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Well, that was the show that was. The stands are dismantled and the question that everyone is asking is what will drupa 2008 actually be remembered for? Every Drupa has had a theme, and this year's event was no different, being billed as the "inkjet Drupa" even before all the stand space was booked - but did it really live up to the pre-show hype? Well, in my opinion at least, no.

Sure, there were some interesting inkjet developments, the Fuji Jet Press 720, HP’s Inkjet Web Press and Kodak’s Stream technology to name but three (see p22 for Andy Tribute’s top picks), but in reality these were ‘technology demonstrations’ and primarily served to whet the industry’s appetite as to what will be available in the next few years rather than signify the unleashing of new, ‘disruptive’ technologies now.

If I had to sum up what this year’s show was about it would have to be about applications not technology. It was about suppliers looking at ways of working with printers to better help them apply technology, any technology, and enable them to make money and add value – and that has to be a good thing.

In the current economic climate, any spend has to be carefully considered and the return on investment virtually guaranteed. It’s no longer enough for something to just be faster or offer better quality – after all, why bother spending money if the client is already happy with what you’re giving them now? It either has to save money or make more money.

Anyone, in theory at least, can open their wallet and splash out on the latest whizz bang product, but unless they have support in the most important aspect, namely to sell the resultant print or additional service to their customers with a decent profit margin, then frankly what’s the point?

Darryl Danielli is editor of PrintWeek.