Drupacity

Eat, drink, sleep, live: drupa 2004

by Joy English, Assistant Editor

AS MESSE DÜSSELDORF GmbH prepares for drupa 2004, taking place May 6-19 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany, it is making every attempt to make sure attendees are eating, drinking, sleeping, and living drupa. To do so, it has initiated "drupacity Düsseldorf." Manuel Mataré, drupa project manager, explained, "In an effort to enhance the 'feel good' factor, Messe Düsseldorf is putting in place an extensive service network together with numerous partners from the hotel, restaurant, retail, and art and culture areas who will stage attractive special events and activities exclusively for drupa."

Added touches include everything from "drupaul" and "drupaula"—red-costumed hosts and hostesses greeting attendees as they arrive in Düsseldorf—to attendees receiving a "drupackage" welcome gift in their hotel room. Attendees will also receive an exhibit newspaper, complimentary cocktails at their hotels, and the "drupartnerguide" to restaurants—all in an effort to encourage attendees to embrace the feeling of drupacity.

Once attendees are living the drupa life, they will have more than 17 exhibit halls to explore. They are also encouraged to attend the Compass Sessions, organized by the German Print and Media Industries Federation (bvdm) and conducted by the Print & Media Forum AG. International speakers at these "know-how" events will cover current trends, equipment, software, workflows, production methods and products, with a new focus daily. Each session (with a light breakfast included) will be presented in both German and English from 9-11 a.m. at the Congress Center East. The sessions will also allow attendees to network with fellow colleagues. A preliminary schedule of Compass Sessions is listed at www.compass-sessions.de.

drupa 2004 has also been tagged as the "JDF drupa." The CIP4 Organization, responsible for JDF development, has constructed a JDF program for drupa 2004, with the help of Messe Düsseldorf.

As attendees arrive at the JDF Parc, they will receive a "job ticket"—a card with its own unique identification number. They then proceed to any initiation post to begin their "job." The ID number will be used to follow the job from one station to the next, where the job will receive a punch. The cards are designed to hold 10-12 punches. Once the attendees have completed their "job," they are entered into a raffle for prizes, which will be drawn at the conclusion of drupa. Twenty-three companies, including innovators of JDF-enabled products, have already applied for one of the 18 pods available at the JDF Parc. This new JDF program is sure to be a favorite among drupa attendees.

drupa organizers have also developed a drupa 2004 "think tank"—the drupa innovation parc— located next to the JDF Parc. This parc will host three special presentations, including the "dynamic document parc" that will focus on dynamic document generation from XML and database publishing to server applications with PDF and XSL/FO; the "software innovation parc," where small, young, and creative companies, service providers, and IT developers will present themselves and their intelligent software solutions; and the "picture innovation parc," organized by the ADF digital photography initiative, which will allow digital photographers to explore the latest imaging applications and solutions.

To experience "drupacity," or for more information on the exhibits at drupa, visit www.mdna.com, call 312-781-5180, or e-mail info@mdna.com. The products on the following pages will present a small dose of the new products that will be introduced at drupa 2004. drupa—it's an experience that comes around only once every four years. Don't miss out on living the drupa life!