Printers who gathered for the 2025 World Printers Summit had an eye to the future of newspaper print, as well as a glance over their shoulders to what has changed.

The two-day programme at Munich’s Design Offices München Atlas – under the theme ‘Future of newspaper production: Smarter, leaner, greener’ – saw industry leaders consider insights, case studies and shared challenges, while driving innovation forward and providing a hub for networking.

Keynote speaker Thomas Schultz-Homberg, who is chief executive of Cologne-based media company Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Media, gave insights into its AI strategy, explaining how intelligent AI agents optimise daily workflows, especially in print-related areas.

Looking back over the findings of the annual World Printers Forum survey, Globe and Mail (Canada) print operations vice president Sally Pirri chaired a discussion with inputs from WPF director Ingi Rafn Olafsson, Flemming Heding Pedersen (chief operating officer and production director of Denmark’s Erritsø Tryk), and Dick Ranzijn, chief executive of Netherlands-based Rodi Groep.

Case studies followed, with Senner Media owner and chief executive Markus Krichenbauer detailing DCOS’ upgrade of their manroland Geoman press, a process that renewed control, drive and inspection systems. Dario De Cian, general manager of Centro Stampa Quotidiani, told of upgrades by QIPC-EAE which are helping the Italian newspaper printer fulfil its commitment as a benchmark for newspaper printing in Italy, utilising both offset and digital technology.

From German regional publisher Ippen Media Group, chief executive Daniel Schöningh explained the background to standardising on the print Berliner format to achieve long-term cost efficiencies from centralised Krause workflow and Koenig & Bauer presses across five sites. The three presentations were in German, with bilingual slides and some assisted translation.

German was also the order of the day for a breakfast session focussed on tackling material shortages. Speakers were Monopteros partner Michael Has, Pressedruck Potsdam managing director Bengt Föbker, and VRM Druck managing director Jennifer Ellinger.

A session on countering counterfeiting – with features such as applied foil and security threads – was led by Manfred Heim, managing director of R&D at Louisenthal, Germany, and the morning continued with self-arranged meetings. A case study about modernising mailroom equipment to extend its lifespan came from Andreas Ullmann and Robert Scheuffelhut from Pressedruck Augsburg with support from Ferag’s Christian Frick and Marcel Binder. Another focussed on the cost and time savings achieved by VRM with automated page-layout from Protecmedia and MWM, while manrolnd Goss aftermarket sales head Alexander Karl and engineered solutions VP Sylvain Lepinay talked about retrofits and upgrades of both manroland Goss and third-party equipment, enabling printers worldwide to increase competitiveness and secure long-term operational success.

From UPM Communication Papers, marketing, sustainability and communications vice president Kati Murto discussed the value of paper and the company’s commitment to innovation, reliability and ambitious climate targets. UPM partners with customers to deliver trusted, high-quality solutions for diverse print needs.

A closing session covered the implications of the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on operations and supply chains, with input from WPF vice chair Gundula Ullah, who is chief sustainability officer at Funke Mediengruppe, and its head of strategic purchasing Lars Ole Eichelberg

Winners of the 2025 Sustainability and Print Innovation Awards were presented during the summit – see separate report – and another highlight was a social evening at venue Magari by Geisha in Friedenstraße.

Pictured (top) the 2025 World Printers Summit reprised a familiar format of technical and social meetings in an attractive venue.

There were meets,

greets,

an evening social gathering (at venue Magari by Geisha);

and even a farewell (WPF vice chair Gundula Ullah had a present for departing chief executive Vincent Peyregne from Funke Mediengruppe, where she is chief sustainability officer). Pictures WAN-Ifra, with thanks.