Drupa Preview will go live in October. It will feature conference, exhibition and networking elements.

“Thanks to the new digital offering, Drupa provides the sector with continuous exchange and knowledge transfer and meaningfully bridges the remaining time until Drupa for both visitors and exhibitors,” the Messe stated.

Sabine Geldermann, director of Drupa and Print Technologies, commented: “We have already been working long and hard on enhancing our digital offering. The pandemic has faced us with new challenges and has ultimately been a catalyst for digitisation.

“With the hybrid Drupa we also give those visitors who are unable to travel the possibility to take part in the industry get-together. At the same time, we meet exhibitors’ needs to reach the international community personally.”

Drupa Preview will include videos and interviews, with some of the content taking place on fixed days.

“Furthermore, the Drupa Preview offers participants the added value of being able to plan their visit to the live event in advance and, if necessary, pre-select or arrange meetings. This is a further incentive to direct visitors to the site. But we are sure that we will drive visitor traffic mainly through one point: high quality content,” Geldermann added.

The Drupa Preview content is free of charge for visitors with a range of paid-for packages for exhibitors depending on the activities involved. The agenda for live sessions is expected to be available soon.

The Drupa team is currently working on rearranging the hall plans at the vast showground following the 31 August deadline for exhibitors to submit revised exhibition space requirements. 

Geldermann told Printweek: “We are currently in the middle of hall planning, which is very extensive and will be completed in the course of September.

“We expect to be able to activate the hall planning between the middle and end of October.”

Drupa 2021 takes place from April 20-28.