One of the tools that Stora Enso has enhanced to assist those unable to travel or who are working remotely is their Softproofing service. Now cloud-based, soft proofing can be done digitally wherever you are in the world – speeding up the approvals and printing process. The changes to this service are the highlight of the Stora Enso program at the virtual.drupa event to be held from Dusseldorf, Germany, in April. We spoke to Martin Gercke, Vice President of Technical Sales at Stora Enso, to get a better idea of what you can expect to see at Drupa.
Martin Gercke, this is the first time Drupa will be held online. How is Stora Enso adapting to the trade fair shift to virtual?
Although it isn’t the first virtual trade fair that we’ll be attending, this is our first time planning events for Drupa and we’re keeping several things in mind as we do so. First of all, the move to online means that the trade fair will be open to more people globally. Using the virtual platform will broaden our audience figures, as many more people can attend without traveling, so we are planning ways to make our sessions available across time zones, spreading out the sessions to ensure our overseas visitors have the same access to information.
Secondly, we know that because people are not traveling, they will be attending the conference on top of their normal daily work so we will be respectful of that time.
What can people expect to see at Stora Enso’s virtual booth?
Our presentations at Drupa will focus on our technical services. As we are showcasing our Softproofing service, it is really ideal for those who deal with printing, the pre-press, end designers, and workflow people. Soft proofing is now offered as a remote, cloud-based service that can be used anywhere around the globe. We’ll be able to show in our sessions just exactly how this service works. Additionally, we will be presenting our web monitoring service, which helps printers and converters make their processes as efficient and reliable as possible. Of course, visitors can find out more about our huge range of printing and office papers, with special focus on the booming digital printing methods.
What is unique about this year’s Drupa presentations?
This year, we’ll really be able to show that the Stora Enso Paper division is not only about paper. Yes, we do offer paper products but we’re also there to help improve the efficiency of customer processes. We look at the whole chain of events when it comes to the paper product and optimising their usage.
That’s important for forward-thinking companies, especially today, when everyone has to be on top of their game and adapt to the quickly changing markets. Paper will continue to be a big business but as the environment changes, we want to help our customers survive those changes. Finding ways to increase both process efficiency and cost efficiency is important at the moment.
Get a firsthand look at Stora Enso’s Softproofing service at the virtual edition of Drupa, the world’s leading conference for printing technology, held April 20-23, 2021.