The night kicked off celebrating drupa’s German heritage with an offering of pretzels, traditional Bratwurst hotdogs and German beer, before a talk from Visual Connection’s Karen Goldsmith got under way.  

Goldsmith spoke about the key themes she witnessed at the mega trade show, which included connectivity, partnerships, and a customer centric focus.

Goldsmith told the audience there was no denying the print industry is experiencing rapid digital connectivity, referred to as Industry 4.0. She said, “The modern print shop has already put this into practice, we are ahead of this curve.”

Also addressed in her talk was the topic on every printer’s lips, the rise of digital technology which Goldsmith told the crowd should not be feared.

She noted a trend in digital and offset partnerships at drupa and concluded that digital will act as ‘a complementary technology rather than a replacement’.

Also mentioned by Goldsmith was Benny Landa and his nanography, which has been a hot topic in the trade media since Landa debuted his nanographic digital inkjet presses at drupa 2012.

Goldsmith said the drupa attendees were split between Landa’s true believers and doubters.

Goldsmith was followed by Ricoh’s senior product manager Henryk Kraszewski who gave a review of Ricoh’s drupa stand which explored the theme, ‘open new worlds’.

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