The 11 days of DRUPA 2016 saw 260,000 visitors from 188 countries visit the 19 halls of the Düsseldorf Messe.

And while organisers say the 1837 exhibitors "unanimously reported excellent business deals, extremely promising contacts and a positive spirit", it seems few of the majors were game to return in three years. Instead, the next event will now be in 2020, with earlier plans for a three-year cycle - to avoid a clash with the Messe's international packaging show - shelved. The next DRUPA will be held from June 23 -July 3.

DRUPA committee chairman and KBA chairman Claus Bolza-Schünemann talked of a print industry "constantly re-inventing itself" and "moving out of the valley of tears", and KBA itself did well at the show with $113 million-worth of mostly sheetfed press orders and the largest exhibit.

Statistics issued by the organisers showed 54 per cent of visitors came with "concrete investment intentions", 29 per cent placed orders during the show, and another 30 per cent are planning to do so.

The attendance compares with 314,248 in 2012, a drop of almost 18 per cent which "reflects worldwide consolidation" in the industry.

More than three-quarters of visitors came from overseas, 17 per cent of these from Asia (including India, five per cent, and China, three per cent) with the total up 16 per cent from four years ago.

Goss International marketing director Eric Bell reported a "very successful show", supporting existing customers and new prospects. "All in all, DRUPA far exceeded our expectations and confirms that our approach to business, with our customers and partners at the forefront of our strategy, is the right direction for Goss," he said.

QuadTech president Karl Fritchen talked of a "fantastic show" in which the company sought to reach specific printing markets with the launch of four new products. "Not only was the quantity of show visitors very high for us, but also the quality," he said.

Not surprisingly, digital press vendors did well. HP's worldwide graphic solutions marketing director Francois Martin spoke of "a landmark show" in which the sales surpassed 2012 results by 20 per cent and its own goals by 25 per cent overall.

Kodak's worldwide director of sales and customer operations Olivier Claude said the event "completely exceeded expectations" and saw it reach 168 per cent of its of our sales target by Day 9 of the 11-day show.

Canon Europe executive vice president Jeppe Frandsen said it surpassed objectives on multiple levels. "The response of visitors to what we've shown and discussed with them has been hugely positive," he said.

Crowd favourite Benny Landa described it as "the inflection point in the industry's transition from mechanical printing to digital".

"It seems that the market leaders - in packaging, commercial printing and in publishing - have come to the realisation that they simply must go digital. For Landa Digital Printing, this market awakening has been particularly rewarding," he said.