Retrofits and automation made up much of the order value at DRUPA, with a promising new partnership a highlight as the Düsseldorf show closed.

A gleeful QI Press Controls announced a preferred partnership agreement with Goss Graphic Systems (China) which trades as Wisprint in some markets.

The formal agreement follows a number of installations of QIPC’s mRC-3D Lite system – tailored for Wisprint’s Chinese domestic – and signifies a deeper collaboration. The mRC-3D Lite solution integrates hard and and software into press control system, the agreement allowing Wisprint to install, commission and service the system.

Another player in the press automation space, Swedish control specialist DCOS Automation reported orders for a total of 67 of its closed-loop cameras signed at DRUPA, along with 90 new leads during “two fantastic weeks”.

DCOS’ Mattias Andersson said his fifth DRUPA was his best exhibition of all time: “We would like to thank all our visitors for their time, energy and contribution to interesting and fruitful discussions,” he said. “Across all our segments – commercial, newspaper, book and packaging – we seem to have the solutions and print efficiency aids this industry is seeking.”

Some 56 of the DCOS cameras – along with four workstations – are accounted for in a new single-width press being installed by ImPressions Worldwide for the Dallas Morning News.

It was ImPressions’ first one million-plus Euros (A$1.63 million) DRUPA order, secured on the second day of the show. The new Dallas Morning News press is being installed in a new facility in Carrollton, Texas, and will include DCOS’ closed-loop density, register and cut-off.

Other high-volume print orders reported from DRUPA include this Kodak Magnus Q3600 Titan platesetter for book and magazine printer Imprimerie Pollina in Chasnais, in the west of France. It will replace the two oldest of three existing Magnus VLF platesetters.

Bigger news for Kodak was the sale of five of its Prosper Ultra 520 inkjet webs over a three-year period to an undisclosed existing offset customer who signed a letter of intent.

Also on the inkjet web front, Screen reported the sale of a second press from the Truepress Jet 520 series for Illinois printer JD Graphic. Apart from books, the new inkjet will contribute towards the production of golf scorecards, of which the company produces an estimated 100 million a year. The company also launched its flagship high-definition Jet 560HDX inkjet at the show.

Helping keep the print finishing sector healthy was an order for a new Müller Martini/Kolbus case binding line, reported to be part of a multi-million-dollar DRUPA spend for Newburyport, Massachusetts book printer Bradford & Bigelow that also included automated palletising equipment.

Trade visitor numbers for DRUPA were 170,000 according to figures released by the organiser. Graffica owner Neil Southerington, visiting from Australia, observed on LinkedIn that this might be due to the absence of poster-gatherers at the weekend!

Pictured top (from right): Wisprint’s Matt Sharkady, Wing Ho and Nidal Odeh toast the milestone with QIPC’s Erwin van Rossem