Various vendors are whispering in hushed tones about the super-secret products their R&D teams are beavering away on, others are talking about the previous ‘technology demonstrations’ that will be fully fledged commercial realities come May 2024.

And with next year’s show coming eight years after the last, all are probably nervously wondering how busy it will be, who’s going, who’s not and will it be like the shows of old.

And printers, well, I’ll suspect right now a lot are thinking: “Drupa, meh!”

Seven months is a long time in print – so it’s hardly surprising – and I’m sure there are more pressing operational issues facing most print bosses right now. It’s peak season for many of you after all.

So, the focus is more likely to be on keeping your current kit running at maximum capacity, rather than pondering what technology you might want to update or replace it with next year.

But perhaps it’s the perfect time to ponder? After all, the production creaks are probably at their loudest right now – so while you might not have the opportunity to make detailed plans, there’s probably no better time to observe any operational shortfalls.

And regardless of whether you’re planning to go to Düsseldorf next year, there’s no doubt that there will be raft of technology coming on stream in 2024 that could be the answer to your production prayers or application aspirations. Or both.

Because while you might not be getting too excited about a show that seems a long way off, Drupa clearly remains a very important diary date for manufacturers.