Sticking to to a four-year cycle, drupa will be held again in May 2028, this time as a nine-day event. Drupa began in 1951 as a 16-day event and has gradually shortened over 8 decades, to 15, 14 (as was drupa 2000), to 11 days for 2024 and now 9 days.
Even though numbers were well down, drupa24 expo and seminars were eagerly attended by more senior managers and international delegates
Despite a drastic drop in attendance, down from around 260,000 at 2016 to 170,000 for 2024; drupa was hailed a huge success and this was mainly driven by the lavish digital equipment supplier stands. Even Heidelberg wowed the expo with its SRA3 and B2 inkjet press tie-in with Canon. With drupa 2028 dates just announced, a proposed refurbishment of the Messe Dusseldorf centre and the partnership with the USA's Printing United; drupa organisers hope to revamp the event for 2028.
The printing and packaging industry is undergoing a dynamic transformation that requires industry events to evolve as well. This also applies to drupa, which once again demonstrated its importance and relevance as a leading global trade fair in 2024 and provided pioneering inspiration. The industry can already look forward to the remake of the number one event for printing technology which will be held in Düsseldorf from 9th to 17th May 2028.
Wolfram N. DienerWolfram N. Diener, Chairman and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, explains the decision: “Drupa 2024 was more international than ever, and the positive atmosphere throughout the halls reflected our industry’s determination to drive profound change in order to make the printing and packaging industry more sustainable through automation, artificial intelligence and strategic partnerships. And these are exactly the kind of important goals that will continue to require a reliable platform such as drupa in future. What was also apparent, however, was that, as a B2B trade fair with a very high proportion of decision-makers from all over the world, the length of stays at drupa has become shorter. That’s why we want to facilitate trade fair visits with maximum efficiency. At this year’s drupa, 76 percent of visitors were part of top and middle management. 
Diener adds: “We believe that this adjustment is also confirmed by the experience we have gathered at our leading global trade fairs in the fields of machinery, plants and equipment, interpack and K, that address comparable customer profiles and do very well with a similar duration.” The unique presentation of cutting-edge technology and machines in operation remains a USP of drupa. The new rules for trade fair duration will continue to allow exhibitors to effectively present and stage wide-ranging product portfolios, machines and workflows as well as an impressive stage programme.
Responding to inevitable changes
Dr Andreas Pleßke, chairman of the drupa committee and CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, emphasises the trade fair’s importance and
a supporter of the new duration: “For Koenig & Bauer, drupa offers an unbeatable marketing format, as this year’s event has once again impressively demonstrated. We expressly welcome the new trade fair duration starting in 2028, as it will meet changing industry requirements without limiting the international scope of the trade fair. This is also demonstrated by the fact that visitors from 173 countries attended drupa, emphasizing the global appeal of the event. No other format generates such a high level of interest from the industry.”
The print industry still loves it's heavy-metal and high-tech hardwareSabine Geldermann, Director of drupa says: “We comprehensively and carefully analysed the recommendations of our drupa committee, the results of exhibitor and visitor surveys and feedback from partners and associations. Shortening the fair’s duration is a direct response to the industry’s desire for a more focused, efficient event that continues to provide international participants with a unique opportunity to discover groundbreaking innovations and technology.”
The conceptual direction, new key visual and future claim of drupa 2028 will be presented to the industry during 2025.
Selected results of the exhibitor and visitor surveys and key figures, data and facts for drupa 2024 are published in the Post Show Report and at www.drupa.de.
