As anyone who has visited Drupa will know, it is not possible for a single human being to see everything interesting that's there even if they stay for the duration of the show. Staying only a few days means making the very difficult choice between rushing around trying to see as much as you can, or focusing on things that really take your interest and risking missing out on many others that you would also like to see and know more about. A hard choice indeed.

The organisers of Drupa recognise this dilemma and helpfully provide assistance: their excellent Technology Guides on a range of topics, each with articles on what there is to know related to the topic, details of what there is to see and where to find the relevant exhibitors, supported by 'highlights tours'. Although the printing industry is greening fast, we are not yet at a stage where Drupa has an environmental technology guide, though the topic does get a mention in Creation of Printed Products - Trends in Design, Image Processing and Layout. There was, however, a great deal of interest to environmentalists going on, with the highlight for me being an opportunity to look through the windows at other continents at the Printing and the Environment conference organised by the World Print and Communication Forum. Many of the themes discussed at the conference were certainly echoed on the manufacturers' and service providers' stands. There were also paper-related conferences: PEFC's Trend towards certified wood and paper products and FSC's Fourth FSC Global Paper Forum, both of which sadly took place during the following week, after I'd left.