This year’s Online Print Symposium (OPS) on 14 and 15 March 2024 at the Science Congress Center Munich will focus on the future. The OPS will once again offer a globally unique stage for current expert knowledge, future topics and pioneering start-ups. As the meeting place for the global online print scene, the OPS is also “the place to be”. With participants from the DACH region, including the UK, Benelux, France, Poland, Scandinavia, the USA and Japan, the internationalisation of the event is progressing steadily.
Programme and speakers
The online print community will be welcoming Kirsten Hommelhoff, the new Managing Director of the German Printing and Media Industries Federation, to the OPS stage for the first time as a keynote speaker. She will focus on the opportunities and effects that the use of artificial intelligence can have for companies and therefore also for the printing industry.
Steffen Tomasi, CEO of Flyerline Switzerland, will deliver his closing keynote on the topic of “Future printing: adapt or perish. Because if you don’t move with the times, you move with the times“.
Tijmen van den Elzen from Engaige shows how AI is revolutionising customer service and can provide a better service than humans. He discusses the impact of 24/7 support, the opportunities to reduce costs and how AI is surpassing human limitations in responsiveness, accuracy and efficiency.
Thomas Beguin, Co-CEO at IXXI, takes a different perspective on AI. He reports on the mistakes he has made in dealing with AI, the impact this has had on his company and the lessons he has learnt from them.
The presentation of innovative start-ups is one of the highlights of the OPS. In a pitch, young companies are given the opportunity to present their idea, business model and marketability. Due to the high quality of interesting applicants, the organisers have decided to invite seven founders this year.
OPS Community online
A new feature this year is the introduction of the OPS Community app, which is available to all participants. This platform enables symposium visitors to exchange ideas, network and obtain additional information about the event. The “OPS 2024” app is available in all app stores. Co-organiser Jens Meyer from the German Printing and Media Industries Federation said of the community: “With this new feature, we are offering all participants even more services relating to the OPS and further opportunities to network. We have responded to many requests and are delighted that we, as organisers, can help our industry to network even better and forge promising business relationships.”
Growing support for the OPS
This year, eight partner companies will be presenting their innovative solutions for media service providers. FourPees from Belgium is a new player, impressively demonstrating how automation processes can be effortlessly implemented in the printing industry. In a first for the OPS, companies had the opportunity to appear as supporters. Seven companies took advantage of this opportunity and their commitment emphasises the goal of strengthening the OPS as a platform for innovation and collaboration in online print.
Partner bookings are possible for last-minute bookings. For information and the booking form, interested companies can contact Sandra Bellof (sb@zipcon.de) by e-mail. Up-to-date information on the Online Print Symposium and tickets are available at https://www.online-print-symposium.de/
BVDM
The Bundesverband Druck und Medien e. V. (bvdm) is the umbrella organisation of the German printing industry. As an employers’ organisation, political business association and technical trade association, it represents the positions and objectives of the printing industry vis-à-vis politicians, administration, trade unions and the supplier industry. The bvdm is supported by eight regional associations. Internationally, it is organised through its membership of Intergraf and FESPA. The printing industry currently comprises around 6,900 predominantly small and medium-sized companies with more than 110,000 employees subject to social security contributions.
Zipcon
Zipcon Consulting GmbH is a global consulting company for the communications, print and media industry specialising in online print and digital transformation. The company sees itself as an independent and holistic technology and strategy consultant. zipcon produces market studies and various case studies for e-business print, mass customisation and multichannel publishing.
