Drupa 2024 is regarded as the leading trade fair dedicated to the print, media, packaging production and industrial applications sector. The future edition of the expo will take place from the 28th of May to the 7th of June at the Messe Düsseldorf and is expected to welcome over 1800 exhibitors as well as approximately 260 000 investment-oriented professional visitors.

Drupa 2024 exercises a huge power of attraction on top buyers from the wholesale, import/export and retail trades who visit Düsseldorf to expand their knowledge and business contacts. This has developed the trade fair into your perfect B2B platform for a strong start in the new business season. As the most prominent event in this sphere of interest, the expo will cover all product areas from the sector. Furthermore, the trade show will be complemented by a grand array of Drupa Hot Spots, like for an example:

Drupa Cube
Touchpoint – a 3D printing platform
DNA-Drupa Next Age
Printing & Digital Convention.

Whether this is your first print show or you consider yourself a seasoned conference visitor, you need to prepare. We’re sending both newbies and veterans, but not without the proper guidance. This guide intends to be exhaustive so we can all get ready for drupa 2024. Consider this piece the ultimate guide to attending drupa in 2024.

Attend the drupa exhibition 2024
What is drupa?
With over 260 000 visitors and 1 800 exhibitors, drupa is the world largest trade fair for the print and packaging industry. The name drupa comes from the contraction of druck and papier, which in German means to print and paper.

Where is drupa?
The exact location for your navigation system is D-40474 Düsseldorf, Am Staad (Stockumer Höfe). You will be able to access one of the two parking P1 & P2. From there, the free shuttles will take you directly to the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre entrances.

When is drupa 2024?
drupa is a ten-day fair running from May 28th to June 7th 2024. It is held every four years since its inauguration in 1951.

How to buy tickets for drupa 2024?
You can either buy tickets (1, 3 or 5 days tickets) online or on-site. Mind you; e-tickets come with some useful benefits like free wifi (2 Mbps with a 1Gb data limit per day), free travel with some of Düsseldorf’s public transport. The tickers are ~25% cheaper than on-site and provide direct entry to the fairground.

Planning your fair
During drupa, over 260 000 print loving souls flood the city of Düsseldorf. To put this figure into perspective, Düsseldorf is one of the most populous cities in Germany, boasting around 630 000 inhabitants. The area is no stranger to vasts influx of visitors as it thrives on trade shows and fairs.

But some planning can go a long way, especially if you are coming from abroad, like 75% of the drupa’s audience. In 2016, Messe Düsseldorf, the drupa organizer, cut the event from 14 days to 10 days. The cut in days only resulted in higher attendees’ concentration and subsequently the stronger competition for hotel rooms, Airbnb and short-term rentals. Planning will help you secure better and cheaper accommodation deals.

With 1 823 exhibitors spread over 19 halls for a combined surface of ~160 000 sqm, finding the right booths to visit can be an ordeal. Drupa’s sheer magnitude tames serendipity, crumbling the odds of fruitful meetings happening randomly. One trick can save you tons of time, though. Curating exciting companies by grouping them by day and hall, effectively minimizing the endless roaming while maximizing the valuable meeting time.

Messe Düsseldorf designed a nifty iPhone and Android app to bookmark the exhibitors and make life easier for you. It also gives you access to an interactive floor plan. And wait there’s more: the app includes a matchmaking service. Based on your interests, it will generate personalized suggestions. The app is freely available to download, letting you arrange meetings well before the exhibition.

Not interested in the app? No worries, you can also download a complete list of drupa exhibitors as a text or excel file. Or just scan through online. Finally, the search functionality provides you with detailed profiles of all attending companies. Make sure to check it frequently as the data is updated daily.

As with any trade show, there are a few items that will make your overall experience more enjoyable. Proper planning and preparation prevent poor performance.

So take it from our 5+ drupa edition experience, here’s how you can prepare!