A print shop’s next customer might no longer be a human, but rather an AI agent that researches, compares, and places orders. zipcon consulting describes the implications of this shift for (online) print shops in its whitepaper, “Agentic Print – Print Becomes Infrastructure.”
Bernd Zipper—founder and CEO of the consultancy zipcon consulting and Chairman of the Initiative Online Print—has published a whitepaper on the subject of “Agentic Print.” Its core message is that print shops failing to make their offerings discoverable in a machine-readable format will play no role in the future of online commerce. In the age of artificial intelligence, purchasing decisions and transaction processing are increasingly shifting from humans to AI agents. The whitepaper was prompted by developments originating in the retail sector. In early 2026, Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in collaboration with partners such as Shopify, Walmart, Target, Etsy, and Wayfair. Concurrently, OpenAI and Stripe are working on the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), while Anthropic is developing the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It remains to be seen which of these three standards will prevail in the future of online commerce.
According to the whitepaper, the online print landscape is changing: instead of a customer clicking through shops and filtering by criteria to find a product, an agent reads the machine-readable profiles of online shops. If information isn’t listed there, it effectively does not exist for the agent. As Zipper emphasized, even major online print service providers often go undetected by agentic systems. However, the new whitepaper also acknowledges an opportunity: the rise of Agentic Print could pave the way for moving beyond pure price-based competition.
The online-generated print revenue market in the DACH region is characterized primarily by price-driven decision-making. An AI agent tasked with criteria such as “same-day delivery” or a specific CO2 footprint would sort offers based on these requirements rather than the lowest price, thereby making differentiation machine-readable. The flip side of this development is that price, delivery schedules, and adherence to sustainability certifications will be subject to ruthless comparison. In the realm of “agentic print,” trust within the agent-driven channel is built not through marketing campaigns, but through the proven fulfillment of commitments. The loop closes only when agent-driven demand converges with fully automated—and AI-supported—production.
To ensure that configured, file-based print products are accurately represented within this new standard, the Initiative Online Print—in collaboration with the BVDM and Intergraf—launched the development of an industry-specific UCP vertical, *dev.ucp.print*, in May 2026. dpsuisse, VIGC, CIP4, the Ghent Workgroup, and the PRINTING United Alliance have joined the project.
zipcon
zipcon Consulting GmbH is a global consultancy serving the communications, print, and media sectors, with a focus on online print and digital transformation. The company positions itself as an independent, holistic technology and strategy consultant. zipcon produces market studies and various case studies covering e-business print, mass customization, and multichannel publishing.
