Touchpoint packaging will be the hot spot for packaging at drupa 2016. Some 30 exhibitors and cooperation partners as well as twelve other industry representatives, brand owners such as Nestlé or design and communication agencies will present current and future trends in the form of lectures, panel discussions or workshops. This forum in Hall 12 (stand B 53) will address the entire world of packaging: technical/functional requirements, economy and efficiency as well as cultural and ethical demands plus the complete array of substrates and technologies used. touchpoint packaging is conceived of and organised in close cooperation with the european packaging design association (epda), Europe’s leading association of brand and packaging design agencies. Touchpoint, which will be held in this form for the first time at drupa, primarily also targets brand owners, marketers and designers – and, of course, print service providers with a special focus on packaging printing.  

Occupying over 200 square metres, this exhibition area is arranged into four “future labs” targeting the vertical markets “food”, “non-food”, “pharma” and “cosmetics”. It is here that the exhibitors will present their best-practice cases and product highlights. The ideal complement is the Speaker’s Corner programme at the centre of touchpoint with over 70 presentations, lectures and panel discussions. One highlight will definitely be the talk delivered by British future researcher Cate Trotter on 3 June, at 11.00 am. What will the world look like in 2035? Which trends will impact society over the coming two decades? And how should the printing and packaging industries counter these challenges and with which strategies? These are just some of the questions Cate Trotter from Insider Trends/London will address. The agenda with half-hourly items will start at 11.00 am daily (with the exception of 5 and 10 June). For a detailed overview of the complete agenda online go to: http://www.drupa.com/cipp/md_drupa/custom/pub/content,oid,34570/lang,2/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/touchpoint_packaging.html

Young Designers at touchpoint packaging

touchpoint packaging also specifically targets young designers. In cooperation with Berlin’s and Milan’s design universities (Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule/BTH and Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti/NABA respectively) competitions on the future of packaging were initiated. The brief for students from Berlin and Milan was to design a poster and/or packaging designs for the segments “food”, “non-food”, “pharma” and “cosmetics”. The nominated works will be exhibited at drupa and the winner will be recognised at an award ceremony on 8 June (from 2 pm).

One day later – on 9 June – the Day of Packaging will be celebrated in Germany and Austria. Companies from the entire packaging value chain will be opening their doors that day. As part of various local activities and events they will introduce their factories and services especially to young talents. The German Packaging Institute (dvi), for example, will invite students from the International School Düsseldorf to a creative design workshop at touchpoint packaging. Together with epda professionals the young people will design new packaging units for everyday products and check these for their practical fitness. Real briefing specs, exciting background information, tips by international designers and plenty of room for creative ideas set the stage for this activity.

All participating exhibitors are listed here at a glance: (correct as of 17 May 2016): Agfa Graphics, Arcwise, SCA Forest Products AB, Asia Pulp and Paper, Atlantic Zeiser, Bobst, CMC S.r.l., Creative Edge Software, Dalim, Deutsches Verpackungsinstitut, EFI, Esko, Gmund, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, HP, Eastman Kodak, Koenig & Bauer, Kolbus, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Merck, Metsä Board, Print City, Pro Carton, Siegwerk Druckfarben, Sleever International, Tresu, Xeikon.